This comparison is a little different: Singlebox and WebCatalog Desktop come from the same team. One account and one subscription cover both, so you don't have to pick a side. You can use either, or both, and your choice can change as your work does.
What sets them apart is scope. Singlebox is one focused window for your messaging, email, and work apps. WebCatalog Desktop starts from that same window and lets you have as many as you need, plus a few things a single window can't do.
At a glance
| WebCatalog Desktop | Singlebox | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Web apps as desktop apps, organized into spaces | One window for your messaging, email, and work apps |
| Windows | A separate window for each space, plus standalone apps | One window for everything |
| Multiple accounts | Every account signed in side by side, each with its own session | Every account signed in side by side, each with its own session |
| Standalone apps | Any app can run on its own, with its own Dock or taskbar icon | Apps live inside the Singlebox window |
| App catalog | 65,000+ apps, plus any website | 65,000+ apps, plus any website |
| Privacy | Ad and tracker blocker, app lock with Touch ID | Ad and tracker blocker, app lock with Touch ID |
| Sync | Your setup syncs across your computers | Your setup syncs across your computers |
| Platforms | macOS, Windows, Linux | macOS, Windows |
What is WebCatalog Desktop?
Think of WebCatalog Desktop as Singlebox's bigger sibling. Each of its spaces works like a Singlebox window, and you can run several of them, alongside standalone desktop apps for the tools you'd rather keep on their own. You sign in with the same WebCatalog account you use for Singlebox.
What is Singlebox?
Singlebox keeps your messaging, email, and work apps together in one window. Your apps and accounts sit side by side in the profile bar, each a click or a keyboard shortcut away, with unread badges showing where new messages are waiting. Each app has tabs and tab groups, and link rules send links to the right account.
What you already know carries over
If you use Singlebox today, very little is new. A space has the same sidebar, the same accounts side by side with their own isolated sessions, and the same tabs and tab groups inside each app. Unread badges, link rules, custom CSS and JavaScript, proxies, the ad and tracker blocker, and the app lock all work the way you expect. Both apps also draw from the same catalog of more than 65,000 apps.
So the question isn't which app has more features you rely on. It's how many windows your work needs.
1. One window, or one per part of your life
A single Singlebox window is simple, and it's the right shape when everything you do belongs together.
It gets crowded when it doesn't. Picture a designer with two retainer clients and a personal inbox: every client's Slack badge sits next to family email, all day. In WebCatalog Desktop, each client gets a space with just their Slack, Gmail, and Figma. Open a client's space when you start on their work and close it when you're done, or keep two side by side. Each space has its own Dock or taskbar icon and its own global keyboard shortcut, and folders keep a long list in order.
When a whole team works the same way, shared spaces give everyone the same apps and accounts, while each person's logins stay on their own computer.
2. Apps that live outside the sidebar
Some apps, like your calendar, your music, or an AI assistant, are better as their own apps than as one more item in a list. WebCatalog Desktop can install any of them as a standalone app with its own window and icon, and you can set one as your default email or calendar client. Use spaces where you juggle several apps and accounts, and standalone apps everywhere else.
3. A home for the small things
WebCatalog Desktop includes a built-in home with to-dos, weather, world clocks, a calculator, and a currency converter, so quick tasks don't need another tab. When you need to concentrate, its focus mode runs a Pomodoro timer with ambient sounds.
Which one should you choose?
Singlebox is the simpler choice if one window for all your messaging and email is everything you need.
Reach for WebCatalog Desktop when you:
- Want a separate space for each client, project, or part of your life
- Prefer some apps as standalone desktop apps with their own icons
- Like having to-dos, world clocks, and a focus timer built in
Since your account and subscription already cover both, there's nothing to lose by trying. If you already use Singlebox, WebCatalog Desktop will feel familiar from the first minute, with room to grow. Try WebCatalog Desktop.
