ShiftPlus vs Spencer: A Native macOS Alternative for Workspace Management

Spencer is a focused little tool that remembers app window positions on macOS. ShiftPlus is built for the same problem, but for the full workspace — apps, browser profiles, virtual desktops (Spaces), terminal environment variables, and AWS profiles — all captured and restored in one hotkey. Same one-time-purchase model. Native SwiftUI on macOS 14.6+.

• Cross-Space (virtual desktop) restoration — Spencer doesn't capture Space assignment.
• 10 browser profiles auto-detected (Safari, Arc, Chrome, Brave, Edge, Vivaldi, Opera, Firefox, DuckDuckGo, Orion) with launch flags.
• 11 window arrangements per app, per monitor (Left/Right/Top/Bottom halves, four quarters, Fullscreen, Center, None).
• Per-workspace terminal env vars across 15+ emulators (Terminal, iTerm, Warp, Alacritty, Ghostty, WezTerm, Kitty, Hyper, …).
• AWS profile dropdown that reads ~/.aws/{config,credentials} locally — bind AWS_PROFILE per workspace.
• Raycast integration (new in v2.0) — Switch Workspace, Open Quick Link, Activate Last Workspace.
• Optional iCloud Sync for multi-Mac users (Pro), private CloudKit container, no ShiftPlus server.
• Spencer is great if you only want window-position memory on 1–3 Macs. ShiftPlus covers the rest of the workspace.
• Pricing: ShiftPlus is $24 (1 Mac) or $39 (2 Macs) one-time; Spencer is roughly $19.99 (3 Macs).

When to pick which

Pick Spencer if you just need window positions to come back after a reboot and rarely quit apps. Pick ShiftPlus if you switch contexts daily, juggle multiple browser profiles, manage Spaces, or run developer workflows (env vars, AWS, project terminals). They aren't direct substitutes — they overlap on window memory, but ShiftPlus does a strictly larger job.