Best Mac Cleaner App
Give your Mac the best care possible, with free Mac cleaner software to keep it free from junk, clean and optimize your operating system, hard drive and memory. With Mac cleaning software, you can get your Mac running at peak performance once again. This is where you’ll get answers to whether you need Mac cleaning software and, if you do, which is the best to use, which are worth the price, and any other questions you may have. That’s because Redditors know best, as they say! Does Reddit Even Like Mac Cleaning Apps? May 29, 2017 Free up your Mac’s Storage with these Disk Cleaner Apps for macOS It might be hard to believe but Macs also need disc cleanup once in a while. Using the above mentioned tools you can get rid of unwanted, duplicate, residual, and junk files on your Mac. Mar 08, 2017 No.6 Free Mac cleaner: Disk Drill. Disk Drill is one very popular free Mac cleaner app. Actually, it is a professional data recovery tool for Mac, which carries some disk cleaning functions. It has the capability to analyze Mac storage space, locate unused, large, and duplicate files and so on.
Is your Mac machine running a bit slowly? Does it hang up more often? MacBook, iMac, it doesn’t matter. Over time, the main drive of your machine accumulates all kinds of files that can slow down macOS, especially latest macOS version requires more disk storage and higher RAM (memory).
Reasons behind a slow Mac vary, so are solutions to tune it up. Just do a quick search in Apple Support Community, you’ll find tons of optimization tips — though many aren’t really that helpful.
In general, there are two ways to speed up a Mac:
- Upgrade hardware;
- Optimize macOS system.
If your Mac machine is struggling to meet the basic requirements for a newer macOS, you’ll benefit from the addition of RAM or solid-state drive (SSD).
If the slowdown is software or mac system related, a Mac optimizer app can help most of the time. Although we’d be realistic that it is unlikely that you’ll tune up your Mac with rocket speed.
In this review, we’ll show you the best Mac optimizer apps that can help clean, tune-up, and improve your Mac’s performance. Depending on the conditions of your computer e.g. new or old, storage space enough to not, your mileage may vary.
Quick Summary
Want to save time exploring? We understand. Here’s a recap of our recommendations:
- If your Mac is slow because the startup disk is almost full, get CleanMyMac to run a quick scan and remove those system junk and unnecessary files.
- For most Mac users especially those who aren’t tech-savvy, you’ll love what IObit MacBooster has to offers. It’s a one-stop Mac maintenance tool that can protect and tune up your Mac.
- If you just switched to Mac from a PC and prefer apps that are easy to use, CCleaner Pro is also a great option and it’s available for both macOS and Windows. You may also consider Stellar SpeedUp Mac as it all starts with one-click to scan and fix all found Mac issues.
Below, you’ll find our detailed reviews, but you can also click the links above to get your desired app and start optimizing your Mac right away.
Best Mac Optimization Software: What to Consider?
There is a wide range of Mac apps that claim to be able to speed up or make a Mac run faster, and usually, each of them has its own unique features. It’s really challenging to put them in comparison, so we review each Mac cleaner / speed app based on the following factors.
Security
The app should be free of malware or bundled apps. Although macOS is less prone to be infected with viruses or malware compared to Windows OS, it’s still worth paying attention to as this breaking news reported by WIRED:
Download latest java for mac. Why download Java? Java technology allows you to work and play in a secure computing environment. Upgrading to the latest Java version improves the security of your system, as older versions do not include the latest security updates.
“…while Apple has earned a strong reputation for security, a string of significant vulnerabilities in macOS and iOS have strained Apple’s safety net.”
Therefore, many people say macOS isn’t safe anymore (in our opinion, we’d add “that” before “safe”). We test this by running Mac security software to test whether the app contains malicious procedures. To be honest, we knocked out quite a few programs such as MacKeeper, which was reported by many Mac users for being hard to uninstall. Offensive software like that also hurt user experience.
App Quality
The app must deliver what it claims to offer, simple and fair! In our opinion, if a piece of software or app turns out to be different from what it claims to be — for example, fails to free up a decent amount of disk space, or improve the performance of our Macs (which show a bit age), then the value of getting such an app becomes little if not none at all.
