HONEST COMPARISON · CHECKED 2026-09-24
Hangly vs Charmly
Near-identical in concept — a charm on a cord with real pendulum physics that stays out of your clicks. Hangly's difference is reach: Windows including native ARM64, eleven collections, and your own images as charms.
Free download • macOS 14+ and Windows 10+ •
Quick answer
Near-identical in concept: a charm on a cord with real pendulum physics that never intercepts a click. Charmly is a focused Mac app. Hangly adds Windows including native ARM64, eleven collections, custom charms from your own images, three cord styles and adjustable sizing, and is free.
Key takeaways
- Same core idea, down to the pendulum physics
- Charmly is Mac only; Hangly also runs on Windows including ARM64
- Hangly ships 80+ charms across 11 collections
- Only Hangly accepts your own images
- Charmly is the more focused product
What is Charmly?
Charmly, distributed through Glaze, hangs a good-luck charm from the top of your screen and leaves it there. It sways on its cord all day with real pendulum physics.
Taken from their own site on 2026-09-24. Products change — check theirs before deciding.
How Hangly differs
The core idea is the same, down to the pendulum physics. Hangly adds platform reach — Windows 10+ on x64 and native ARM64 — plus eleven named collections, custom charms from your own images, three cord styles and adjustable sizing.
Feature comparison
| Feature | Hangly | Charmly |
|---|---|---|
| macOS | 14+, Apple Silicon & Intel | Yes |
| Windows | 10+, x64 and native ARM64 | No |
| Pendulum physics | Yes | Yes |
| Custom images | Yes | Not advertised |
| Collections | 11 named | Not published |
| Price | Free, no paid tier | See their listing |
| Distribution | Direct download, signed & notarised | Through Glaze |
Performance
Both simulate a pendulum, which is arithmetic rather than a load. Hangly stops the simulation once the charm settles. Neither publishes benchmarks.
Customisation
Hangly ships more of it: eleven collections, over eighty charms, three cords, adjustable size and any image as a charm. Charmly presents a focused charm set.
Privacy
Hangly documents its collection in full, requires no account and never reads your screen. Charmly's terms are published through Glaze.
Platform support
Hangly: macOS 14+ and Windows 10+ including native ARM64. Charmly: presented as a Mac app.
Where each one wins
Choose Charmly if…
- A focused Mac-only product with less surface area
- Distribution through Glaze, if you already use it
Choose Hangly if…
- Windows 10+ including native ARM64
- Eleven themed collections
- Custom charms from your own images
- Three cord styles and adjustable sizing
Direct answers
Which is better for Mac?
On Mac alone they are very close — both hang a charm on a cord with pendulum physics and neither intercepts clicks. Hangly ships more charms and accepts your own images; Charmly is the more focused product.
Which uses fewer resources?
Neither publishes figures, and both simulate a single pendulum, which is trivial arithmetic. Hangly stops simulating once the charm is at rest.
Which has more customisation?
Hangly: eleven collections, over eighty charms, three cord styles, adjustable size and custom images from your own files.
Which works on Windows?
Hangly. Charmly is presented as a Mac app; Hangly runs on Windows 10 and later, including a native ARM64 build.
Which is best for menu bar customisation?
Hangly runs from the macOS menu bar and the Windows system tray, but it is not a menu bar customisation tool — it hangs a charm below the menu bar rather than changing the bar itself. For rearranging or hiding menu bar items, a dedicated utility such as Bartender or Ice is the right category. Hangly sits alongside those rather than replacing them.
Frequently asked questions
Does Charmly work on Windows?
Charmly is presented as a Mac app. Hangly runs on Windows 10 and later, including a native ARM64 build.
Is there a free Charmly alternative?
Hangly is free with no paid tier and covers the same idea — a charm on a cord with pendulum physics that ignores clicks.
More questions about Hangly are answered on the FAQ page, and the guides cover the wider category.
Best for
- Anyone on Windows
- Charmly is presented as a Mac app; Hangly runs on Windows 10+ including ARM64.
- Someone who wants one charm and no settings
- Charmly is deliberately focused.
- Someone with a photo they want hanging
- Hangly turns any image into a charm.
Alternatives
- Hangly vs Lucky Dangle The closest comparison in this list. Both hang a charm on a cord from the top of the screen, on Mac and Windows, and both stay out of every click. Hangly's advantage is breadth: charms made from your own images, eleven themed collections, and adjustable cords and sizing.
- Hangly vs Screen Dangle Both free, both Mac and Windows. The difference is philosophy: Screen Dangle presents itself as a studio for building a charm, Hangly as a library you choose from — with your own images as an option rather than the starting point.
- Hangly vs DangleJoy Very close in intent — animated charms that hang and sway, with cultural and lucky symbols at the centre of both. Hangly's edge is being free, covering Windows ARM64, and accepting your own artwork.
- Hangly vs Shimeji Both let you put your own artwork on screen, and there the similarity ends. Shimeji characters roam, climb windows and throw them about, and the popular version today is a browser extension. Hangly is a native desktop app with a charm that stays where you hang it.
- Hangly vs Desktop Goose These are opposites that appeal to the same instinct. Desktop Goose drags mud across your screen and steals your cursor, deliberately. Hangly hangs one charm that cannot interrupt anything. Choose by whether you want to be interfered with.
- Hangly vs RunCat Not really competitors. RunCat is a system monitor in a cat costume: the animation speed reports your CPU load. Hangly is decoration with no monitoring function. Running both is sensible and common.
- Hangly vs Dockling Dockling is a productivity companion that happens to be charming — Pomodoro, streaks, quick notes, $2.99 once. Hangly is decoration that deliberately adds nothing to your workflow. Choose by whether you want your ornament to also prompt you.
- Every desktop charm app for Mac, compared The whole category in one table, including the ones with no page here.
In short
If you are on a Mac and want the simplest version of this idea, Charmly is a reasonable choice. If you want more charms, your own images, or Windows, Hangly.