Niagara Launcher
Ranked 4 of 9 Android launchers by recommenders
Fast, minimalist Android home screen built around searching apps by name; some find its unconventional UI and past data collection off-putting.
Fast, minimalist Android home screen built around searching apps by name; some find its unconventional UI and past data collection off-putting.
25 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 23
- criticize it
- 2
- approval share
- 92%
Recommended in 2 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 23 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 12 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 2 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Clean, minimal, good-looking design
“My favorite aspect of it is that I can remove all text and see 95% of the wall paper at all times.”
Comment from 21 Jan 2026 in “Nova Launcher Added Facebook and Google Ads Tracking” “I found it a really fresh and comfortable alternative to the default android launchers”
Comment from 2 Jan 2026 in “Clicks Communicator” “is aesthetically pleasing and has just the right amount of features”
Comment from 20 Jan 2026 in “Kiss Launcher – fast launcher for Android” - Comment from 17 Jun 2026 in “GrapheneOS has been ported to Android 17 and official releases are coming soon”
- Comment from 20 Jan 2026 in “Instabridge has acquired Nova Launcher”
Quick app search and launching
“It perfectly matches what I was doing before, which was searching for apps by name to launch them.”
Comment from 20 Jan 2026 in “Instabridge has acquired Nova Launcher” “because of the simplicity and quick access to every app”
Comment from 21 Jan 2026 in “Instabridge has acquired Nova Launcher” Worth the learning curve
“It's the only non-grid based launcher I have tried that has actually been worth the little learning curve.”
Comment from 20 Jan 2026 in “Nova Launcher Added Facebook and Google Ads Tracking” “So good once you get used to it.”
Comment from 20 Jan 2026 in “Nova Launcher Added Facebook and Google Ads Tracking” Well-designed side scroll, good on foldables
“The side scroll is very well thought out.”
Comment from 20 Jan 2026 in “Nova Launcher Added Facebook and Google Ads Tracking” “It is also great with foldables”
Comment from 21 Jan 2026 in “Kiss Launcher – fast launcher for Android”
Other Android launchers people recommend
The four most recommended other Android launchers, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nova Launcher | 45 | 63 | 42% | 6 | 10 yrs13 owners | — |
| Kiss Launcher | 29 | 4 | 88% | 2 | 6 yrs8 owners | — |
| Lawnchair Launcher | 27 | 7 | 79% | 4 | — | Approved |
| Niagara LauncherThis page | 23 | 2 | 92% | 2 | — | — |
| Octopi Launcher | 15 | 5 | 75% | 2 | — | — |
What people said
24 of the 27 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“is a cool looking launcher that I used to use”
“It is also great with foldables”
“because of the simplicity and quick access to every app”
“stable out of your way intuitive”
“Its plenty lightweight to be snappy on even older model phones.”
“I feel like it's too much of a niche product to be sustainable on the previous price they had.”
“My favorite aspect of it is that I can remove all text and see 95% of the wall paper at all times.”
“It perfectly matches what I was doing before, which was searching for apps by name to launch them.”
“Niagra had the launcher / app switching issue, so did Lawnchair”
“Makes everything so efficient and beautiful.”
“I happily paid for a (fairly expensive) lifetime license of Niagara”
“is aesthetically pleasing and has just the right amount of features”
“for my use having everything is a single column is a nightmare”
“However, it comes with other unconventional UI decisions which might or might not be to your liking.”
“The side scroll is very well thought out.”
“It is highly unique, and yet still gets the job done, if not better.”
“It's the only non-grid based launcher I have tried that has actually been worth the little learning curve.”
“I used to use Niagra because it really is a great launcher but I don't like the data collection”
“I've been using Niagara for a few years and I love it.”
“So good once you get used to it.”
“I've been using Niagra Launcher and enjoying it.”
“it supports keyboard shortcuts from the homescreen natively”
“Niagara launcher, if they tweaked it, can be nice as well with keyboard.”
“I found it a really fresh and comfortable alternative to the default android launchers”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.