When comparing Pantheon vs Window Maker, the Slant community recommends Window Maker for most people. In the question“What are the best window managers for Linux?” Window Maker is ranked 19th while Pantheon is ranked 23rd. The most important reason people chose Window Maker is:
Different from any other WM which makes it a lot of fun to use.
Specs
Question Ranking
Pros
Pro Simple, clean aesthetic
Nonintrusive and easy to overview workspace.
Pro Smooth, subtle animations
Nearly everything is animated, but it's not over the top.
Pro Lightweight
Pantheon is light on system resources, giving it the advantage of being able run well on a multitude of setups.
Pro Looks amazing
Looks absolutely amazing. Very nice to use. Amazing UX.
Pro Splitting and animations
Switching between workspaces is fluid, pulling up the workspace preview bumps up the rest of the desktop, open windows show up on the switcher along with larger icons, and everything is subtly animated. You have two windows taking each half the screen by dragging to corners.
Pro Highly modular
While built to be integrated, Pantheon is also highly modular. Shell components like the Panel, Dock, and app launcher can be swapped out with limited repercussions.
Pro Great for minimalists
Although you cannot put icons on desktop, it comes with very low number of pre-installed softwares.
Pro Perfect for chromebook
It's light and easy.
Pro Slick, smooth desktop environment
Easy to use and easy to configure, there is almost nothing that the developers did not think of to creat a top-notch user experience.
Pro It's unique
Different from any other WM which makes it a lot of fun to use.
Pro Rare, retro feel
The look of Windows Maker is reminiscent of NeXT's GUI and should be appreciated by those who enjoyed it for its retro feel.
Pro Lightweight and elegant
Window Maker is a very lightweight and elegant desktop with a dock for windows handling.
Pro Extensible with dockapps
Dockapps are available to extend the functionality of Window Maker.
Pro Actively developed
Window Maker is in active development. New features are added and bugs are bashed on a continuous basis.
Cons
Con Not ideal for enterprise environments
As it has no set release date, and no set support and/or EOL dates, that makes it a not so good choice for enterprises managing a number of machines where such dates are important to know before hand.
Con Few configuration options
It is pretty bare-bones on a stock install, but further configuration options can be added through various official tweak tools.
Con Too simple
Good for people who want a plug and play simple Desktop Environment. But for a multitasking / entertainment / cutting edge or Gaming Rig this is not the answer.
Con Slow maintenance
Any significant updates come with new release, which usually takes 2-3 years. Hence gets obsolete with current software.
Con Buggy
Con Not available for major Linux distributions
Con No icons on desktop
Con Uses GTK
Nowadays, GTK is designed with GNOME, and only GNOME, in mind. Non-GNOME applications which attempt to utilize it suffer as a result. Pantheon is no exception.
Con Looks and feels like a Mac
Which may turn quite a few people off with the aesthetics, of course for some people, this is a pro.