Also, we prefer Mac apps that are light-weighted. That means even if a Mac tuneup app does a great job in helping reclaim tons of storage by clearing system junks, but at the cost of consuming a big portion of system resources while running in the background, we’d rather not to feature it in our best list.
macOS Compatibility
This is very straightforward. Apple pushes out a main yet new version of macOS once a year and to date, it’s High Sierra 10.13.3. If an app is unable to run smoothly under High Sierra, it’s definitely a problem. Because most Mac users will upgrade to the latest macOS sooner or later. According to ComputerWorld, 25% of all Mac users upgraded to 10.11 El Capitan in the first month, not to mention those who chose to upgrade on and from day 31.
If the developer of a Mac app fails to update the software in time, chances are the app has compatibility issues with the latest macOS version. Those who download and install it would have a hard time running it smoothly, let alone fixing potential Mac issues and optimizing your Mac’s performance.
Tech Support
Not all Mac users are tech-savvy. Those who just joined the Apple Mac family or switched from the PCs will take much time getting familiarized with Apple’s macOS operating system. When it comes to handling technical tasks such as diagnosing Mac system issues, removing junks, cleaning caches, uninstalling third-party apps, etc., novice users definitely need help along the way so it’s ideal that the app developer can offer prompt tech support.
For example, we value developers that provide various channels for customers (and potential customers) to reach out to, those could include emails, online chat, social media, or even phone calls. We have therefore decided not to include several programs written by individual developers who are unable to provide a decent level of support.
Ease of Use
All software programs are designed for human beings, not machines. It’s important that the best Mac performance tuneup software should be fairly easy and simple to use. From user interfaces, interactive buttons, to explanatory text instructions, they must be clear and to the point.
Speaking of this, one main reason why our AnySoftwareTools team love Macs more than PCs is that macOS is much friendlier than Windows. We all are used to the awesome feeling of smooth navigation on our MacBooks, right? If a third-party Mac optimization software can’t live up to this principle, we’ll hesitate to recommend it unless it shows merits over other aspects.
Pricing
Well, pricing used to be the primary factor when we make decisions and it’s reasonable. Who wants to pay for commercial software given that a free option is available in the market. However, the truth is these days freeware or open-source are becoming rare. Plus, many times free apps just don’t cut it.
What do we mean? Well, we’ve tested a number of free Mac cleaner and optimizer apps, only to find that some aren’t compatible with High Sierra due to lack of update, while others are either confusing to use or very limited in terms of features. We’d rather not to say this, but it’s often tedious and frustrating to install a free app and remove it later on.
Best Mac Tune-up Software in 2019: Our Picks
All the apps recommended below are safe to download and use (in other words, they are free of virus or malware). They are also moderately easy to use with sleek interfaces and clear instructions. And we tested them on a High Sierra based MacBook Pro and they all turned out to be fully compatible with the latest macOS. Also, we chose them because they have a dedicated support team taking customer queries.
1. Best Mac Cleaner: CleanMyMac X
Most newer Mac machines (especially MacBooks) are now with small-volume flash storage starting from 256GB, that means your Mac will fill up quickly and run slowly after some time. What can you do? The answer seems oddly simple: clean up Mac drive. But the process isn’t as easy as it may sound. Often it takes hours if not days to find out what files taking up the major disk space.
That’s where CleanMyMac excels. It’s an intelligent app designed and developed by MacPaw, aiming to make your life easier. You can use the app to easily reclaim gigabytes of free storage space in just a few clicks. For example, scan and remove system/iTunes/Photo junk, identify large old files that are safe to delete, uninstall useless third-party apps in batch, etc.
Duplicate Finder does what its name suggests. It finds all the duplicate files on your system and lets you delete them. In any case, these duplicate files eat away a lot of space. You might have downloaded something twice, or created a duplicate just for a back up or took too many pictures of the same object. System storage mac cleaner.
One particular section we like about CleanMyMac is the “Maintenance” module, which is packed with 7 useful utilities that help fix various common Mac issues, such as speed up Mail, verify startup disk, repair disk permissions, flush DNS cache, etc. These maintenance tasks are usually for power users, but CleanMyMac makes it easy for us basic users to use as well.
There are also a handful of other super helpful utilities within the app, and it’s up to you to choose to use them or not. We believe CleanMyMac is the best Mac cleanup app out there and we highly recommend it to most of Mac users.
