Ordin

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Ordin vs ExtraDock

Updated · About 8 min read

Ordin publishes this page. We sell Ordin. ExtraDock prices and features below come from extradock.app/pricing, ExtraDock’s documentation, and ExtraDock’s own use pages on that date. Check those pages before you buy; vendors change plans.

Ordin and ExtraDock both add extra docks on a Mac, so the system Dock is no longer the only strip of apps on the desk. Ordin is built to sit beside Apple’s Dock, with live window previews on that Dock and on every extra dock, for $12.99 once on one Mac. ExtraDock can do the same kind of extra-dock job and can also hide Apple’s Dock and take its place. ExtraDock’s current major version targets macOS 26, and its forever-updates license covers up to five Macs.

At a glance

Ordin ExtraDock
Job Extra docks beside Apple’s Dock Extra docks beside Apple’s Dock, or a full stand-in if you hide the system Dock
Window previews On Apple’s Dock and on Ordin docks On ExtraDock docks. ExtraDock’s DockDoor page describes a separate app for previews on Apple’s Dock
Price, one Mac $12.99 once, updates included $14.99 for one year, or $37.20 lifetime access with one year of updates
Several Macs One Mac per license Forever Edition $116.50, up to 5 Macs, updates included ongoing
Try before you keep it 2-day trial, no account 14-day money-back guarantee on the pricing page. A separate unpaid trial length is not listed there
macOS macOS 13 Ventura or later, Apple silicon and Intel ExtraDock 5: macOS 26 Tahoe and later. ExtraDock 4: macOS 12 through 15
Layouts Presets recall which docks are visible, with a hotkey Per-dock behavior, screen assignment, and hide-on-disconnect are documented. Hotkey presets are not described on the pages we checked

Prices as listed on 24 September 2026. ExtraDock’s pricing page shows US dollars and says tax might apply.

Price, and what “lifetime” means

Ordin’s license is $12.99 once for one Mac. The terms say that payment includes updates Ordin publishes for this app. It is a personal license, and it is not a promise that any particular future feature will ship. You can download the disk image and use the app for 2 days with no account. Payment is optional during that trial.

ExtraDock lists three public plans on its pricing page:

On a single Mac, Ordin’s one-time price is lower than ExtraDock’s one-year plan and lower than ExtraDock’s per-device lifetime plan. ExtraDock’s Forever Edition is the plan to look at if you want one purchase to cover several Macs and every later version. Ordin does not sell a multi-Mac license.

A year of ExtraDock at $14.99 is already more than Ordin’s full license. Two years of the one-year plan, or a lifetime plan plus a paid update renewal, widens that gap. The comparison flips if you need five Macs: ExtraDock’s Forever Edition is built for that, and buying five separate Ordin licenses would be five times $12.99 with five separate keys.

Extra docks and Apple’s Dock

macOS still ships one Dock. It can follow the pointer between displays, and it is still a single set of icons. Both apps exist because that is a poor fit for a desk with two or three screens.

Ordin adds docks you pin to the bottom, top, left, or right edge, or float on the desktop. A dock can be vertical. Apple’s Dock stays. Hovering an icon on Apple’s Dock or on an Ordin dock shows live thumbnails of that app’s open windows. That split matters if you like the system Dock on your main display and want a second strip, with a different set of apps, on the monitor where you actually work. The guide to a dock on every monitor walks through one layout.

ExtraDock’s documentation describes the same core idea: as many docks as you need, each with its own apps and settings, assigned to a display, hidden when that display disconnects. ExtraDock also documents a “Hide native macOS Dock” option, so its docks can be the only dock on the Mac. Its pricing FAQ says you can use both side by side or let ExtraDock take over. If replacing Apple’s Dock is the point of the purchase, ExtraDock states that outcome directly. Ordin’s product page says the system Dock stays.

ExtraDock also documents a setting so resized and maximized windows respect its docks and do not cover them. Ordin’s public pages do not describe an equivalent window-avoidance setting. If you tile windows against the dock edge all day, that ExtraDock control is a concrete reason to try ExtraDock.

Window previews

Ordin’s previews are part of the app on both surfaces: the system Dock and every extra dock. The thumbnail is a way to jump to the right browser or editor window without cycling through the app. There is a short demo of that on the Ordin homepage.

ExtraDock’s use pages list “App preview: hover over an app to see a preview of its open windows” as a feature of its docks. Its DockDoor alternative page treats DockDoor as the tool that adds those previews to Apple’s Dock, and says the two apps can run together. Read that as a split: previews on ExtraDock’s own docks are an ExtraDock feature; previews on the untouched system Dock are described there as DockDoor’s job.

If you only want hover previews and you are happy with one system Dock, DockDoor is free and open source, and it does not add extra docks. The ExtraDock alternatives page includes that option next to paid dock apps.

