Best Free Cleanup Software For Mac

Utilities • Updated on July.30, 2020

Instead of searching your Mac manually for duplicates, select a particular folder and let this cleaner do its work. As a result, you’ll save ample of space on your Mac. Photos Duplicate Cleaner creates groups of duplicate photos so that it is easy to find out the number of occurrences of similar photos and clean selected duplicates.

Editor’s note: After retesting the latest versions of our picks, we’ve updated this guide to include Sensei as our new runner-up.

Like many of you, I shifted from Windows to macOS to get superior performance and smooth experience. However, I had this false idea that Mac devices don’t need cleaning or maintenance as such. Of course, that didn’t last long.

Check out the crashed apps and also find out the firewall status. Besides, you have the option to upgrade this Mac cleaner to unlock several useful features like removing mail attachments, duplicate, and large files. Price: Free Download #4. No list of top Mac cleaning software would be complete without OnyX. Best Mac Cleanup Software Free Windows 10 And there could be several reasons. Presence of junk files in the form of system cache, log files, temp files, background applications, browser history, the list goes on and on. Best Mac Cleaner Software and Optimization Utilities 2020. We gather together some of the best clean-up utilities for macOS. But also includes Virus and Malware scans to keep your Mac free. The Best Free Software of 2020. Clean-Up / Maintenance Utilities. There's still the Outlook program itself for Windows and Mac—it comes with Microsoft Office—but this free option is a.

As I started using my Mac for resource-intensive tasks and more apps, it started becoming somewhat slow. It took me, however, a few months to understand why Macs also need cleaning and performance-boosting. Wondering why?

Just like Windows, macOS also generates temporary/junk files over time. Now, if you use your Mac for simple tasks like web browsing or checking email, this won’t be a problem. However, if you are into jobs like video editing, software testing or development, the junk file can slow down your Mac.

The other problem is that these files may take up a lot of space from your Mac. Of course, this isn’t ideal for your Mac storage, either. As you keep installing and using more apps, you have to face space crunch on your MacBook, iMac, or iMac Pro.

And, this article we’ll walk you through the essentials — and even some great third party Mac cleaner apps — to clean up invisible clutter and tune up your Mac beyond its limits.

Shortcuts:

Our Pick: CleanMyMac X
Runner-Up: Sensei
The Paid Competition: CCleaner Professional, Macbooster, Intego Mac Washing Machine, DaisyDisk, Disk Doctor
The Free Competition: AppCleaner, OnyX

Background

Starting with macOS Sierra, Apple offered an elegant space-clearing solution feature, Optimized Storage.

Optimized Storage in macOS Sierra and later can save space by storing your content in the cloud and making it available on demand. To make room for more storage, it automatically saves files, photos, movies, and email attachments to the cloud.

Each file stays right where you last saved it, and downloads when you open it. Files that you’ve used recently remain on your Mac, along with optimized versions of your photos.

This feature helps you deal with junk content like duplicates, old email attachments, and downloads. It helps you to automatically examine these — and delete them or move them to iCloud. As a result, you get more free space on your hard drive, but several gigabytes of cloud storage taken up, which you could’ve used for other things.

Also, extra iCloud storage space from Apple isn’t cheap. Once you cross the 5GB limit, you have to pay Apple a monthly fee. This could be anywhere between a few dollars to hundreds of dollars. And, trust me, it’s way easy to cross the limit if you use multiple devices from Apple.

Do you know what’s even worse? This method doesn’t sound practical for those with a subpar connection at home/office. What if you stored something important on iCloud and cannot download it because you do not have an internet connection?

Mac Clean-up & Performance Tune-up

Personally speaking, I didn’t find Optimized Storage as an appropriate solution for me. I’m sure many of you can relate, mainly if you deal with a lot of data.

