Better And Better is a Mac utility that lets you assign custom actions to gestures performed on your keyboard, mouse, and trackpad — turning the input devices you already own into a programmable shortcut layer.
What is Better And Better?
Better And Better is a gesture-mapping engine for macOS that sits quietly in your menu bar and intercepts motion inputs — swipes, taps, scrolls, key-holds — and fires whatever action you've wired to them. Think of it as a middle layer between your hardware and the operating system: the trackpad you've been tapping the same way for years suddenly becomes a canvas of configurable triggers.
The app comes from Better365, the same team behind BetterZip and Better JSON Viewer. Their Mac-native focus shows; this doesn't feel like a port or an afterthought.
What does Better And Better do best?
Better And Better excels at collapsing repetitive multi-step workflows into a single gesture. I spent two weeks training myself to three-finger-swipe inward to trigger Do Not Disturb, and now I genuinely cannot imagine going back. The coverage is unusually broad: it handles trackpad gestures (including ones macOS reserves for itself, which it intercepts before the system sees them), mouse side-button combos, and keyboard modifier chords that would otherwise require a dedicated utility.
- Trackpad gestures: tap patterns, directional swipes, pinch variants, rotation — all remappable per app or globally.
- Mouse gestures: side buttons, scroll wheel combos, drag directions — useful if you still rock a third-party mouse over a Magic Mouse.
- Keyboard triggers: hold a modifier and press a standard key to fire a macro, launch an app, or paste a text snippet.
- Per-app rules: gestures behave differently in Figma versus Terminal versus Safari. This context-awareness is where the power really compounds.
The action library is generous — you can open URLs, run AppleScripts, toggle system settings, simulate keystrokes, or call shell scripts. If you've ever wanted a trackpad swipe to trigger a Shortcuts automation, that's now one configuration pane away.
How does Better And Better compare to BetterTouchTool?
BetterTouchTool is the long-reigning champion of Mac gesture customization, and it remains the deeper tool — its trigger vocabulary, window snapping, and Stream Deck integration are unmatched. Better And Better makes a credible case for users who find BTT's interface overwhelming. The configuration UI is noticeably cleaner, onboarding is faster, and the gesture recognition feels slightly snappier on my M5 Pro. For a developer or power user who wants every possible trigger and action, BTT is still the answer. For someone who wants gesture remapping without a weekend of setup, Better And Better earns its place. Keystroke Pro, meanwhile, focuses purely on keyboard macros and doesn't touch trackpad or mouse input at all.
Is Better And Better free?
Better And Better offers a free download with a trial period so you can evaluate gesture workflows before committing. A paid license unlocks the full feature set; pricing is competitive with other boutique Mac utilities and the Better365 site handles purchase directly. There is no subscription — it's a one-time purchase, which I appreciate in an era where everything wants a monthly fee.
Who should use Better And Better?
Better And Better is a strong fit for Mac users who have hit the ceiling of macOS's built-in gesture settings and want a lightweight upgrade without the learning curve of BetterTouchTool. It particularly shines for:
- Designers and creatives who switch tools constantly and want app-specific shortcuts without memorizing per-app keybindings.
- Writers and researchers who want clipboard macros and text-expansion fired from muscle memory rather than a menu.
- Developers who like keyboard-heavy workflows but want to offload common shell or Shortcuts actions to a spare mouse button.
- Trackpad devotees who feel Apple's four-gesture limit is a deliberate hobbling of what the hardware can clearly do.
It is probably overkill if you only want window snapping — Magnet or Rectangle handle that more simply. And if you are already deeply invested in a BetterTouchTool setup, migrating may not be worth the disruption.
What are the best Better And Better alternatives?
The main competition: BetterTouchTool is the Swiss Army knife with more triggers, window management, and a thriving preset community — heavier but more powerful. Keyboard Maestro dominates keyboard-triggered macro automation and has been refined for two decades, though it doesn't handle trackpad or mouse gestures natively. Multitouch is a narrower, elegant trackpad-only remapper with a minimal UI. SteerMouse handles advanced mouse customization exclusively. Better And Better is the only app in this set that meaningfully covers all three input devices in one interface at a reasonable price.
