GUIDE · CHECKED 2026-10-09
Best Desktop Pets for Windows
The best free desktop pets for Windows 10 and 11 in October 2026 are Pets Therapy for the biggest library, OpenPets if you want open source and an AI assistant, Desktop Goose if you want to be pestered on purpose, and VPet or Bongo Cat if you want a game. If you want something on your screen that never moves on its own or asks for attention, a desktop charm such as Hangly is the calmer choice.
Key takeaways
- Pets Therapy: the largest pet library, free, on Windows 10 and 11, Mac and Linux
- OpenPets: free, open source, with plugins and an AI assistant
- Desktop Goose: deliberately disruptive, for fun rather than work
- VPet and Bongo Cat: closer to games, on Windows
- Hangly: not a pet but a calm charm that never interrupts, free, with a native ARM64 build
What a desktop pet is, on Windows
A desktop pet is a small animated character that lives on top of your windows: it walks along the taskbar, chases the cursor, sleeps, or does something silly. The idea is as old as Windows itself; today's versions add physics, AI assistants and custom characters.
On Windows 10 and 11 most pets are free, and most ship as an ordinary installer, a Microsoft Store listing or a Steam app. Steam ones need Steam running, which is a heavier dependency than the rest.
How to choose
Three questions settle it.
- Do you want it to interrupt you? Desktop Goose does, on purpose. Pets Therapy, OpenPets and VPet mostly do not. A charm never does.
- Do you want something to do? VPet and Bongo Cat are closer to games; Pets Therapy lets you feed and play; OpenPets now has an assistant.
- Is your PC on ARM (Snapdragon)? Look for a native ARM64 build. Hangly has one; most pets run under x64 emulation.
Pet or charm?
A charm hangs from one point at the top of the screen and sways. It has no needs and never wanders, and clicks pass straight through everywhere but the charm itself. If you have tried pets and found them distracting during work, a charm is the version that stays.
The apps, compared
| App | What it does | Platforms | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pets Therapy | Pets roam freely across the screen — apes, dinosaurs, cats, dogs, a chef — and you can feed them, hand them toys and watch them talk to each other. Over a hundred pets, with custom pets supported. | macOS (Apple Silicon native), Windows 10 and 11, Linux | Free on the Mac App Store, with a supporters tier |
| OpenPets | Free open-source desktop pets with a pet gallery, a plugin SDK, optional coding-tool integrations and, since v4, an AI assistant you can type or talk to. | Windows, macOS, Linux | Free, open source |
| Desktop Goose | A desktop pet that actively interferes with your work — tracking mud across the screen, dragging notes into view and stealing the cursor. | Windows and macOS | Pay what you want |
| Shimeji | Little characters that move around and interact with elements while you browse, now most popular as a browser extension. | Browser extension, plus legacy desktop builds | Free |
| VPet Simulator | An open-source virtual pet with game mechanics: feeding, levelling up and earning virtual currency. | Windows; Linux via Wine | Free, open source |
| Bongo Cat | A taskbar cat that drums along with your keystrokes, with cosmetic customisation. | Windows and macOS, via Steam | Free, with paid cosmetic DLC |
| DangleJoy | Animated charms that hang, sway and move on screen: more than 30, from the Maneki Neko and Omamori to film stars, with your own custom charms. | macOS 13+ (Mac App Store), Windows, Android | One-time: $3.99 on the Mac App Store; $4.99 lifetime elsewhere |
| Desk Dangle | A small companion that hangs from the screen edge or the MacBook notch and swings when flicked: evil eye, nimbu mirchi, superheroes and a cat, or any PNG, JPG or WebP of your own. | macOS 11+ (universal), Windows 10 and 11 (Microsoft Store or .exe) | Free |
| Hangly | Hangs a charm from the top of your screen on a cord with real pendulum physics. 161 charms across 21 collections, plus any image of your own as a charm. | macOS 14+ (Apple Silicon & Intel), Windows 10 1809+ (x64), Windows 11 (native ARM64) | Free |
Pets Therapy
Best for: The largest pet library, and the only one that genuinely runs on all three desktop platforms
Their own site states 'offline, signed out, never pay-to-win'. The free tier is 37 pets forever rather than a trial.
OpenPets
Best for: People who want open source and to modify the pet
The only genuinely open-source pet app in this list; increasingly an assistant as well as a pet.
Desktop Goose
Best for: People who want to be interrupted, as a joke
Deliberately disruptive. Not suitable during meetings or screen shares.
Shimeji
Best for: A huge community library of roaming characters
Confined to web pages in its extension form. Characters need a sprite sheet.
VPet Simulator
Best for: People who want a pet to play rather than a pet to look at
No native macOS build. Closer to a game than to decoration.
Bongo Cat
Best for: A keyboard-reactive companion, distributed through Steam
Needs Steam installed and running, which is a heavier dependency than the rest of this list.
DangleJoy
Best for: Cultural and celebrity charms, and Android as well as desktop
Its site is in 12 languages, including Tamil, Hindi and Arabic.
Desk Dangle
Best for: A free charm that can hang from the MacBook notch
Free with no account; on the Microsoft Store. A small built-in set of charms.
Hangly
Best for: Anyone who wants decoration that never interrupts, on Mac or Windows
Both builds are at 2.3.1 and released together; the Windows build is not code-signed yet.
Every product read from its own site on 2026-10-09. Products change — check before deciding.
The short answer
For a free pet on Windows, start with Pets Therapy or OpenPets. For a laugh, Desktop Goose. For something you will keep during real work, a charm: Hangly is free on Windows 10 and 11, with 161 charms and a native ARM64 build.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best free desktop pet for Windows 11?
Pets Therapy for the largest library, and OpenPets if you want open source and an AI assistant; both are free. If you want calm decoration rather than a pet, Hangly is free on Windows 11 with a native ARM64 build.
Is there a desktop pet for Windows 10?
Yes. Pets Therapy, OpenPets, Desktop Goose, Shimeji-ee and VPet all run on Windows 10, and so does Hangly, a desktop charm, on version 1809 and later.
Do desktop pets slow down Windows?
Not much, but a pet that walks and animates all day costs more than one that rests. A charm that stops simulating when it hangs still costs almost nothing.
Should I get a desktop pet or a desktop charm on Windows?
A pet if you want company that moves, reacts and sometimes interrupts; a charm if you want the screen to feel like yours without anything asking for attention. Hangly is a free charm for Windows 10 and 11.
In short
Pick a pet for company and a charm for calm. Pets Therapy and OpenPets are the best free pets on Windows today; Desktop Goose is a joke you will enjoy for a week; Hangly is what to install if you want the desktop to feel like yours during real work.
Try Hangly
Free on macOS 14+ and Windows 10+, including native ARM64. 161 charms across 21 collections, and any image of your own as a charm.
Free download • macOS 14+ and Windows 10+ • • Install help
Alternatives
- Best Desktop Pets for Mac
- Desktop Goose Alternatives
- Hangly vs OpenPets
- Hangly for Windows
- The best Mac customization apps Most people need three apps, not eleven, and all three can be free.
- Best Desktop Charm Apps for Mac A desktop charm hangs from the top of your screen and sways, staying out of every click.
- Best Menu Bar Customisation Apps for Mac Menu bar customisation covers three different jobs, and most guides confuse them.