And, this is where Mac cleanup and performance tune-up software come in. Here’s how they work:

Dedicated tools to clean Mac help you to free up space on your Mac. Because this works better than what we saw in Optimized Storage, you can get more free space.
Deleting junk and temporary files from your Mac can speed up the machine. You can enjoy a smooth macOS experience without messing with important macOS files. This also contributes toa better multitasking experience, among other
Speed-booster apps for Macwill help you with sensitive tasks like RAM boost, cache clearing, and Disk Permission management. A dedicated tool helps you in dealing with these confusing tasks. The best part is that you can unleash the real power of your Mac.
Most Mac maintenance tools often come with Security modules that scan your Mac for potential threats. So, you can easily remove adware and other dangerous elements with ease. This provides a safer, secure experience on and off the web.
You don’t have to pay for this extra storage space, since you are making the best out of your existing Mac. This is, of course, better than getting a portable SSD/HDD or iCloud upgrades. You also ensure better speed here.

Here’s what I think.

When you’re a professional, you may not have enough time to keep track of storage space and the speed of your Mac. Instead, you need a quick and easy way to deal with everything. In the end, everyone wants the first fastest Mac.

Well, that’s why I decided to check out Mac cleaner software in the first place.

What Makes a Good Mac Cleaner App

Here are a few things we asked ourselves before considering a Mac cleaning app for this coverage.

Is the app intuitive and easy to use?
Is the app secure? Does it ensure safety while tampering with significant parts of the Mac?
Does it notifyyou about the potential issues on your device?
Does it offer features to clean junk files, trash, unused, and copiesin different system sections?
Does it make smart decisions and work efficiently?
Does it check your Mac’s overall health?
Is it priced reasonably with respect to the powerful features/functionalities we get?
Is it compatible with the latest version of macOS?
Is the app available in different languages to be used by people from different countries?

And guess what? We have chosen 9 Mac cleaner software and performance tune-up tools that checked the most important boxes.

Disclosure: We sometimes use affiliate links which means that, at zero cost to you, we may earn a commission if you buy something through our links.

Our Pick: CleanMyMac X

After testing multiple Mac cleaning and speed-up software for several weeks, CleanMyMac X undoubtedly made it to the top position. We believe it’s the best solution you have at cleaning and tuning up your Mac experience to something better.

CleanMyMac X is an all-in-one Mac cleaner and performance tune-up software available for macOS devices. This popular tool comes from MacPaw, one of the trusted developers in the industry right now.

What’s Great about CleanMyMac X

For now, let’s see how good CleanMyMac X is at cleaning and speeding up your Mac. Do keep in mind that what follows is an insight-filled review of CleanMyMac X on macOS Catalina.

#1 Super-Easy Mac Cleaning

You don’t have to be a macOS ninja to use CleanMyMac X. I mean, I started using CleanMyMac X when Mac was a new platform to me. And, with the later versions, the tool has become more intuitive.

Regardless of your expertise with macOS, CleanMyMac X can help you clean up junk and make it faster. You don’t have to make sensible decisions if you are unsure. Instead, this Mac cleaning app uses algorithms to understand what’s best for your Mac. So, via a simple Smart Scan button, you can not only clean your Mac but also anything and everything that is wrong.

#2 Comprehensive Maintenance

CleanMyMac X can very well be the most comprehensive Mac cleaner/optimizer out there. Split into sections like Cleanup, Protection, Speed, Applications, and Files, you can find so many features inside.

All these features work towards a single goal: a cleaner, faster Mac. For instance, in the Speed section, the CleanMyMac X modules let you manage launch agents and login items on your Mac. Similarly, the modules in the Applications section allow you to safely and effectively remove applications, huge files, and unwanted stuff from your device. All these help you in speeding up the Mac and improving the overall speed.

#3 Powerful Utilities

Another thing I loved about CleanMyMac X is that it doesn’t restrict itself. For instance, the tool comes with many utilities such as Space Lens and App Updater.

Space Lens, for example, allows you to understand how your Mac uses the storage space. You can find out the biggest directories and huge files. This helps you in making quick decisions. App Updater can help you in updating all the apps you have on your Mac. So, even if you installed an app from non-App Store sources, it becomes easy.

#4 Smart Cleaning Notifications

Ideally, you should open up CleanMyMac X and run the cleaning/boosting modules once in a while. Though, if you don’t, the app can notify you.

These notifications come in two ways: the main app and the CleanMyMac X menu bar widget. The menu bar widget notifies you when the RAM is full or when the CPU usage is so high. You also get prompts regarding frequent cleaning sessions. It’s impressive that this tool can keep your Mac clean and safe, even if you forget to do that.

