Short answer. Choose Vanilla if you want a simple, finished product today. Choose Tuck if you want GPL-3.0 software for an app with Accessibility access, where anyone who receives Tuck is entitled to its source.

The facts, side by side

Dated snapshot of public pages, 4 October 2026. “Not confirmed” means we could not find it on a public page. Prices and support change.
Topic	Tuck	Vanilla
Price	Free core. Tuck Pro is planned, one-time, and not on sale	Free base. Vanilla Pro is USD 10 one-time, up to 10 activations, on the vendor page we fetched
Licence	GPL-3.0	Not confirmed
Source for users	Yes: GPL-3.0 entitles everyone who receives Tuck to its source	Not confirmed
macOS support	macOS 26. macOS 27 support is in development	The vendor says macOS Catalina and above. Explicit macOS 26 validation is not confirmed.
Permissions	Accessibility required. Screen Recording optional	Not confirmed by us.

Where Vanilla is strong

A simple design and a long supported-macOS range on the vendor page.
A one-time Pro price, with no subscription.
From an established independent developer.

How Tuck differs

Tuck is GPL-3.0, so anyone who receives Tuck is entitled to its source. We could not confirm Vanilla’s licence.
Tuck adds search, a Tuck Bar and hotkeys in the free app.
Tuck requires macOS 26; Vanilla lists older systems.
Tuck Pro is planned and not on sale. Vanilla Pro is a real product today.

Choose Vanilla if

You want a simple, finished product today.
You run a macOS version older than 26.
You are happy to pay for Pro features now.

Choose Tuck if

You want GPL-3.0 software for an app with Accessibility access, where anyone who receives Tuck is entitled to its source.
You want keyboard search or the Tuck Bar.

Limits of this comparison. Vanilla’s simplicity is a legitimate advantage. Compare the job you need done, not the feature count. We have not run benchmarks, so we make no speed, memory or battery claims about either app. Tuck’s first build is not released yet.

Sources

Vanilla, vendor page

Tuck vs Vanilla