2. Best for Mac Maintenance: IObit MacBooster
What separates MacBooster from other Mac optimization software is its all-in-one concept. You’ll rarely see how one piece of software can achieve so much — protecting your Mac from virus and malware, cleaning Mac disk drive, optimizing Mac startup times, and others. Obviously, IObit wants to position the app as a one-stop maintenance tool for a Mac.
Once you install and run the app, the main interface shows “System Status: Unknown”. All you need to do is clicking the “Scan” button, within seconds or minutes you’ll see an overview report detailing the issues with your Mac system. Well, we have to point out though, that the software over exaggerates the seriousness of certain issues. For example, it detected 5751 issues under Privacy Protection but turned out those “issues” are actually browsing histories we feel okay to keep.
Nevertheless, we still think the app is valuable for many users. In particular, we like the Duplicate Finder feature — which can help you spot out tons of duplicate and similar items (especially pictures) that are safe for removal. And by doing so, you could free up much storage on your Mac. There are also several other great features like Photo Sweeper, Uninstaller, etc. The bottom line: MacBooster is probably the only yet most comprehensive Mac maintenance app you’ll need to keep your Mac secure and fast.
3. Best Cross-Platform Cleaning App: CCleaner Pro
For those of you who just switched to Mac, you probably have used CCleaner back in the PC days. CCleaner was so popular and Piriform claimed it had achieved millions of downloads. But its popularity perhaps has decreased a bit due to the malware hack happened in 2017 (read more from this Time report). Still, it’s a tool loved by many and CCleaner is definitely the number-one tool for cleaning a Windows PC.
Few Mac users actually know that the app is also now available for macOS. Clearly, Avast (who acquired Piriform) wants to replicate the success of CCleaner in the Mac market. CCleaner Free allows you to scan and clean your computer, while the Pro version offers additional real-time monitoring, automatic updates, and premium support.
4. Best Mac Tune-up App: Stellar SpeedUp Mac
Bill itself to be able to “increase the speed of your Mac by up to 25%”, Stellar SpeedUp Mac is another Mac performance app that strives to take a share in the crowded market. The app is well designed with clean interfaces and text instructions. To get started, all you have to do is clicking the “SpeedUp Now” located in the center, and select “Recommended Scan” to continue.
The app then shows you a list of files that are supposed to be deleted, though within the program this action is called “SpeedUp Now”. We found this a bit confusing as cleaning Mac junk files is one thing and speeding up the computer is another, not sure why Stellar Phoenix uses the words interchangeably.
That being said, it’s one of the easiest-to-use programs we’ve tested and some of you may actually like it even though it’s not the fully-packed or powerful optimization apps.
Any other Mac optimizer software that you feel we should include in this list, leave a comment and let us know.
Influenced by the startup culture in the Silicon Valley, Jessica loves building things from zero to one and is keen on following news related to the Big Five tech giants and many SaaS startups.
Has your MacBook lost its incredible speed, and performance? The biggest reason behind low speed is the lack of storage space on your Mac. The best way to optimize your Mac to peak performance is by using best Mac cleaner app. It will help to make your slow Mac book to lite again. There are lots of Mac cleanup apps available on the market, and we will recommend top 10 of them for you to choose from.
Why Do You Need A Mac Cleaner
Mac cleaner is a utility application that is designed to speed up a Mac computer. The time you purchased your MacBook; it would have assisted you with incredible speed and performance. Meanwhile, in all these years or months, you would have downloaded ample amount of minutes, videos, files, apps. Thereby resulting in shortage of storage and resulting in slow Mac. Are you using all the apps, and files you have downloaded so far? There would be ample of them lying idly for months; you wouldn’t have even used them once. Moreover, your Mac storage would also contain cache files, junk files and many other unused apps haunting your storage. This is when Mac cleaner steps in!
Mac cleaner is a ram cleaner that helps remove cache files, duplicates, unused apps and many more files that are no more important to you. It is disk cleanup application that will thoroughly clean and maintain your Apple’s computer health. Within no time; all the unwanted apps and files deleted and you can once again enjoy precious disk space.
Let’s look into some other reasons you need Mac cleaner. Get hooked with one the best Mac cleaning software if you follow a similar condition:
- You receive a notification “your disk space is almost full.”
- You are new to macOS and do not have the expertise to handle technical stuff
- You have the knowledge to clean Mac manually, but you want to invest your time and effort is something productive.
- You don’t want to pay extra space to Apple for attaining storage space on iCloud.
