The appeal of Flotato is easy to see: pick a site, and it becomes a real Mac app you can Command-Tab to, instead of a tab you hunt for. WebCatalog Desktop gives you the same thing, and keeps going when you sit down at a Windows computer, open a web app built for Chrome, or need a second account signed in.
At a glance
| WebCatalog Desktop | Flotato | |
|---|---|---|
| Platforms | macOS, Windows, Linux | macOS only |
| Engine | Chromium, the engine behind Chrome and Edge | The Mac's built-in web engine (WebKit) |
| Creating apps | Pick from a catalog of 65,000+ apps, or enter any URL | Ready-made apps for popular sites, or any URL |
| Multiple accounts | Every account signed in side by side in one app | Not described |
| Organizing apps | Spaces that group apps and accounts in one window | One app per website |
| Notifications | Unread badges and notifications, mute per account | Dock badges for supported sites |
| Window tricks | Menu bar or system tray, keep on top, tabs and tab groups | Mobile view, float on top, Dock "slices" |
What is WebCatalog Desktop?
WebCatalog Desktop makes web apps feel at home on whichever computer you're using. Each site becomes a desktop app running on Chromium, with its own window and icon, and the setup you build on one computer syncs to the others.
What is Flotato?
Flotato is a Mac app that turns websites into lightweight Mac apps. It offers a mobile view to save room on your screen, windows that float above other apps, Dock badges for sites like Twitter, Slack, and Instagram, and "slices" that put part of a web page in your Dock.
1. The same apps on every computer
Flotato is made for the Mac. If your job hands you a Windows laptop, your Flotato apps don't come along.
WebCatalog Desktop runs on macOS, Windows, and Linux. Add Slack and Notion on your Mac, and they show up on your other computers too, because your setup syncs across them.
2. Built for sites made for Chrome
Flotato builds on the Mac's own web engine, the same one Safari uses, which keeps apps light. The trade-off is that sites behave the way they do in Safari, and many web apps are built and tested mainly for Chrome.
WebCatalog Desktop runs every app on Chromium, the engine behind Chrome and Edge, so web apps behave the way their developers tested them, with the same results on every platform.
3. Badges for every account
Flotato shows Dock badges for supported sites, and its site doesn't describe a way to sign in to several accounts of the same app.
In WebCatalog Desktop, one app can hold several accounts, each with its own isolated session, all signed in at once. Unread counts appear for each account and on the Dock or taskbar for any app that shows them in its page title, like Gmail or Slack. If one account gets noisy, mute its notifications, sounds, or badges without touching the others.
4. Window tricks, compared
Both apps go beyond a plain window. Flotato's mobile view, float-on-top windows, and Dock slices are clever touches for keeping one site in view. WebCatalog Desktop's options are aimed at living in your apps all day:
- Keep on top, or tuck away. Keep a window above everything else, or run an app from the menu bar or system tray.
- Tabs and tab groups. Keep several pages of the same app open at once, in horizontal or vertical tabs.
- Default email or calendar app. Make your web mail the app that opens when you click an email link.
- Spaces. Group the apps and accounts for one client or project into a single window with spaces, each with its own Dock icon and keyboard shortcut.
5. A catalog to start from
Flotato offers ready-made apps for a few popular sites, and you can turn any other site into an app. WebCatalog Desktop's catalog of more than 65,000 apps covers far more of the tools you use, with names and icons already set, and any other site can still be added by URL. Apps update automatically, and a built-in ad and tracker blocker comes with each one.
Which one should you choose?
Flotato can make sense if you specifically need a very light wrapper for a single site, with extras like Dock slices, and you only ever use a Mac.
For a full day of work in web apps, WebCatalog Desktop is the better fit. Choose it if you:
- Switch between a Mac and a Windows computer
- Use web apps that are built for Chrome
- Need more than one account signed in, each with its own badge
- Want windows built for all-day use, with tabs, tray mode, and spaces
Flotato is a clever way to bring a favorite site to your Dock. To bring all your web apps, on every computer you use, try WebCatalog Desktop.