#5 Customizable Performance

I always love a customizable tool, and CleanMyMac X isn’t an exception. You can control how CleanMyMac X scans your Mac and deals with the results.

For instance, you can exclude apps, folders, or other spaces by being scanned at all. You also get options to control how certain elements look on the interface. More importantly, you need not follow whatever CleanMyMac X tells you to do blindly. For instance, if you don’t want to remove every kind of junk from your Mac, you can decide to exempt something.

#6 Effective Speed-up

This is the reason why I have been recommending CleanMyMac X to all my friends and family — and, now, to you guys too.

A simple scan and cleaning with CleanMyMac X can change the way you use your Mac. You get to enjoy the same speed you see when you open up a Mac for the first time. It happens because the cleaning algorithms that CleanMyMac X use are pretty advanced. Similarly, you get some extreme options like Disk Permissions Manager and Spotlight Re-indexing to boost the speed even further.

#7 Great Support

Compared to other Mac cleaner software we have tried before, the after-sale support from MacPaw is surely the best.

First of all, the developer offers frequent updates to the tool. In most cases, any bug you see in one release will be fixed in a few weeks, maximum. Also, there is no scarcity of learning resources through the support guides. So, even if you are entirely new to macOS, the guides from MacPaw will help you make the best out of CleanMyMac X.

What Could Be Better?

We did have a look at the best things about CleanMyMac X, but here are a few areas that we think may use some improvement.

The developers can consider some additional options like duplicate file remover inside CleanMyMac X. Since duplicate files cause storage space crunch and slow-down, it seems like a great move.
CleanMyMac X comes with a malware detection module, but it’s not entirely adequate. We’d love to see some improvements in this area.

Do these impact CleanMyMac X as a Mac cleaner? NO. Can such improvements make CleanMyMac X perfect over time? YES.

Pros

Easy-to-use Interface
Versatile cleaning options
Comprehensive coverage
Completely safe to use
Reasonable pricing

Cons

Could get more utilities
Security module needs work

Availability & Pricing

CleanMyMac X is currently available for macOS 10.10 or later. It works fine with macOS Catalina as well. We had tested this Mac cleaner software for this review on Catalina.

The pricing plans of CleanMyMac X begin at $34.95. If you want multiple licenses, you have to pay further. However, considering the features inside the tool, the single-license price seems quite reasonable.

By the way, you can get CleanMyMac X via a Setapp subscription as well.

CleanMyMac X works on macOS 10.10 and later, including the newly released macOS 10.15 Catalina. A free trial version is available for download.

Runner-Up: Sensei

Although not as comprehensive as CleanMyMac X, Sensei offers a unified platform to monitor and manage your Mac with ease. This is why we recommend this new-generation Mac performance tool as the runner-up in this list. Of course, you don’t get as many cleaning options as you see in the top pick.

Sensei is a powerful Mac tune-up software that helps you improve the speed and reliability of your Mac. You can use Sensei to monitor, analyze, benchmark, and improve different aspects of your Mac, such as Storage, Thermal Dashboard, and Battery Consumption.

What’s Great about Sensei

Here are a few reasons why we recommend Sensei as a great app to speed up your Mac.

#1 Impressive Dashboard

We think the superb dashboard on Sensei deserves another round of applause. This dashboard can simply be the only place you should look to understand how your Mac works.

You get to see which apps are consuming resources and how your fans are running. Similarly, there are ways to track the health, capacity, and performance of multiple elements like storage, graphics, and battery. By the way, Sensei also has a menu-bar interface that you can customize. Unfortunately, that’s only the level of customization you get.

#2 A Well-Curated Cleaning Package

We already told you that Sensei isn’t as comprehensive as CleanMyMac X. However, the options available in the Sensei package are just excellent on any day.

We are talking about the essential modules like application uninstaller and junk file cleaner. When combined with the in-depth data Sensei provides, these tools can change the way you use your Mac. For instance, you can easily explore different categories and clean different types of content from your Mac SSD/HDD. It’s nice to clean your entire Mac from a single space.

#3 Advanced Monitoring

Compared to other Mac cleaning apps out there, Sensei brings a more comprehensive approach. It gives you so much information about your Mac that you can make the right decisions.

