Alternatives

LiquidGlass alternatives

LiquidGlass is a background effect you attach to a view. People look for alternatives when they want finished controls, such as a tab bar, a slider and a switch, or support for iOS 13.

Our pickTheseus is the one we make, built for developers who support iOS versions that came before Liquid Glass.

Open source on GitHub

Theseus in a UIKit app

Facts checked on 11 November 2026.

Start with Theseus

Theseus gives you finished controls, a tab bar, a slider and a switch, on top of its glass view, from iOS 13. LiquidGlass is a glass background effect for your own SwiftUI and UIKit views, from iOS 14.

You want a tab bar, a slider and a switch ready to drop in.
You want the knob and capsule animations of the system controls.
You support iOS 13, or devices without Metal.

Theseus vs LiquidGlass, side by side

2 alternatives to LiquidGlass

Theseus our pick

Theseus is an open source Swift package that brings the iOS 27 Liquid Glass look to iOS 13 and later. It draws blur, refraction, glare and spring animations with Metal, and includes a tab bar, a slider and a switch.

Built for: developers who support iOS versions that came before Liquid Glass. How you pay: free and open source under Apache 2.0.
LiquidGlassKit

LiquidGlassKit is a backport of Apple's Liquid Glass design system for iOS 13 through 18. It offers replacements for the native visual effect view, slider and switch with matching APIs, and can use the native components on iOS 26 and later.

How you pay: free and open source on GitHub.

Theseus vs LiquidGlassKit

At a glance

App	Built for	Where it runs	How you pay
Theseus	developers who support iOS versions that came before Liquid Glass	on iOS 13 and later, with Swift 5.9 and later	free and open source under Apache 2.0
LiquidGlass	developers who want a glass background behind their own views	on iOS 14 and later, on devices with Metal	free and open source under the MIT licence
LiquidGlassKit	developers who want replacements that mirror the native Liquid Glass API	on iOS 13 and later, with Swift 6.2 and later	free and open source on GitHub

What LiquidGlass is

LiquidGlass is a Swift library by BarredEwe that draws a frosted glass effect with blur and refraction using Metal shaders, for SwiftUI and UIKit. It captures the views behind an element and adds the effect with one modifier.

How to choose

Start with what you need drawn. If it is the system's own controls on older iOS versions, a tab bar, a slider and a switch, pick the library that includes them. That is Theseus.

Questions

What is the best alternative to LiquidGlass?

Theseus, if you want a Liquid Glass tab bar, slider and switch on iOS 13 and later, with the tint setting iOS 27 gives users. Theseus gives you finished controls, a tab bar, a slider and a switch, on top of its glass view, from iOS 13. LiquidGlass is a glass background effect for your own SwiftUI and UIKit views, from iOS 14.

What is better than LiquidGlass?

If you want a Liquid Glass tab bar, slider and switch on iOS 13 and later, with the tint setting iOS 27 gives users, Theseus is the better fit. It is built for developers who support iOS versions that came before Liquid Glass.

Why do people look for LiquidGlass alternatives?

LiquidGlass is a background effect you attach to a view. People look for alternatives when they want finished controls, such as a tab bar, a slider and a switch, or support for iOS 13.

More comparisons

We make Theseus. What we say about the other apps comes from their own pages, read on 11 November 2026: LiquidGlass's README on GitHub, LiquidGlassKit's README on GitHub. Spotted a mistake? Write to support@onedevshop.com. Each name belongs to its owner, and Theseus is not affiliated with any of them.

Theseus

Same ship, rebuilt plank by plank

Free and open source under Apache 2.0. Bronze in the Telegram Developer Contest, 2026.