Paul’s Dashboard and the alternatives.
Every app below is good at something, and each page says what. Pick the one you are weighing against 100 free widgets and see it axis by axis, including where the other app wins.
Feature by feature
Facts about the other apps come from their own sites and listings, checked October 2026. A question mark means we could not confirm it either way.
| Feature | Paul’s Dashboard | Rainmeter | Windows 11 Widgets | 8GadgetPack | Themia | DeskDash | Layer | Seelen UI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | ✓Free | ✓Free | ✓Built into Windows 11 | ✓Free | ½Free tier, Pro $19 | ✕€12 per PC | ✓Free | ✓Free |
| Widgets stay on the desktop | ✓ | ✓ | ✕Fly-out panel | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Ready to use without editing files | ✓ | ✕.ini skins | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Widgets included | ✓100 | ½Skins from the community | ½A handful plus apps’ widgets | ✓46 gadgets | ✓50 | ✓ | ✓About 32 | ✓Built-in modules |
| Themes and styling in settings | ✓20 themes, any font | ½In code | ✕Sizes only | ½Per gadget | ✓Presets | ✓ | ½Colour per widget | ✓ |
| Live data from web services | ✓18 services, custom REST | ½WebParser, plugins | ½Per widget | ½Per gadget | ✓Accounts, RSS, stocks | ✓Through widgets | ½Weather, media | ? |
| Email inbox | ✕ | ? | ✕ | ? | ✓Gmail, Outlook, IMAP | ? | ? | ? |
| Native notifications | ✓ | ✕ | ? | ✕ | ½Pomodoro only | ? | ? | ? |
| Workflows (schedules, hotkeys, webhooks) | ✓ | ½Lua in skins | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ | ? | ✕ | ? |
| Optional AI | ✓Local or your key | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ | ? | ✕ | ? |
| Community gallery | ✓Layouts | ✓Skins | ✕ | ½Old .gadget files | ? | ✓Marketplace | ✕ | ✓Themes, widgets |
| Build your own widgets | ✕ | ✓ | ½For app developers | ✓.gadget files | ? | ✓HTML, CSS, JS | ✕ | ✓SDK |
| Replaces the taskbar or tiles windows | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ | ½Taskbar options | ✕ | ✓Both |
| IT policy controls | ✓Policy file | ✕ | ✓Group Policy | ✕ | ? | ? | ? | ? |
| Translated into other languages | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ | ? | ✓11 | ? | ✓9 | ✓ |
| Open source | ✕ | ✓GPL | ✕ | ? | ✕ | ✕ | ✓MIT | ✓AGPL |
| Light on memory | ✕Electron | ✓ | ? | ✓ | ½Tauri | ? | ½Tauri, 16 MB | ½Tauri |
| Windows 10 | ✓ | ✓ | ✕Windows 11 only | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ? |
One app at a time
Rainmeter vs Paul’s Dashboard
The skin engine: infinite control, and you build it in .ini files.
Windows 11 Widgets vs Paul’s Dashboard
The built-in Win+W board: nothing to install, but it lives in a fly-out, not on your desktop.
8GadgetPack vs Paul’s Dashboard
The Windows 7 gadgets brought back: familiar and tiny, on a platform Microsoft retired for security.
Themia vs Paul’s Dashboard
A polished, newer widget app with email and calendar accounts; a free tier, $19 for Pro.
DeskDash vs Paul’s Dashboard
A paid wallpaper dashboard with a widget marketplace and SDK.
Layer vs Paul’s Dashboard
A small, free, open-source widget canvas with handy desktop tools.
Seelen UI vs Paul’s Dashboard
A whole desktop environment: tiling, a new taskbar and launcher. Pairs with widgets more than it competes.