Keyboard apps for MacHead to head

Karabiner-Elements vs Hyperkey

Karabiner-Elements ranks #1 and Hyperkey ranks #3 in our guide to the best keyboard apps for Mac. Karabiner-Elements is our pick for most people.

The Useful TechResearched and written with AI under our rulesUpdated 14 Oct 2026

Our pickKarabiner-Elements app iconKarabiner-ElementsPick Karabiner-Elements if you want Caps Lock or another idle key to do something useful, for free.Free, open source#3 in the guideHyperkey app iconHyperkeyPick Hyperkey if you build custom shortcuts and only want Caps Lock turned into an extra modifier key.Free

What decides it

  • Both are free.
  • Both run on Mac.

Side by side

Prices are checked every day.

At a glanceKarabiner-Elements app iconKarabiner-ElementsHyperkey app iconHyperkey
PriceFree and open sourceFree
How you payFreeFree
3 years of useFreeFree
Free trialFree to startFree to start
Runs onMacMac
Where to buyDeveloperDeveloper
FeaturesOpen sourceNone flagged

Who should get which

Get Karabiner-Elements if

You want Caps Lock or another key you never press to do something useful, like Vim-style arrows.

Get Hyperkey if

You build your own keyboard shortcuts and keep finding the good combinations already taken.

Skip Karabiner-Elements if

You only want to swap Control and Command, which System Settings handles without extra software.

Skip Hyperkey if

You never make custom shortcuts, so an extra modifier key would just sit there unused.

Our verdicts

Karabiner-Elements app iconKarabiner-Elements

Caps Lock wastes one of the best spots on your keyboard, and macOS only lets you remap a handful of modifier keys. Karabiner-Elements remaps anything, from a simple swap in its settings to community rules for Vim-style arrows, mouse keys or blocking an accidental Command-Q. It is free and public domain but fiddly, and if you only want Caps Lock as an extra modifier, Hyperkey is simpler.

Hyperkey app iconHyperkey

Hold Caps Lock and it acts as Control, Option, Command and Shift at once, a combination no app already uses, so every shortcut you build on it stays clash-free. You can also remap Caps Lock to another key, and it pairs well with Rectangle, the free window manager from the same developer. It is free with no upgrade, though Karabiner-Elements is the better pick if you want to remap far more than 1 key.

What each one helps you do

Karabiner-Elements app iconKarabiner-Elements

  • Make Caps Lock do something useful
  • Move the cursor with Vim-style keys
  • Stop quitting apps by accident with Command-Q
  • Control the mouse pointer from the keyboard

Hyperkey app iconHyperkey

  • Get shortcuts that never clash with other apps
  • Put the unused Caps Lock key to work
  • Trigger window and launcher shortcuts with 1 key

Where to get them

Karabiner-Elements

Free and open source

  • From the developerSupports macOS 13 through macOS 27, on Intel and Apple silicon
    FreeGet it

Hyperkey

Free

  • From the developerWorks on macOS 10.15 or later, Intel and Apple silicon
    FreeGet it

Neither one quite right?

The other picks in our guide to the best keyboard apps for Mac.

Read the full guideAll Karabiner-Elements alternativesAll Hyperkey alternatives

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