10 Best Mac Cleaner Apps You Can Choose From
As we mentioned above, we will introduce 10 software for you to choose from. They are highly recommended with powerful functions to refresh your Mac. And we ranked them with points, so that you can easily find out the better ones. Just keep on reading.
1. Umate Mac Cleaner - (9.8/10)
Price: $29.95 one year
Compatibility: macOS 10.14-10.9
Ease of Use: Very easy
Umate Mac Cleaner is one of the best Mac cleanup software because of its offerings. It quickly and automatically detects unwanted files and removes them from your Mac without any effort. Moreover, the app also helps to speed up your Mac and improve its performance. It comes with two cleaning modes, including Quick Clean and Deep Clean, you can perform them each by each according to your neeed. Let’s look into other main features below.
- Automatically detects all cleanable junk files and remove them easily to free up more disk space.
- Helps users speed up their Mac and improve its performance.
- Supported to erase personal data thereby preventing privacy leaks.
- Allows you to uninstall unused apps and remove unnecessary extensions from their Mac.
What we like:
- The easiest one click feature.
- Removes more than 40 types Of junk files.
- Buy one and get all the functions in such a all-in-one tool.
- The price offering is affordable as compared to its competitors.
- User-friendly interface and very easy to use.
- Recommended and trusted by many famous tech sites like Macworld, MakeUseof, Cult of Mac and more.
What we don't like:
No duplicate file removal feature.
2. CleanMyMac X - (9.6/10)
Price: $34.95 one year
Compatibility: macOS 10.10 and higher
Ease of Use: Easy
CleanMyMac X is another incredible Mac cleaning software that helps user’s clean junk and boosts the performance of your Mac. Within seconds it detects junk in the corner of your MacBook and scans unneeded files. Moreover with the help of this Mac cleaning software you can remove clutter in the hidden files. Its main features are listed below.
- Delete junk files in seconds and create digital space.
- Distinguish between important files and junk files.
- Offers wide range of speed up tools.
- Removes private data like browsing history and online traces to maintain the privacy.
What we like:
- One click option helps users clean their Mac quickly and easily.
- Provides maximum performance of your Mac.
- Its protection module is regularly updated thereby protecting users from all viruses and malware.
- Helps users sort out the software conflicts with ease.
What we don't like:
Poor customer service: its customer service center does not offer chat or phone service, which disturbs customers.
Best Mac Disk Cleaner App 2019
3. CCleaner - (9.3/10)
Price: $24.95 one year
Compatibility: macOS 10.8 to 10.14
Ease of Use: Easy
CCleaner is also one of the best Mac cleaning tool for you that can help users clean their Mac with ease. It’s simple and easy to use interface are for all. It comes up with a bundle of features.
- Analyzes the Mac system and detects all junk and unwanted files automatically.
- Displays a long list of invalid entries that could be fixed or left unchecked.
- Disable startup programs and uninstall programs.
What we like:
- Easy to use and intuitive interface.
- Helps user s make online browsing safe.
- Remove junk files and other unwanted files.
- Available in three versions: a free version, professional version and professional bundle.
What we don't like:
- The standard download page is confusing.
- Users are forced to install another program along with CCleaner.
4. MacBooster - (9.3/10)
Price: $29.95 one year
Compatibility: macOS Mojave
Ease of Use: Easy
MacBooster is also a great cleaning software that helps to clean 29 types of junk files quickly and easily. It is also known to remove Mac malware and viruses; therefore protects and optimizes your Mac to peak performance. Let's discover more features of it.
- Removes all kinds of junk files and creates more space on your Mac.
- Attain excellent performance boost by optimizing the Mac hard drive.
- Protects your MacBook from potential threat; viruses, spyware, malware and adware.
What we like:
- Offers a wide range of useful tools to maintain excellent performance of Mac.
- Easy to use application with a sleek and intuitive interface.
- Comes with a competitive price.
- Timely customer service is provided to users.
What we don't like:
- Users get annoyed with empty trash warning.
- Offers less guidance; so not recommendable for newbies.
5. DaisyDisk - (9.0/10)
Price: Minimum $9.99
Compatibility: macOS 10.10+
Ease of Use: Medium
DaisyDisk is another recommendable Mac cleaning software that gives you a visual representation of your Mac folders. It enlists every detail of the apps that take up space on your Mac and helps you delete them quickly. Its features are listed below.
