Spacepal vs Hyperjump

Pick Hyperjump if you want a focused, shipping Mac App Store app that names your Spaces, shows those names when you switch and in Mission Control, and comes in nine languages. Pick Spacepal if you want an overview with a preview of every Space, window search, and layouts that come back after a restart. Both are sold on the App Store; Spacepal also has a direct version with a few extra features.

Two App Store apps, two scopes

Hyperjump stays close to the core job: give each Space a name, colour and shortcut, show the name where you need it, and get you there fast. It runs inside the App Store sandbox and its privacy label says it collects no data.

Spacepal starts from the same names and shortcuts but builds a larger toolkit around them: a full-screen overview with previews, window tools, layouts, profiles and scripting. That means more to learn, and two permissions instead of one prompt.

Side by side

Competitor details checked 2026-10-27 from Hyperjump's Mac App Store page (description and version history). "Not stated" means the listing does not describe it.

What actually differs in daily use

How you find a Space

With Hyperjump you jump by name: from the menu bar, a shortcut, or Mission Control with your labels on top. With Spacepal you can do the same, or open the overview and pick a Space by what is on it. The overview also filters by window title, so typing "invoice" can take you to the Space where that document is open.

Moving windows

Hyperjump uses a clever method that works in the sandbox: hold a window by its title bar and press the shortcut of the Space you want; the window comes along. Spacepal moves the front window with ⌃⌥⇧ plus a number, or from a tile's menu in the overview. Its direct move works, with System Integrity Protection on, on macOS 14.0–14.4 and 26.4 and later. On other versions Spacepal falls back to the same title-bar method Hyperjump uses, done for you, and that fallback only works for the front window. Restoring a layout uses the direct move only, so on those versions it cannot put windows back on their Spaces. More in moving a window to another desktop.

Automation depth

Both run Shortcuts when you enter or leave a Space, which covers Focus modes, muting and most everyday automations. Spacepal adds a spacepal:// URL scheme, an AppleScript dictionary, a Raycast extension, profiles and templates. Whether you need any of that depends on how much you script your Mac.

The App Store question

Hyperjump is App Store only, which some people prefer for updates and refunds. Spacepal is on the App Store too, but the sandbox removes four direct-only features: four-finger tap, adding and removing desktops, restoring browser tabs and AltTab setup. If you want those, you would buy the direct version.

When Hyperjump is the better choice

• You want names, shortcuts and a name pop-up, and nothing more.
• You want the app in French, German, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish or Chinese.
• You want a shipping app with a known price, bought and updated through the App Store.
• You would rather not grant Screen Recording. Spacepal needs it for previews.
• You like cycling through recently used Spaces.

When Spacepal is the better choice

• You want to see every Space before you switch.
• You search for windows more than for Spaces.
• You lose your window arrangement after restarts or when you unplug a monitor, and you are on macOS 14.0–14.4 and 26.4 and later; see this guide.
• You are on macOS 14 Sonoma, which Hyperjump does not support.

Related

• How to rename desktops on a Mac
• Spacepal vs SpaceJump
• Spacepal vs WhichSpace
• All comparisons

We make Spacepal, so read this with that in mind. Competitor details come from their own sites and are dated; if something is out of date, email support@getspacepal.com and we will fix it.

Written by Dan Bayer, developer of Spacepal. Last updated 2026-10-27.