head to head · open source
Pearcleaner vs Reef
Pearcleaner has 15,029 GitHub stars, 401 forks, 84 open issues and last shipped 4 months ago. Reef has 616 stars, 34 forks, 37 open issues and last shipped 1 months ago. Pearcleaner leads on adoption by 2,340% (15,029 vs 616 stars). Pearcleaner is written in Swift under a custom or non-standard licence; Reef is written in Swift under MIT. Pearcleaner has attracted 3% as many forks as stars, Reef 6%. Reef was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| Pearcleaner | Reef | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 15K | ★ 616 |
| License | Custom / other | MIT |
| Written in | Swift | Swift |
| Last push | 2026-06-22 | 2026-09-26 |
| Forks | ⑂ 401 | ⑂ 34 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Pearcleaner if
- You weight community size — 15K stars and counting
- You want the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches Swift
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Reef if
- You want the Reef feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Swift
- You evaluated both and Reef fits your workflow better
About Pearcleaner
Pearcleaner Website The only legitimate website owned by me is Anything else offering Pearcleaner downloads is either a scam or not affiliated with me. More details HERE. Project Status: On Hold As you may have noticed, development on the app has basically stopped since end of 2025, so I wanted to provide some context. Between a new job, joining a friend who is building a SaaS company, and other life priorities, I no longer have the time needed to actively maintain or continue development on the project. Another major reason is that I previously relied on my work MacBook for development. After changing jobs, I…
read the full Pearcleaner overview →
About Reef
Reef The macOS window manager that gives every app its own Alt Tab. Download for macOS · GitHub Releases (Requires macOS 14.6+) How we made Reef (YouTube) Key Features Reef lets you bind applications to number keys and cycle through their windows with an Alt Tab like interface. We built Reef because we wanted a fast and simple window switcher for macOS. Bind applications to number keys to refocus to any window for that app Assign profiles for different sets of bindings Do your binding and profile management through the keyboard Customizable keyboard shortcuts Usage Binding You should start by binding different…
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Frequently asked questions
Is Pearcleaner or Reef more popular?
Pearcleaner has 15,029 GitHub stars and Reef has 616. Pearcleaner has the larger community by that measure.
Are Pearcleaner and Reef free?
Both are open source. Pearcleaner has no licence declared in this registry, and Reef is licensed under MIT. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between Pearcleaner and Reef?
Pearcleaner is written in Swift and Reef in Swift. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, Pearcleaner or Reef?
Choose Pearcleaner if you want the larger community (15,029 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose Reef if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.