Overview
- All editions
- The core switching experience: apps in fixed positions, reached by a direct key, with a secondary dock and fuzzy search for everything else.
- Spatial Dock EX Free
- Free direct download, notarized by Apple. Adds the Command+Tab override, the Board layout and close mode.
- Spatial Dock EX Supporter
- The same download with a license key. Adds the Window Switcher and Project Groups, plus the full theme set, Categories, App Links and custom icons.
- Spatial Dock (Mac App Store)
- One-time purchase, on the Mac App Store, reviewed and sandboxed by Apple. Adds the full theme set, Categories, App Links and custom icons.
Feature by feature
| Feature | FreeSpatial Dock EX | SupporterSpatial Dock EX | Mac App StoreSpatial Dock |
|---|---|---|---|
| Core switching | |||
| Fixed-position, keyboard-first launching and switching | Included | Included | Included |
| Primary dock and secondary dock | Included | Included | Included |
| Fuzzy app search | Included | Included | Included |
| Arrow-key and mouse navigation | Included | Included | Included |
| Modifier-key, Option+Tab, and custom-shortcut activation | Included | Included | Included |
| Command+Tab override | Included | Included | Not included |
| Optional recent-app order numbers and direction arrows | Included | Included | Included |
| App actions: hide, show/hide others, bring all windows forward | Included | Included | Included |
| Close mode for quitting apps from the dock | Included | Included | Not included |
| Per-app display names and switching behavior | Included | Included | Included |
| App library, hidden-app management, and dock assignment | Included | Included | Included |
| Layouts and keyboard | |||
| Keyboard Grid layout | Included | Included | Included |
| Edge layout | Included | Included | Included |
| Board layout | Included | Included | Not included |
| QWERTY, AZERTY, QWERTZ, and fully custom keyboard layouts | Included | Included | Included |
| Custom keys and slot counts for layouts | Included | Included | Included |
| Windows and projects | |||
| Window Switcher with numbered window shortcuts | Not included | Included | Not included |
| Search for windows by title | Not included | Included | Not included |
| Window actions: focus, close, minimize, full screen | Not included | Included | Not included |
| Per-app Window Switcher exceptions | Not included | Included | Not included |
| Project Groups, one dock entry per project | Not included | Included | Not included |
| Appearance | |||
| Follow System, Spatial Dock Light, and Spatial Dock Dark | Included | Included | Included |
| Additional theme palettes | Not included | Included | Included |
| Custom colors, patterns, blur material, inactive-app indicators | Not included | Included | Included |
| Custom overlay fonts and text scale | Not included | Included | Included |
| Custom overlay background images | Not included | Included | Included |
| Organizing the docks | |||
| Categories in the secondary dock | Not included | Included | Included |
| Folder, file, and URL links in the docks | Not included | Included | Included |
| Custom app and link icons | Not included | Included | Included |
| Setup and portability | |||
| Settings and app-collection backup and import | Included | Included | Included |
| Launch at login and guided setup | Included | Included | Included |
| Distribution, privacy, and licensing | |||
| Where you get it | Direct download | Direct download, unlocked by a license key | Mac App Store |
| Updates | Built-in updater | Built-in updater | Mac App Store |
| Beta update channel | Included | Included | Not included |
| Network access | Update checks only | Update checks and license checks | None |
| Accessibility permission | Only for Command+Tab override | Only for Command+Tab override, Window Switcher or Project Groups | Not required |
| Price | Free | US$14.99, one-time | One-time purchase |
| Free trial | Not applicable | 14 days, no account or card | Not available |
| License key required | No | Yes | No |
| Visit the Spatial Dock website → | |||
Scroll the table sideways to see all three editions.
Things worth knowing
Three editions, two downloads. Spatial Dock EX Free and Spatial Dock EX Supporter are not two different apps. They are one download: run it with no license key and you have the free edition, enter a key under Settings → License and the Supporter features unlock in place. Nothing is downloaded again and nothing is reinstalled.
Command+Tab is optional. The override is included in both EX tiers, off by default, and requires Accessibility permission. It is unavailable during macOS Secure Input, such as password entry. Modifier-key, Option+Tab, and custom-shortcut activation work without Accessibility permission in both downloads.
Why the App Store edition has no Window Switcher or Command+Tab override. Reading and acting on other apps' windows, and intercepting Command+Tab, need Accessibility access, which the Mac App Store sandbox does not permit. Project Groups depends on the same access, and an App Store app updates through the App Store rather than through an updater of its own. The Board layout and close mode carry no such restriction; they ship in the direct-download build.
Why the free EX edition has fewer themes. Themes, typography, Categories, App Links, and custom icons are part of the App Store purchase, and part of the Supporter license in Spatial Dock EX. The free edition ships the three base themes.
Switching editions keeps your setup. Every edition can export its settings and docked apps to a file, and import that file into another edition, so you never rebuild your docks by hand.
Already a Spatial Dock customer? Your purchase carries over. Purchases made before version 1.5.0 redeem a Supporter license for free; version 1.5.0 and later are credited in full against the Supporter price. It is a button in Spatial Dock EX under Settings → License. How redemption works →