When comparing KWM vs Yabai, the Slant community recommends KWM for most people. In the question“What is the best window manager for Mac?” KWM is ranked 18th while Yabai is ranked 23rd. The most important reason people chose KWM is:
For those who would like the same tiling window management of Xmonad and i3.
Specs
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Works in the same way that Xmonad & i3 does for Linux
For those who would like the same tiling window management of Xmonad and i3.
Pro Runs in the background
The application runs in the background. There is no indication that it is running except the automatic tiling of the windows. There is no menu bar icon or icon in the dock.
Pro Windows respond very fast
Most users claim the tiling and splitting of the windows in KWM respond more quickly and more reliably than the only other known window manager of its type: Amethyst.
Pro Software is free and open source
Pro Highly configurable
Using the config file (kwmrc) you can configure a variety of options including Window spacing and padding, borders, hot-key commands, etc... There are those who would say that the possibilities are limitless.
Pro Fast
Pro Integrates with other apps
Like skhd, sketchybar, hammerspoon scripts, ubersicht
Gives you more control and oversight of your machine
Pro Actively developed
Pro Reliable
Pro Extremely programmable
Cons
Con No longer being developed
Sadly the developer has moved on to work on a different project (chunkwm), so there will be no more updates for KWM. However the code works well; no matter what version of macOS you are using.
Con Takes long to set up
You need to use the terminal and edit the configuration file in order to adjust it to the way you want. This might be a little confusing for basic users. But once you have it set, you can just copy the config file and use it on a multiple amount of machines.
Con You need HomeBrew to install it
Homebrew is required to install it. Takes more to get it work in the terminal to get it installed and working on your system.
Con Can be a steep learning curve at first
Con Needs disabling SIP to get full benefit
SIP is a security feature for Mac. You can use most of the features without disabling it.
Con Needs additional tools to get the full benefit
Install "skhd" to use keyboard shortcuts