DockApp vs DockDoor (2026)

A free add-on that layers previews onto your Dock, or a native-looking Dock replacement with it all built in? An honest head-to-head. Updated August 2026.

DockDoor and DockApp both make the Mac Dock better, but in opposite ways. DockDoor is a free, open-source add-on that layers live window previews and Alt-Tab switching onto the Dock you already have. DockApp replaces the Dock with a native-looking one that builds previews in — plus a real ⌘Tab switcher, snapping with saved layouts, and widgets. Full disclosure: I make DockApp, and DockDoor is genuinely excellent at what it does, so I'll tell you plainly when it's the better pick.

At a glance

What DockDoor is best at

DockDoor is free and open source, and it's excellent. Hover a Dock icon to peek at that app's open windows, flip between them with an Alt-Tab-style switcher, and drive it all with keyboard shortcuts and gestures. It feels like a native extension of macOS, keeps your data on your Mac, and leaves the system Dock exactly where it is — it just adds the peeking Apple never shipped. If live previews and Alt-Tab on your existing Dock are all you want, get DockDoor — it's free, it's good, and this page won't pretend otherwise.

What DockApp does differently

DockApp doesn't sit on top of your Dock; it replaces it with one that keeps the native macOS look and folds the extras in. You get the same live window previews on hover, plus a real ⌘Tab switcher that flips through every window, not just apps, and hands ⌘Tab back to macOS when you quit. Snap windows to halves, thirds and quarters, then save a whole arrangement as a layout and drop every open window back into place in one click. And you get the parts that have nothing to do with previews at all: live widgets in the Dock, app groups and folders, badges, custom icons, a shelf, focus-follows-mouse, and multi-display support.

It's built entirely on public Apple APIs and notarized, with no SIP disabling and no code injection, and nothing leaves your Mac — no accounts, no tracking. It's a one-time $9.99 (launch price), up to three Macs, 14-day refund, on macOS 26+.

Add-on or replacement?

This is the real decision, and it's not about which is "better" — it's about what you want to change. DockDoor enhances the Dock you love: keep Apple's Dock exactly as-is and bolt on the one thing it's missing. DockApp rethinks the Dock: swap it for a native-looking one where the previews, the switcher, the snapping, and the widgets are all one app you configure in one place. If you're happy with the Mac Dock and just want previews, the add-on is the lighter path. If you'd rather have the whole thing reimagined without stitching several tools together, the replacement is the point.

Free vs paid

No spin here: DockDoor is free and open source; DockApp is $9.99 once. If free previews on your current Dock are all you need, DockDoor wins on price outright. DockApp asks for a one-time $9.99 because it's doing more — a full Dock replacement with a switcher, snapping with saved layouts, and widgets built in — and it stays a one-time purchase, up to three Macs, with no subscription and a 14-day refund if it isn't for you.

Which should you pick?

• You just want window previews and Alt-Tab on your existing Dock, for free → DockDoor.
• You want to keep Apple's Dock as-is and only add peeking → DockDoor.
• You want a native-looking Dock replacement with previews, a real ⌘Tab switcher, snapping with saved layouts, and widgets in one app → DockApp.

Weighing more than these two? See the full roundup of the best Mac Dock apps, or the DockApp vs uBar, DockApp vs ActiveDock, DockApp vs Magnet, DockApp vs Moom, and DockApp vs Rectangle head-to-heads.