HONEST COMPARISON · CHECKED 2026-10-09
Hangly vs DeskCharm
DeskCharm is a developer's project; Hangly is a finished app. Both are free, and both have open source on GitHub.
Free download • macOS 14+ and Windows 10+ • • Install help
Quick answer
DeskCharm is a small open-source (MIT) charm app you build yourself from source with Node.js and Rust; ten charms from around the world each have a click ritual, or you can use any emoji. Hangly is a ready-to-install free app with 161 charms and your own images.
Key takeaways
- DeskCharm is open source under MIT, built with Tauri; Hangly's Windows app is open source under MIT too
- DeskCharm published no installers on 9 October 2026: you build it from source
- DeskCharm: ten charms with click rituals and sounds, or any emoji
- Hangly: 161 charms and your own images, as signed downloads for Mac and Windows
What is DeskCharm?
DeskCharm is a transparent, always-on-top overlay where a single charm hangs on a simulated thread. Clicking triggers its ritual (a small animation and sound); right-click opens a picker. Ten charms from Turkey, the Middle East, Ireland, Japan, Egypt, India and China are included, or any emoji. It is built with Tauri, React and TypeScript under the MIT licence, and on 9 October 2026 it published no installers.
Taken from their own site on 2026-10-09. Products change — check theirs before deciding.
How Hangly differs
Hangly is downloaded and installed like any app, updates itself, and ships 161 charms across 21 collections with your own images. Its Windows app is open source on GitHub under MIT.
Feature comparison
| Feature | Hangly | DeskCharm |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free, MIT |
| Install | Download for Mac or Windows | Build from source (Node.js, Rust, Tauri) |
| Charms | 161 | Ten, plus any emoji |
| Click rituals | No | Yes, with sound |
| Updates | Automatic | Rebuild from the repository |
| Source | Windows app on GitHub (MIT) | On GitHub (MIT) |
Performance
Both draw one charm in a transparent window. Neither publishes measurements.
Customisation
DeskCharm: ten charms with rituals, or any emoji. Hangly: 161 charms, nine ropes, size, up to three charms on one rope, display, and any image.
Privacy
Hangly needs no account and never reads your screen, your files or the images you turn into charms. It does register each installation with its developer (a random ID, the nickname you choose, your city worked out from your connection, your versions and when it was used) and sends anonymous usage events and crash reports; the privacy page lists all of it. DeskCharm, built from source, sends whatever its code sends; you can read all of it.
Platform support
Hangly: macOS 14+; Windows 10 (version 1809)+ on x64 and Windows 11 on native ARM64. DeskCharm: wherever you build it with Tauri (macOS, Windows, Linux).
Where each one wins
Choose DeskCharm if…
- A ritual and sound for every charm
- Linux, if you build it there
- Small enough to read in an afternoon
Choose Hangly if…
- Installs in a click; no toolchain needed
- 161 charms and your own images
- Updates itself
Direct answers
Which is better for Mac?
Hangly, unless you want to build and modify the app yourself.
Which uses fewer resources?
Neither publishes figures; both are one charm in a transparent window.
Which has more customisation?
Hangly, as an app. DeskCharm, if you count changing its source.
Is DeskCharm open source?
Yes, MIT. Hangly's Windows app is open source under MIT too.
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
How do I install DeskCharm?
On 9 October 2026 it had no published releases: you install Node.js, Rust and the Tauri dependencies and build it. Hangly downloads ready to run.
Every Hangly charm is listed on the charms page, including the twelve cultural luck and protection charms this category competes on. More questions are answered on the FAQ page, and the guides cover the wider category.
Best for
- A developer who wants to hack on a charm app
- DeskCharm is small, MIT-licensed and welcomes pull requests.
- Someone who wants to download and use one
- Hangly installs in a click on Mac and Windows.
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 advantages are price and breadth: free, 161 charms across 21 collections, nine rope styles and a native ARM64 build. Lucky Dangle's is its rituals.
- 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, and your own images welcome in both. Hangly's edge is being free, with five times the charms and a native Windows ARM64 build. DangleJoy's is reach: Android, the Mac App Store and a site in 12 languages.
- 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, 21 collections, and your own images as charms.
- 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.
- Hangly vs Screen Charms Close in what they do, different in how they charge. Screen Charms gives you one charm free and the rest for $4.99, plus a focus timer. Hangly gives you all 161 charms and custom images free, and runs on Windows too.
- Hangly vs Desk Dangle The closest free pair in the category. Both hang a swinging charm on Mac and Windows, both are click-through, and both take your own images. Desk Dangle is smaller and can use the notch; Hangly is the bigger library.
- Hangly vs Book My Luck The same idea at different prices. Book My Luck is a one-time licence per computer with seasonal collections; Hangly is free with a far larger catalogue.
- Hangly vs Drishti Dangle Both are built around Indian charms. Drishti Dangle adds musical wind chimes and animated 3D models for ₹99, but could not be bought on 9 October 2026. Hangly is free and available now.
- Hangly vs OpenPets Different kinds of thing. OpenPets is an animated pet and, now, an assistant; Hangly is an ornament.
- Hangly vs Cat Fidget A pet and a charm. Cat Fidget wins on privacy and on things to do; Hangly wins on platforms and on asking nothing of you.
- Hangly vs Dockitty Two small delights in different places: the Dock and the top of the screen.
- Hangly vs Googly Eyes Both free, both whimsical, in different places.
- Hangly vs Oneko Different eras and different platforms: Oneko for X11, Hangly for Mac and Windows.
- Every desktop charm app for Mac, compared The whole category in one table, including the ones with no page here.
In short
For a developer who wants to read and change every line of a charm app, DeskCharm is a neat starting point. For anyone who wants to install one and use it, Hangly.