HONEST COMPARISON · CHECKED 2026-09-24
Hangly vs RunCat
Not really competitors. RunCat is a system monitor in a cat costume: the animation speed reports your CPU load. Hangly is decoration with no monitoring function. Running both is sensible and common.
Free download • macOS 14+ and Windows 10+ • • Install help
Quick answer
These are not alternatives. RunCat animates a menu bar icon at a speed set by CPU load, so it is a system monitor. Hangly hangs a decorative charm and reports nothing. They occupy different slots and running both is common and sensible.
Key takeaways
- RunCat reports CPU, memory and network through animation speed
- Hangly is decoration with no monitoring function
- RunCat is macOS only; Hangly also runs on Windows
- Neither replaces the other
- Running both together is normal
What is RunCat?
RunCat, by Takuto Nakamura, is a macOS menu bar application that animates a running character whose speed reflects CPU usage, with variants reporting memory, network and other system metrics.
Taken from their own site on 2026-09-24. Products change — check theirs before deciding.
How Hangly differs
Purpose. RunCat tells you something — how hard your machine is working — through the speed of an animation. Hangly tells you nothing and is not trying to; it is an ornament. They occupy different slots and do not conflict.
Feature comparison
| Feature | Hangly | RunCat |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Decoration | System monitoring |
| Reports CPU load | No | Yes |
| Platforms | macOS 14+, Windows 10+ | macOS |
| Where it lives | Hangs below the menu bar | Menu bar icon |
| Customisation | 161 charms, your own images | Many runner characters |
| Price | Free | Free |
Performance
RunCat polls system metrics continuously, which is its function, and animates at a rate tied to load. Hangly does no polling at all and stops animating when the charm settles. Both are light; neither is a reason to choose.
Customisation
RunCat offers many runner characters within a fixed menu bar slot. Hangly offers 161 charms, 21 collections, nine rope styles, adjustable size and any image. Different axes.
Privacy
Neither requires an account. RunCat reads system performance counters, which is what it is for. Hangly needs no account and never reads your screen, your files or the images you turn into charms. It does register each installation with its developer (a random ID, the nickname you choose, your city worked out from your connection, your versions and when it was used) and sends anonymous usage events and crash reports; the privacy page lists all of it.
Platform support
Hangly: macOS 14+ and Windows 10+ including ARM64. RunCat: macOS.
Where each one wins
Choose RunCat if…
- Tells you something useful — CPU, memory and network at a glance
- A minimal footprint entirely inside the menu bar
- A long-established Mac utility with a large following
Choose Hangly if…
- Windows as well as macOS
- 161 charms plus your own images
- A visible presence on screen rather than a small icon
Direct answers
Which is better for Mac?
They are not alternatives. RunCat if you want a CPU indicator that is pleasant to look at; Hangly if you want decoration. Many people run both, because they occupy different slots.
Which uses fewer resources?
Hangly does less work: it polls nothing and stops animating when the charm is at rest. RunCat polls system metrics continuously because that is its function. Both are light.
Which has more customisation?
Different axes. RunCat offers many runner characters inside one menu bar slot. Hangly offers 161 charms, nine ropes, adjustable size and any image, hanging anywhere along the screen top.
Which is best for desktop charms specifically?
Hangly. RunCat is a system monitor and does not hang charms.
Which is best for menu bar customisation?
RunCat, within its own definition — it replaces a menu bar icon with a live animation. Neither app rearranges or hides menu bar items; for that, a utility such as Bartender or Ice is the right category.
Frequently asked questions
Is Hangly a RunCat alternative?
Not a replacement — they do different jobs. RunCat shows system load through animation speed; Hangly is purely decorative. If you want both, run both.
Is there a RunCat for Windows?
RunCat is a Mac utility. If what you want on Windows is something charming on screen rather than a CPU monitor, Hangly runs natively on Windows including ARM64.
Every Hangly charm is listed on the charms page, including the twelve cultural luck and protection charms this category competes on. More questions are answered on the FAQ page, and the guides cover the wider category.
Best for
- Someone watching CPU load
- RunCat is a monitor; Hangly reports nothing.
- Someone on Windows
- RunCat is Mac only.
- Someone who wants both
- They do not conflict — different slots, different jobs.
Alternatives
- Hangly vs Lucky Dangle The closest comparison in this list. Both hang a charm on a cord from the top of the screen, on Mac and Windows, and both stay out of every click. Hangly's advantages are price and breadth: free, 161 charms across 21 collections, nine rope styles and a native ARM64 build. Lucky Dangle's is its rituals.
- Hangly vs Screen Dangle Both free, both Mac and Windows. The difference is philosophy: Screen Dangle presents itself as a studio for building a charm, Hangly as a library you choose from — with your own images as an option rather than the starting point.
- Hangly vs DangleJoy Very close in intent: animated charms that hang and sway, with cultural and lucky symbols at the centre of both, and your own images welcome in both. Hangly's edge is being free, with five times the charms and a native Windows ARM64 build. DangleJoy's is reach: Android, the Mac App Store and a site in 12 languages.
- Hangly vs Charmly Near-identical in concept — a charm on a cord with real pendulum physics that stays out of your clicks. Hangly's difference is reach: Windows including native ARM64, 21 collections, and your own images as charms.
- Hangly vs Shimeji Both let you put your own artwork on screen, and there the similarity ends. Shimeji characters roam, climb windows and throw them about, and the popular version today is a browser extension. Hangly is a native desktop app with a charm that stays where you hang it.
- Hangly vs Desktop Goose These are opposites that appeal to the same instinct. Desktop Goose drags mud across your screen and steals your cursor, deliberately. Hangly hangs one charm that cannot interrupt anything. Choose by whether you want to be interfered with.
- Hangly vs Dockling Dockling is a productivity companion that happens to be charming — Pomodoro, streaks, quick notes, $2.99 once. Hangly is decoration that deliberately adds nothing to your workflow. Choose by whether you want your ornament to also prompt you.
- Hangly vs Screen Charms Close in what they do, different in how they charge. Screen Charms gives you one charm free and the rest for $4.99, plus a focus timer. Hangly gives you all 161 charms and custom images free, and runs on Windows too.
- Hangly vs Desk Dangle The closest free pair in the category. Both hang a swinging charm on Mac and Windows, both are click-through, and both take your own images. Desk Dangle is smaller and can use the notch; Hangly is the bigger library.
- Hangly vs Book My Luck The same idea at different prices. Book My Luck is a one-time licence per computer with seasonal collections; Hangly is free with a far larger catalogue.
- Hangly vs Drishti Dangle Both are built around Indian charms. Drishti Dangle adds musical wind chimes and animated 3D models for ₹99, but could not be bought on 9 October 2026. Hangly is free and available now.
- Hangly vs DeskCharm DeskCharm is a developer's project; Hangly is a finished app. Both are free, and both have open source on GitHub.
- Hangly vs OpenPets Different kinds of thing. OpenPets is an animated pet and, now, an assistant; Hangly is an ornament.
- Hangly vs Cat Fidget A pet and a charm. Cat Fidget wins on privacy and on things to do; Hangly wins on platforms and on asking nothing of you.
- Hangly vs Dockitty Two small delights in different places: the Dock and the top of the screen.
- Hangly vs Googly Eyes Both free, both whimsical, in different places.
- Hangly vs Oneko Different eras and different platforms: Oneko for X11, Hangly for Mac and Windows.
- Every desktop charm app for Mac, compared The whole category in one table, including the ones with no page here.
In short
Not competitors. If you want to know what your machine is doing, RunCat. If you want the top of the screen to be pleasant, Hangly. Most people who want both simply install both.