SideDock
Download
The short answer
Droppy turns the notch into a live, useful strip. Dockset gives you one extra dock full of widgets. SideDock does both, at every edge of the screen, and adds Pip, a companion that does things for you. If you want only one of those things, the others are fine picks. If you want all of them in one app, that’s SideDock.
Docks and widgets
Dockset’s Custom Dock sits on the left, bottom or right of your screen, with 24 widgets to put in it. Droppy has no dock; its widgets live in the notch.
SideDock has docks in eight places: every edge, the four corners and under the notch. Push the pointer against one and it slides out, no click. Each holds apps, groups of apps, folders and more than 50 widgets, and your Mac’s CPU, memory, disk, network and battery are a hover away, beside your apps. Developers also get Local Servers and Docker widgets, which neither of the others has.
The notch
Droppy and SideDock both make the notch live: music, what’s next, downloads and the rest show around the camera, and it opens up when you want more. Dockset leaves the notch alone.
SideDock’s notch opens into Home (your music, your next event, the weather and Pip) with a tray for files one tab over, and comes in Black, Frosted or Dynamic Glass, which bends what’s behind it like a lens.
Coding agents
Both Droppy and SideDock show coding agents at work in the notch: Claude Code, Codex, Cursor and Antigravity. SideDock adds Hermes, and a click opens the whole session: what the agent did, which files it changed, and the terminal with its checks.
An assistant that does things
Droppy offers AI actions on text you select. SideDock has Pip: it tells you about your next meeting before it starts, keeps quiet during calls, and does things when you ask, from playing music to moving a meeting. It writes emails and messages as cards you check and send, and it uses the AI account you already have, so there’s no new subscription. Dockset has no assistant.
Price, trial and licenses
| SideDock | Droppy | Dockset | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $9, $16 or $23 at launch; then $19, $29 or $39 | $9.99 | From $14.99 |
| Free trial | 7 days, everything unlocked, no card | 3 days | None (14-day refund) |
| Macs per license | 1, 3 or 5 | 2 | 1, 2 or 3 |
| Updates | Every update to the version you buy | Every update | One year included |
| Payment | Once, no subscription | Once | Once |
At launch, SideDock for one Mac costs less than either of them. After launch it costs more than either, for one app that covers what both do, plus a system monitor.
Which one should you get?
- Droppy, if all you want is a smarter notch at a low price.
- Dockset, if you want a single widget dock and nothing in the notch.
- SideDock, if you want docks at every edge, a live notch, your Mac’s vitals and a companion that gets things done, in one app you pay for once.
The easy way to decide: SideDock is free for 7 days with everything unlocked. Try it for a week; if it doesn’t earn its spot, you’ve lost nothing.
A note on fairness
Compared using each app’s own website on October 14, 2026. Features and prices change, so check their sites for the latest. Droppy and Dockset are trademarks of their owners; SideDock isn’t affiliated with them. For the full side-by-side, see the Compare page.
Try SideDock free for 7 days
Everything unlocked, no card, no account. Pay once if it stays.