HONEST COMPARISON · CHECKED 2026-10-09
Hangly vs Googly Eyes
Both free, both whimsical, in different places.
Free download • macOS 14+ and Windows 10+ • • Install help
Quick answer
Googly Eyes, by Sindre Sorhus, puts a pair of eyes in the Mac menu bar that follow your cursor and blink when you click. It is free and needs macOS 26. Hangly hangs a swinging charm below the menu bar, on Mac and Windows.
Key takeaways
- Googly Eyes lives in the menu bar; Hangly hangs below it
- Both are free
- Googly Eyes needs macOS 26; Hangly runs on macOS 14 and Windows
What is Googly Eyes?
Googly Eyes is a free Mac app by Sindre Sorhus that adds a pair of eyes to the menu bar; they follow your cursor and blink when you click. It requires macOS 26.
Taken from their own site on 2026-10-09. Products change — check theirs before deciding.
How Hangly differs
Hangly hangs a charm below the menu bar on a swinging rope, on macOS 14 and later and on Windows.
Feature comparison
| Feature | Hangly | Googly Eyes |
|---|---|---|
| Where it lives | Below the menu bar | In the menu bar |
| Price | Free | Free |
| macOS | 14+ | 26+ |
| Windows | Yes | No |
Performance
Its developer notes Googly Eyes uses more CPU than its developer would like, because macOS updates menu bar items inefficiently. Hangly idles at rest.
Customisation
Googly Eyes: the eyes. Hangly: 161 charms, nine ropes, size and your own 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.
Platform support
Hangly: macOS 14+; Windows 10 (version 1809)+ and Windows 11 on ARM. Googly Eyes: macOS 26+.
Where each one wins
Choose Googly Eyes if…
- Helps you find your cursor
- From a well-known Mac developer
Choose Hangly if…
- Runs on macOS 14 and 15, and on Windows
- 161 charms and your own images
Direct answers
Which is better for Mac?
Both are fun. Googly Eyes if you are on macOS 26 and want eyes in the menu bar; Hangly for a swinging charm, on macOS 14 and later.
Which uses fewer resources?
Googly Eyes' developer says it uses more CPU than they would like, because of how macOS updates menu bar items. Hangly idles at rest.
Which has more customisation?
Hangly.
What are fun free Mac apps for the menu bar?
Googly Eyes for eyes that watch your cursor, RunCat for a CPU meter that runs, and Hangly for a charm that hangs below the bar.
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
Is Googly Eyes free?
Yes, and it needs macOS 26 (9 October 2026). Hangly is free and runs on macOS 14 and later.
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
- Someone who loses their cursor
- Googly Eyes always looks at it.
- Anyone on macOS 14 or 15, or Windows
- Googly Eyes needs macOS 26.
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 DeskCharm DeskCharm is a developer's project; Hangly is a finished app. Both are free, and both have open source on GitHub.
- 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 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
A tiny joke and a tiny charm. Googly Eyes for eyes that watch your cursor; Hangly for something that swings.