- Identify and remove large unused files quickly and easily.
- Offers multiple disk scan option.
- Detects, reveal and purge hidden and purgeable space.
What we like:
- User-friendly interface.
- Comes with fast scanning speed tp scan your entire startup disk quickly.
- Cost-effective and affordable for all.
What we don't like:
- Offers only cleanup feature.
- Doesn’t provide an all-in-one performance solution.
6. Disk Clean Pro - (8.8/10)
Price: $49.99 for one year
Compatibility: macOS X 10.6 or later
Ease of Use: Medium
Disk Clean Pro is another free yet powerful Mac cleaning software that will help you clean your MacBook with ease. The best thing about this incredible tool is that it not only boosts your system speed but also prevent it from slowdown. Let's see what it can do.
- Frees up disk space by scanning for system and user log files.
- Deletes unwanted garbage with a single click.
- Allows you to remove corrupted and incomplete downloads.
What we like:
- Offers four disk cleanup tools to scan and clean your disk.
- Supoported to remove duplicate files on Mac.
- Remove hidden clutter from your device.
What we don't like:
- Does not provide in-depth cleaning.
- Does not have any other option except cleanup.
- The user-interface is not so intuitive.
7. MacFly Pro - (8.5/10)
Price: $13.95 per month
Compatibility: macOS X 10.10
Ease of Use: Medium
MacFly Pro is another one of the best Mac cleaning tools that can help you improve your Mac maintenance. With the help of this tool you can reclaim free storage space and get back your new Mac within minutes.
- Cleans up the Mac disk including system cleaning, leftovers, memory and mail attachment management.
- Comes with Smart Assistant who reminds users for cleanup with a single button.
What we like:
- Excellent customer service to resolve all queries and problems of customers.
- Scans results and offers tips.
- Free trial available.
What we don't like:
- Some users complain about its shallow functionality
- Steep pricing range; the six-month standard plan is $71.70, 12-months 107.40 and 24-months is $142.80.
- Has lots of certain restrictions of free trial.
8. Disk Doctor - (8.5/10)
Price: Minimum $2.99
Compatibility: macOS X 10.7 or later
Ease of Use: Easy
Disk Doctor is one of app in our best list. With the help of this tool, users maintain their Mac and optimizes its performance at the same time. It allows users to fix errors and find hidden preferences.
After scanning, the results sorted into various categories; application caches, logs, browser data, mail download folder, download folder, developer files, trash can, large files and others.
What we like:
- Has a straightforward and clean interface.
- Offers full preview option to its users.
- With a few clicks, you can delete files from wide range of categories.
What we don't like:
- Does not allow the user to deselect any individual item within categories.
- It is a simple cleaning tool that doesn’t focus on enhancements.
- Poor customer service.
9. Appcleaner - (8.3/10)
Price: Free
Compatibility: macOS X 10.9-10.13
Ease of Use: Easy
AppCleaner is our last recommendation of one of the best free Mac cleaner, and it is easy to use. Just drag and drop the apps in the window of the app cleaner you want to uninstall. Not only the file will be deleted, but widgets will be sent to trash as well. Re-check the files and hit the empty button.
What we like:
- User-friendly interface and nice for newbie’s.
- Offers preview feature before deleting them.
What we don't like:
- Offers a limited function.
- Doesn’t delete all selected files.
- No adequate support available.
- Multiple deletion option is not available.
10. OnyX - (8.0/10)
Price: Free
Compatibility: macOS 10.8-10.13
Ease of Use: Complex
Onyx is a free software but not for newbies. It will help you analyze and optimize disk space on Mac and optimize your Mac. It is an system-specific application; therefore you have to choose its OS version according to your version. The Deep cleaning option is provided.
What we like:
Download Cleaner App
- Supported to rebuilds Mac database.
- Provides a warning in case of advances actions.
What we don't like:
- Not for newbie’s with poor user interface.
- Different versions required for different MacOS.
- Features offered are very limited.
- Customer service is not good enough.
Closing Words
There is number of Mac cleanup utilities available, We have enlisted you the best of them you can rely on! Now, choose the one that suits you best. However, if you want our recommendation, we suggest Umate Mac Cleaner. It is the best app to clean Mac due to its functionality, features, pricing and competitive offerings. You can try it first with a free trial.