For instance, using Sensei, you can track the storage space, temperature, graphics performance, cooling, and many other aspects of the device. Sensei will be the best choice if you want to know if your MacBook Pro fans are dysfunctional, for instance. Similarly, Sensei can give you advanced data on sections like battery and SSD health.

#4 Benchmark, Stats and More

When it comes to aspects like storage and performance, Sensei doubles as a benchmarking suite and a tool for advanced statistics.

For instance, you can use Sensei to understand the current performance of your SSD and analyze the stats in a better way. There is also an option to see the current health and temperature of the drive. Going a step further, Sensei can notify you before the disk falls into some kind of trouble. So, on any day, Sensei is a great way to keep your Mac on a check.

What Could Be Better?

So, these are the areas that we think Sensei can improve.

We strongly believe Sensei could have included more options to improve the performance. As you may have seen, more than half of the app focuses on statisticsand analysis. It’s also one of the reasons why Sensei cannot compete face to face with something like CleanMyMac X.
The lack of customization is a problem, indeed. This puts the user in a tough position of making the call. That is, the user has to decide which files they delete and which they don’t. We also think Sensei must offer extra assistance while analyzing the scan results.

Despite these, if you are looking for a simple way to manage junk/huge files and a lot of methods to analyze data, Sensei seems to be a great deal.

Pros

Low footprint
Excellent statistics
In-depth analysis
SSD Trimming
Affordable pricing

Cons

Limited compatibility
Lacks customizability

Availability & Pricing

Sensei is available for macOS 10.15 Catalina and later. You heard that right. You can’t run Sensei on old Macs.

Coming to the pricing, you can get either the yearly subscription for $29 or the Lifetime license for $59. In both cases, you get future updates, which is excellent.

As you can see, Sensei is pretty inexpensive than our top pick, but you miss some features.

The Competition: Paid Mac Cleaner Software

CCleaner Professional

For years, the standard in PC cleaner software has been CCleaner. Now, Mac users can benefit from the experience that the Piriform developers bring to the table. CCleaner Professional is quick and easy to use the program, which speeds up your Mac and secures it. Although CCleaner has a free version, there are only two basic features aimed at a faster Mac and Privacy Protection.

At the premium level with a price of $24.95, you have Automatic Browser Cleaning, Real-time Monitoring, Automatic Updating, and what they call ‘Priority Support.’ There are 3 tabs – Cleaner, Tools, and Options. These three cleaning options inside CCleaner can help you remove junk files, trash files, unused data, unwanted files, and software

Though CCleaner Professional has many helpful features, it lacks some options. For instance, it always stays as a simple tool for cleaning temporary files and internet cache.

Macbooster 8

MacBooster from IObit is a powerful Mac maintenance tool for cleaning up Mac computers and offers proper functionality for its class. MacBooster and CleanMyMac X have quite similar functionality, offering users several cleaning options and tools: system cleanup, finding duplicates, deleting large files, uninstalling applications, protecting your Mac from virus and malware, etc.

Start by clicking Clean and Boost, for example, and four sections – Internet Security, System Cleanup, System Optimization, and Disk Clean – are scanned for errors, threats, and redundant files. After a quick review, you can simply click the Fix button and proceed. We also liked MacBooster’s performance boost tool, which shuts down low-level services to speed up your Mac further.

If you’re a power user looking to deep-clean your Mac, give the 14-day trial a whirl. After that, it requires a $2.49/month subscription.

Intego Mac Washing Machine X9

Intego Mac Washing Machine is a Mac cleaner that makes it easy to get rid of junk files that slow down your Mac. It comes with three separate but complementary functions. It scans for unused or obsolete files that can be deleted, it identifies duplicate files, and it lets you manage your desktop. Through the app’s intuitive interface, you can quickly access all features and have your Mac running more smoothly in no time.

Overall, the Intego Mac Washing Machine app is elegant. It’s worth checking out if you are looking for an app that helps you organize your storage drives and removes unnecessary files. But there is no quick-look support for files preview, and the trial version of this app can only complete the preliminary steps of each function. Once again, you will notice a lack of options.

You get to see what each phase of the scanning process looks like, but to get any real functionality, you’ll have to pay $29.99 for an unrestricted license.

