By Kavita Mistry 
If you don’t like the way certain elements on your Windows PC look or function, you can customize them to your liking. There are numerous Windows customization tools available online to help you achieve the exact desktop experience you’re chasing.
Among these, Rainmeter and Windhawk are two popular names that stand out the most. Both tools help you personalize Windows, but they differ significantly in terms of the way they operate and the elements they allow you to target and modify.
As such, if you’re new to Windows customization, you may be unsure about which tool to pick. This Rainmeter vs. Windhawk comparison breaks down the differences to help you choose the right Windows customization tool for your needs.
Rainmeter vs Windhawk: Understanding the Tools
Before we delve into the differences between Rainmeter and Windhawk, let’s first take a closer look at what each of them offers and how they work.
Rainmeter
Rainmeter is a free and open-source Windows customization tool that allows you to change the appearance of your desktop using skins. A skin is essentially an interactive window that sits on top of your desktop. It displays real-time information, such as time, weather, or system stats, and offers access to interactive functions like media controls, system commands, or custom actions.
For example, with an appropriate Rainmeter skin, you can make your Windows desktop look like macOS. Any Rainmeter skin you download comes bundled with an .ini file, which comprises values split into multiple sections. You can edit this file to modify these values per your preference for a more tailored experience.
Windhawk
Windhawk is an open-source platform that enables you to change the appearance and functionality of various Windows UI elements using mods. A mod is like an extension you download and configure to change how the original element looks, what it does, or to extend its functionality.
For example, there are mods on Windhawk that you can use to customize the Start Menu or the Taskbar. Similarly, Windhawk also makes it easy to restore the old context menu on your Windows 11 PC.
Rainmeter vs Windhawk: How Do They Differ?
With the introductions out of the way, let’s see Rainmeter and Windhawk compare on different parameters.
Customization Focus
One of the key aspects to consider when choosing between Rainmeter and Windhawk is customization focus, i.e, the area of customization these tools specialize in. This gives you an idea of what to expect from each tool, allowing you to pick the right one based on your personalization needs.
If you’re looking to change the way your Windows desktop looks, Rainmeter is your go-to tool, as it focuses entirely on helping you customize the visual elements. It has skins that allow you to create visually appealing and information-rich desktops for your PC. You can download appropriate skins online, install them, and use them as is, or modify their configuration files for a more personalized experience.
On the other hand, while Windhawk also lets you customize the visual elements of your PC, it’s primarily geared towards functional customizations. The tool gives you access to plenty of mods along with the ability to download ones from the internet. You can install these mods with a simple click and tweak them to customize the elements they’re designed to modify.
Nature of Tweaks
Rainmeter and Windhawk are both open-source tools. However, there are some nuances when it comes to the tweaks they offer that you should know about.
While most Rainmeter skins are open source, certain skins—especially the paid ones—may not fall into this category, as the creators may restrict access to their files or features to prevent modification. In contrast, almost all the Windhawk mods are open source in nature, allowing anyone to view and modify their source code.
Tweak Distribution and Availability
Despite being open-source, Rainmeter and Windhawk take a different approach to distributing their tweaks.
Windhawk relies on a centralized repository that hosts a large number of mods. It’s available right on the app, which makes browsing, installing, and updating Windhawk mods quick and easy. You can also download mods from third-party sources.
On the other hand, Rainmeter has a decentralized ecosystem, where skins are available across different websites, forums, and Reddit. As such, you need to visit these sources every time you want to find, download, or update skins on your PC, which isn’t quite as straightforward as it is on Windhawk.
However, despite the way Windhawk and Rainmeter offer their tweaks, the best part is that both are community-driven. This means it’s the users and developers of their respective communities who create tweaks and distribute them, not just the original creators.
One of the major advantages of this approach is that the tweaks are regularly updated to fix issues or roll out new features. The more popular a tweak is, the longer the likelihood of it receiving support.
Usability
When it comes to usability, Windhawk wins hands down. Since it offers a centralized platform for all mods, finding and discovering mods is super easy. Similarly, it makes installing tweaks easy, too, allowing you to start customizing elements on your Windows PC right away.
Meanwhile, finding Rainmeter skins requires a little more effort and time, as you need to look them up on forums or dedicated websites that host Rainmeter skins. The process is complicated and time-consuming, and it typically involves downloading a ZIP file, unzipping it, and then running the installer to install the skin, kind of similar to installing a program on Windows. Sometimes, skins are available in the .rmskin format, which makes installation a little easier.
Using tweaks is also a lot easier on Windhawk. Most Windhawk mods offer a clear description about what they do, with configuration options well laid out, so you can easily make changes based on the kind of modifications you want to make. In contrast, customizing Rainmeter skins can feel a little challenging, especially if you’re just getting started. While basic configurations are easy to make, you need to edit the configuration file if you’re seeking deeper customizations, which requires more technical know-how.
Cost
Cost plays a crucial role when deciding which tool to use. Both Rainmeter and Windhawk are free Windows customization programs that you can download and use on your PC at no charge.
This also applies to the tweaks they offer. All mods on Windhawk available through its official repository are free to download. Similarly, most of the skins for Rainmeter are distributed at no cost.
However, there are exceptions. Certain Rainmeter skins offer premium features or widgets for an additional cost, while there are also paid skins that require you to make a payment up front to download them.
Rainmeter vs Windhawk: Don’t Settle for One When You Can Use Both
Since Rainmeter and Windhawk specialize in different aspects of customization, you don’t need to stick to one unless you’re specifically looking for customizing just one aspect—visual or functional—of your Windows PC.
You can use both tools in tandem and customize both the visual aspects and functional elements of your PC to make them look and function just the way you want. Both operate independently, and there’s very little chance of a conflict—the only scenario where it can happen is when there are overlapping modifications for a specific system element.
That said, if there’s one, it’s often easy to troubleshoot it. Just undo the settings of the mod or skin you recently applied, or try disabling one tool at a time to pinpoint the source of the problem.
Windows Customization Isn’t Limited to Just Two Tools
Rainmeter and Windhak are great for customizing the visual elements and the functionality of your Windows PC, respectively. However, Windows customization goes far beyond what these two tools offer.
If you’re planning to truly personalize your Windows experience, don’t forget to check out Microsoft PowerToys and Winaero Tweaker. While PowerToys offers tools to unlock your PC’s hidden potential, Winaero Tweaker packs tweaks to help you customize the appearance and functionality of various system elements. Both are free and pretty easy to use.