Alternatives
A free Alcove alternative
Updated October 23, 2026 ยท By valenxi, who makes Nano
Alcove is a polished, paid Dynamic Island for the Mac. If you'd rather not pay, or you're still on macOS 14, Nano is a free and open source alternative.
Nano and Alcove
| Nano | Alcove | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | $13.99 once, up to 3 Macs |
| Open source | Yes, MIT | No |
| macOS | 14.6+ | 15+ |
| Music | Apple Music and Spotify | Live Activities |
| Calendar, weather and timer | Yes | |
| File tray | Yes | |
| Custom HUDs | Volume, brightness, Bluetooth and charging | Yes |
| Lock Screen widgets | No | Yes |
| Coding agent approvals | Yes, 13 agents | No |
| Voice dictation | Yes, runs on your Mac | No |
| Homebrew | valenxi0/tap/nano | alcove |
Blank cells are things Alcove's site doesn't list.
Where Alcove is stronger
Alcove has Lock Screen widgets, swipe gestures and a very refined feel. If those matter most, it's worth the price.
Where Nano is stronger
Nano is free, runs on macOS 14.6, and does more in the notch: a full dashboard, a file tray, coding agent approvals and usage limits, local dictation and per-app volume.
Nano is free and open source under the MIT license. It needs macOS 14.6 or later on an Apple silicon Mac, works around the notch or floating below the menu bar on Macs without one, and is signed with a Developer ID and notarized by Apple.
Try Nano
- Download the latest .dmg from GitHub Releases, or run
brew install --cask valenxi0/tap/nanowith Homebrew. - Open it and drag Nano to Applications.
- Open Nano. Setup asks only for the permissions the features you pick need.
The source is on GitHub.