DaisyDisk

DaisyDisk is a beautiful yet different disk space analyzer that scans the drives on your Mac and gives you a visual overview of what’s eating up space on your Mac. It displays files in a pinwheel-shaped disk map, letting you quickly locate and clean up large files. You can use the built-in QuickLook preview to see what you might want to get rid of (you can also reveal in Finder to take a closer look).

There’s a collection drawer where you can stage files (or entire segments) for trash. Once you’ve browsed through and collected things you don’t need, a single click clears them out. DaisyDisk is available for just $9.99 from the Mac App Store as well as from their website (standalone edition). The standalone version from their site offers some additional features since it is not bound by Apple’s sandboxing rules.

We like DaisyDisk’s design with its circular visualizations! But it’s important to note that DaisyDisk does not warn you if you delete something sensitive to the system. So, please use DaisyDisk carefully.

Disk Doctor

Adobe premiere cs3 download mac. Disk Doctor is developed in the UK and was awarded the ‘Mac Gem’ award by MacWorld in 2013. The app focuses on disk cleanup only. It scans and removes application caches, browser logs , iTunes temp caches and other unnecessary files from your hard drive. The interface is very simple and professional as well as easy to use.

The limitation of Disk Doctor is that the utility is designed to work only with your Mac’s boot volume. You can’t scan an external volume and free up disk space on it. Similarly, you miss features like app uninstaller and cache manager. On the bright side, you get an interactive way to manage different elements and remove them with ease.

Disk Doctor Pro could use a few improvements and additional features, but at its current price of just $9.99, it’s worth having around.

The Competition: Free Alternatives

AppCleaner

AppCleaner is a small and simple utility that helps you uninstall macOS apps completely. Sure, the Mac makes it a lot easier to get rid of unwanted software than Windows, but a thorough cleaning is another affair. Often apps will leave behind configuration files, cache folders, and other remnants that occupy disk space. This is where AppCleaner comes in.

AppCleaner does a serviceable job of locating all the files associated with the app and provides an index so that you know just how much space they’re taking up. Once you’ve got them all accounted for, click the Delete button and delete them forever. As you can guess, there are no additional features in this package. You can remove the apps, and that’s it.

Of course, we have included AppCleaner as a limited alternative only. It cannot be compared to CleanMyMac X or Sensei on any day. But, if you can’t spend at all, AppCleaner helps you with the baby steps.

OnyX

OnyX is another free multifunctional utility that can verify your Mac’s startup disk, run a variety of system scripts for cleaning tasks manually and rebuilding your Mac. The developer offers specific OnyX versions for every major version of macOS. When a new version of macOS comes out, you have to revisit the OnyX site and grab the latest release. Every version is free and very small. So, you don’t waste space.

It’s handy for deleting caches, removing redundant and excessive files and folders, rebuilding databases and indexes, and making your machine run more smoothly and with added disk space. Just be careful playing with these settings. They’re helpful and can improve your Mac’s performance, but if you don’t know what a given setting is supposed to do, you’re probably best off not changing it.

We think it’s excellent for tech-savvy and experienced Mac users to take significantly more time to get around and find what you need, then learn how to use it, but the result pays.

Additional Tips To Clean Your Mac Further

Keep the macOS desktop clean: Many people use Desktop as their primary destination for files. But this could be tricky. Each of these files adds pressure to the system. When there are too many items on the screen, you’ll start seeing slow-downs on Mac. So, you have to keep the desktop clean and minimal with fewer icons and applications.

Grab some external storage: It is no mystery what is filling up your storage – files. To prevent your data from clogging up the system, you might consider saving your less-used files to a location away from your computer. An external drive will be ideal. You can even use apps like Get Backup Pro to enable the syncing process.

Restart regularly: Restarting your Mac regularly is an excellent way to clean up the Mac and improve the overall performance of the device. It works because the restart process can help your Mac in rejuvenating and cleaning some caches and temporary files.

Stay current with macOS: Apple releases new versions of OS X as free upgrades, so there is no reason not to keep current. New versions of macOS contain performance improvements that often use more system resources. Also, you get features like Optimize Storage.

In Closing

Now, you’ve a handful of Mac cleaning software to choose from, with different customization that can help you accomplish your goals.

