When comparing Slate vs Cinch, the Slant community recommends Slate for most people. In the question“What is the best window manager for Mac?” Slate is ranked 4th while Cinch is ranked 36th. The most important reason people chose Slate is:
Slate is similar to Linux WMs like Xmonad in that it is nearly infinitely configurable. You can either use the default configuration file or just Javascript for very complex/dynamic settings. Slate also offers editing a ".js" or a ".slate" file for configuration.
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Pros
Pro Extremely configurable
Slate is similar to Linux WMs like Xmonad in that it is nearly infinitely configurable. You can either use the default configuration file or just Javascript for very complex/dynamic settings. Slate also offers editing a ".js" or a ".slate" file for configuration.
Pro Based on hotkeys
Hotkeys can be set to re-size and focus windows, as well as activate layout presets.
Pro It's free
Slate is completely free to download and use, which is a great option in a field of Mac WMs that often costs money to use.
Pro Allows for tiling
Slate allows for customizing the config file in order to emulate tiling windows.
Pro Lets you set default layouts
By using a feature called "snapshots", users can set up different default window layouts in Slate that they can switch to and from on the fly.
Pro Window hints
Slate offers window hints which are an intuitive way to change window focus.
Pro Free and paid versions
There are both versions of Cinch available, though the free version can be naggy.
Pro Simple and easy to use
So simple, even my grandma can use it
Cons
Con Project is no longer in development
Development is no longer active on this project as of 2017.
Con Hard to configure
There's no graphical user interface for configuring Slate, meaning it has to be done from the command line interface or by editing a config file. This makes it somewhat difficult and time-consuming.
Con Missing features
Unable to perform all tasks of software it was meant to replace.
Can not move windows between 'Spaces' (virtual desktops).
Con Video fail
Demonstration video failed to highlight any of the advantages of the windowing system. Or at least, the advantages were so subtly intrinsic that no-one who didn't already use the system could appreciate them.
Con Does not support the border of multiple displays well
When using multiple displays, the ability to dock a window to half of a display only works on one side of the screen divide. It can work (with some very careful cursor placement) only on the external monitor and not dividing edge of the native (laptop) monitor. It does not support quarter-splits either.
Bottom line, this was a great initial app, adding this capability before anyone else did, but it has been eclipsed by newer apps.