DockLock vs Still Dock: which one do you need?

Short answer: they solve overlapping but different problems.

DockLock is built for one thing and goes deep on it: keeping the Dock on the display you want, on a multi-monitor Mac, with a lot of automation around that. Still Dock locks four different Dock settings and guards keyboard shortcuts, and pinning to one display is one feature among several.

If your only complaint is the Dock jumping between monitors, read the DockLock section properly. It may well be the better fit.

What each one is

DockLock comes from an independent developer and ships in more than one edition on the Mac App Store. It exists because of a specific macOS behavior: on a multi-monitor setup, moving the pointer to the bottom of another screen pulls the Dock over to it. DockLock pins the Dock to a chosen display and then builds on that, with modes that deliberately move the Dock, Shortcuts and Raycast integration, a URL scheme and command line control, and hiding the Dock during screen sharing.

Still Dock is this site. It started from a different annoyance, brushing the Dock divider and rescaling every icon, and it locks four separate Dock settings: size, position, contents and hide-and-show. Keeping the Dock on one display is in there, and so are guards for ⌘Q, ⌘W and ⌘Tab, saved profiles, and iCloud backup of your layout.

Side by side

	DockLock	Still Dock
Pin the Dock to one display	Yes, and the core of the product	Yes
Choose which monitors are allowed	Yes	No
Dock follows the mouse / active window	Yes, in Plus	No
Shortcuts, Raycast, URL scheme, CLI	Yes, in Plus	No
Hide the Dock while screen sharing	Yes	No
Lock the Dock size	No	Yes, no trial to run out
Lock the Dock contents	No	Yes
Lock hide and show	No	Yes
Guard ⌘Q, ⌘W, ⌘Tab	No	Yes
Saved profiles with hotkeys	No	Yes
Restores the Dock you had before	Not stated	Yes
Works with one display	Needs two	Yes
Minimum macOS	10.9 (Plus)	13

Checked against the Mac App Store listings on 13 September 2026, LockMyDock, DockFreeze and DockPin included. Features and prices change; the listings are the authority, not this page.

Price

At the time of writing, DockLock Plus is a one-time $39.99. DockLock Lite is free to download with in-app purchases, listed as $1.99 monthly, $16.99 yearly, or $39.99 once.

Still Dock is $1.99 monthly, $14.99 yearly, or $29.99 once, and locking the Dock size is free, with no account and no trial to run out.

So the lifetime prices are $39.99 against $29.99. That is a real difference but a small one, and it should not be the thing that decides this. What you are actually choosing between is depth on one problem versus coverage of several.

When DockLock is the better choice

Said plainly, because a comparison page that never picks the other product is not worth reading:

You want the Dock to move, intelligently. Follows-the-mouse and follows-the-active-window are real features that Still Dock does not have and is not trying to have.
You automate your Mac. Shortcuts, Raycast, a URL scheme and CLI control are a meaningful toolkit if you already work that way.
You want per-monitor rules rather than one pinned display.
You are on older macOS. Still Dock needs macOS 13. DockLock Plus lists macOS 10.9, which covers Macs we simply cannot run on.
You present or screen share constantly and want the Dock out of the way automatically.

When Still Dock is the better choice

The monitor problem is not your only problem. If the Dock also gets resized, rearranged, or hidden by accident, those are three more locks and DockLock does not cover them.
You have one display. DockLock Lite needs at least two connected displays to do anything. On a laptop on its own it has no job to do.
⌘Q keeps closing your work. That is a different problem in the same neighborhood, and it is half of why Still Dock exists.
You want to try before paying. The size lock is free with no trial clock and no account.
You want your old Dock back. Still Dock records the Dock you had before you locked it and restores it when you unlock, quit, or delete the app.

What about LockMyDock?

LockMyDock is a third app for the monitor problem, from another independent developer, and it appears beside both of these in App Store search. It keeps the Dock on the screen you choose, can move the Dock to the current screen when you ask, can stop the Dock roaming onto screens you pick, and has keyboard shortcuts, a menu bar icon and launch at login. It needs macOS 11 or later.

It is free to download with a 3-day trial of its VIP features, then listed at $5.99 a year or $9.99 once, which costs less than DockLock or Still Dock if keeping the Dock on one monitor is all you need. Its listing does not mention locking the Dock size, contents or hide-and-show, or guarding ⌘Q, so for those the choice is the same as above.

Two more: DockFreeze and DockPin

DockFreeze, from another independent developer, is the closest of all to Still Dock in what it locks. Its listing describes a size lock and keeping the Dock on your built-in display, run from the menu bar. It is free to download with a one-time $4.99 purchase, needs macOS 12 or later, and was updated in September 2026. Its listing does not mention locking the Dock's position, contents or hide-and-show, or guarding ⌘Q.

DockPin keeps the Dock at the bottom of the display you choose on a Mac with two or more displays, and does nothing else. It is a one-time $11.99 purchase and needs macOS 26, so it will not run on older Macs at all.

You may not need any of them

These apps are built on settings macOS already has. You can set all four locks yourself with four Terminal commands and no software at all:

defaults write com.apple.dock size-immutable -bool true
defaults write com.apple.dock position-immutable -bool true
defaults write com.apple.dock contents-immutable -bool true
defaults write com.apple.dock autohide-immutable -bool true
killall Dock

What you give up is the undo. Nothing records the Dock you had before, System Settings goes gray with no explanation, and changing your mind means going back to Terminal. The full list of keys is in every Mac Dock defaults command, and our free command generator writes them for whichever locks you pick.

The multi-monitor behavior is the one thing on this page you cannot fix this way. There is no supported defaults key that pins the Dock to a display, which is exactly why these apps exist. More on that in keeping the Mac Dock on one screen.

Common questions

Can I run both?

Technically yes, but do not. Two utilities writing to com.apple.dock and restarting the Dock will fight, and the result will look like whichever one wrote last. Pick one.

Are you affiliated with DockLock?

No. Different developers, no relationship. This page exists because people search for one and find the other, and sending them away with a straight answer is better than pretending we are the only option.

Which is safer for a shared or public Mac?

Neither, on its own. A user level setting can be undone by that user in Terminal. For a Mac other people use you want a configuration profile, which survives Terminal, a restart, and deleting the app. Still Dock can install one per lock; see locking the Dock on a shared Mac.

If the four locks are what you are after, Still Dock is a menu bar app for macOS 13 and later, and the size lock is free.