Spacedash for Rainmeter users: how the two compare
If you know Rainmeter, Spacedash will feel familiar with a different approach: you drag widgets into place and set them up in a panel, instead of writing skins as text files. With Premium, your Rainmeter skins come along too.
| Spacedash | Rainmeter | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free. Premium is $19.99 once | Free |
| Open source | No | Yes (GPL v2) |
| Windows | Windows 10 and 11, 64-bit | Yes |
| How you build a layout | Drag-and-drop layout editor | Skins written as INI text files |
| Made for touch | Yes | Mouse actions (click, hover, scroll) |
| XENEON EDGE as an iCUE widget | Yes | No |
| Runs .rmskin skins | With Premium | Yes |
As of 16 Oct 2026.
You don't have to give up your skins: Spacedash Premium adds .rmskin Rainmeter skins under Widgets, and you place them like any other widget.
The difference in one paragraph
Rainmeter draws skins that are written as text files, and you arrange and tune them by editing those files. Spacedash is a dashboard you build by hand in an editor: open Layout, tap a cell, pick a widget, drag it where you want it and pull a corner to resize. Each widget's options are in a panel, not a file.
If you like writing skins, Rainmeter gives you more freedom. If you want a clock, the weather, PC stats and media controls arranged in a few minutes, on a monitor or a touchscreen, that is what Spacedash is for.
Bring your Rainmeter skins with you
With Premium, Spacedash runs Rainmeter skins as widgets, next to its own.
- Open Widgets and find the “Rainmeter skins” section.
- Press “Add skin…” and choose an .rmskin package, a .zip of skin folders or a skin folder. Dropping the file on the section works too.
- Read the review Spacedash shows before adding: the skins in the package, the permissions they ask for, what won't work, and the fonts.
- Each skin is now a widget. Place it in Layout like any other.
- Under Customize, pick the skin's Variant, its Size (Fit, Actual size or Stretch) and its own skin settings.
What works and what doesn't
Spacedash doesn't run Rainmeter itself. It reads the skin and draws it with its own interpreter, following Rainmeter 4.5's behaviour, and Windows runs nothing from the package. That also sets the limits.
- Not supported: plugin DLLs that ship with a skin, and Lua scripts.
- Not supported: the FileView, FolderInfo, RunCommand and Ping measures, Mouse and HotKey plugins, and Chameleon.
- Not supported: readings from HWiNFO, CoreTemp, SpeedFan or MSI Afterburner through a skin. Spacedash's own Sensors widget reads HWiNFO.
- The review before adding lists what won't work in the package you chose.
What you get that a skin doesn't give you
- A layout per monitor, behind your apps or over every window, with a transparent background so your wallpaper shows between the widgets.
- Touch: the built-in widgets are made for it, on the XENEON EDGE or any touchscreen.
- Skins of its own: an .edgeskin file carries a whole look with its layouts, widgets, fonts, colours and background, and applies in one step.
- Profiles that switch by the app in front or the time of day, with Premium.
Questions
Is Spacedash a Rainmeter alternative?
Yes, for desktop widgets on Windows 10 and 11. It replaces writing skins with a drag-and-drop layout editor and built-in widgets, and with Premium it can also run your existing Rainmeter skins.
Do Lua-scripted Rainmeter skins work in Spacedash?
No. Skins that rely on Lua scripts or on their own plugin DLLs aren't supported. Spacedash shows what won't work before you add a package.
Is running Rainmeter skins free?
No, Rainmeter skins are a Premium feature in Spacedash. Spacedash's own widgets, the layout editor and its skins are free.
Can I use both?
Yes. Rainmeter and Spacedash are separate apps and can run on the same PC.
Can Spacedash run Rainmeter skins?
Yes, with Spacedash Premium. Add an .rmskin skin under Widgets and place it on your layout like any other widget, with its settings under Customize.
Does Rainmeter work on the XENEON EDGE?
Yes, as a normal Windows display: turn off iCUE's widgets for the Edge and Windows treats it as another screen. Spacedash also runs inside iCUE, in Widget Mode, next to iCUE's own widgets.
Make your desktop yours.
Free for Windows 11 and 10. No account needed.