Widgets, look, and presets

Ordin docks can hold apps and widgets: a clock, a Finder shelf, a mirror of the native Dock, a space indicator, and TamaDocky. Each dock has its own icon size, spacing, magnification, and background. Backgrounds are Solid, Transparent, or Liquid Glass, with blur and opacity controls. Presets store which docks are visible and recall that set with a hotkey, which is the useful part when a laptop moves between a one-screen day and a desk with an external display. That workflow is written up in dock presets and hotkeys.

ExtraDock documents widgets too: clocks, folder stacks, shelves, a Live Dock that mirrors the native Dock (the full Dock or running apps only), and Dock Awareness, which shows apps running in the current Space. It documents custom icons per app and per dock, colors, effects, opacity, borders, auto-hide, hide on full screen, and collapsing a dock to a single button. Those are real strengths. Custom app icons and a collapse-to-button control are called out on ExtraDock’s site and are not described on Ordin’s.

Liquid Glass is named on Ordin’s site as a background mode. ExtraDock describes translucency and effects; the pages checked for this comparison do not use the words “Liquid Glass.” DockDoor Pro, covered on the alternatives page, does.

macOS versions

Ordin is one download for macOS 13 Ventura and later, on Apple silicon and Intel. The app interface is English.

ExtraDock splits by generation. ExtraDock 5 supports macOS 26 Tahoe and later. On macOS 12 through 15, ExtraDock says to use ExtraDock 4, which it still calls fully supported. If you are on Sequoia or Sonoma and want the current ExtraDock generation, you are on the previous app until you move to Tahoe. If you are already on Tahoe, ExtraDock 5 is the version their site is selling as current.

ExtraDock also publishes a limitation worth reading before you rely on screen assignment: docks attach to a display macOS can identify consistently. DisplayLink monitors and displays on docking stations or daisy chains can be recognized inconsistently after sleep or replugging. That is ExtraDock’s own note, and it applies to any app that binds a panel to a display UUID. Test it with your actual hub.

Who Ordin is for

Ordin fits if you want Apple’s Dock to remain the Dock, and you want more docks around it: one per monitor, or a library of task docks. A coding dock, a design dock, a call dock, and a review dock can each keep their own apps, edge, icon size, spacing, magnification, tint, and background. Presets show only the docks for the job you are in, which is how five to ten specialized docks stay usable instead of covering the desk. That layout is written up in specialized docks for each task. Ordin also fits if you want window previews on the system Dock without a second utility, and if a $12.99 license for a single Mac is the budget. The 2-day trial is there so you can build the full set before you pay. A license is what keeps a large set of docks and the presets after the trial.

It is a weaker fit if you want the system Dock hidden, if you need one license for a household of Macs, or if you want a Windows-style taskbar. Those are different products. uBar is the taskbar. DockDoor Pro is a dock replacement with per-display profiles. ActiveDock is a single replacement dock; its own FAQ says it does not create several docks.

Who ExtraDock is for

ExtraDock fits if extra docks are the job and you also want the option to hide Apple’s Dock. It fits a Mac on Tahoe, where ExtraDock 5 is the current app, and it fits anyone who wants ExtraDock 4 to keep covering macOS 12 through 15. The Forever Edition is the straightforward pick when up to five Macs should share updates for as long as ExtraDock ships them.

It is a weaker fit if the deciding factor is price on one Mac, or if you want previews on Apple’s Dock inside the same app that draws the extra docks. ExtraDock’s own writing points at DockDoor for that second half.

Switching

Neither app imports the other’s layout. Moving from ExtraDock to Ordin means creating docks again, dragging apps on, and placing each dock on a screen edge. Ordin does not offer a migration assistant. Use the 2-day trial on the Mac you actually work on, with the displays you actually plug in, and decide before the trial ends.

Going the other way is the same kind of work: rebuild docks inside ExtraDock, then decide whether Apple’s Dock stays visible. ExtraDock’s 14-day money-back guarantee is the safety net they publish, which is a refund window after purchase rather than an unpaid trial listed on the pricing page.

Verdict

Pick Ordin when the system Dock should stay, previews should work on it, and one Mac at $12.99 is the purchase. Pick ExtraDock when you want extra docks plus the option to hide Apple’s Dock, you are on the macOS version ExtraDock 5 or 4 is aimed at, or you want a multi-Mac license with ongoing updates. If the choice is really “replace the Dock” rather than “add docks,” start with the alternatives list and look at DockDoor Pro, uBar, and ActiveDock before you decide ExtraDock is the only other name.

Try Ordin on your Mac. Extra docks, live previews, widgets, presets, and Liquid Glass. 2 days free, then $12.99 once if you keep it.

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Sources

Related: ExtraDock alternatives · Live window previews · One Dock is a bottleneck