After carefully evaluating all the popular Mac cleaner solutions, we believe that CleanMyMac X beats them all in overall performance, ease of use, and flexibility. It should also be noted that CleanMyMac X is used by more than 5 Million Mac users across the globe. Just in case you didn’t know, trustworthy websites like TheNextWeb and MacWorld recommend it.

However, if you are looking for something more specific, you can consider other options like Sensei. Then, again, it’s always better to have a compilation of tools instead of installing different apps for each need.

Utility • Nov. 3, 2020

How often do you clean your Mac? Be honest, when is the last time you at least cleaned your Mac desktop?

What if you could find a software that could automate the cleaning process for you?

The reason why we’re asking you all of these questions is because no matter how new your Mac is – if you don’t clean it and maintain its health, it will eventually slow down. And before you blame Apple (or someone else), you should definitely ask yourself when was the last time you backed up and cleaned your Mac thoroughly?

These are just some of the questions you might have in the back of your mind right now. Luckily, you’re in the right place as we’ll provide all the answers to the questions you have – so keep on reading!

Note: Though we talk about free Mac cleaning software below, you might also be interested in taking a look at some of our other lists of premium Mac cleaners, top PC cleaners, an the apps to clean & organize your Mac desktop.

Why Would You Need to Clean Your Mac?

If Mac is considered a superior OS choice – why would there need to be any cleaning?

The answer to this is fairly simple. During the use of your precious Mac, you’ll accumulate temporary files, system cache, leftovers from the apps you’ve once used, and a lot of other similar types of files.

When all these add up, not only it will take up a decent amount of your storage which you could use for other purposes but you’ll also be putting your Mac health at risk.

How?

Mac that accumulates data and writes files without any cleaning/deleting in a long time can run slower, and might not even be in a stable condition.

If you’re using your Mac for work, school, or even personal reasons – you would still want it to run as it did run the first day, right?

And while you’re blaming the Big Sur update or you’re thinking that you might need a newer Mac to regain the speed your computer once had – it’s most likely that all you need to do is clean your Mac.

Doing all the work manually will take chunks of your time and it’s most likely that you won’t be able to find all the files by yourself.

Using software instead is a smart choice as it’ll detect all files and data that can or should be removed, and yet you still get to decide what goes and what doesn’t.

As we always say – it’s better to start with free software and see if it serves your purpose so we’ve selected, tested, and reviewed 7 free Mac cleaning software which you can find below!

Our Favorite Top Free Mac Cleaning Software to Check Out

It’s a bit tricky to find quality free cleaning software and while there are hundreds of paid cleaning software, there isn’t as much free cleaning software. Agenda mac download.

However, here’s are our top 7 picks for the best free Mac cleaning software that won’t let you down:

Mac OS Built-In Optimized Storage

Most Mac users don’t even know that there’s a built-in feature that you can use for the cleaning purpose.

It’s a feature that’s very easy to find if you know exactly what you’re looking for. If you don’t know where to find it – follow our advice:

Open Finder
Click the Apple logo in the top left corner
Click ‘About this Mac’
In the pop-up window, click Storage
In Storage, click Manage
In a new pop-up window, click on the ‘Optimize Storage’ button

By clicking on the Manage button in the Storage tab, this will give you a better insight into the amount of storage you’re using on your Mac, the amount of storage that’s free, but it will also list all types of files in the highest to lowest data usage order.

I find this very useful as this tells me exactly what types of files are taking up the most space on my Mac and this is a great indicator as to where to start your cleaning.

Optimize Storage function is a really useful built-in feature that not many Mac users know about – yet it helps you save space by automatically removing iTunes files that you’ve watched (such as TV programs, movies, and shows).

I am the first person to admit that I never watch the same movie twice and yet I never remember to delete it off of my Mac after watching. If you’re in the same situation as me – Mac’s in-built optimize feature is the best place to start with your Mac cleaning.

Also, knowing that this is the official Mac feature that’s free takes the game to another level.

Onyx (fromTitanium)

Onyx can be a bit confusing at first, because when you install it and its menu pops up – there are loads of settings you can adjust.

It took me a bit to find a way to run Onyx, but once I was able to do that by running both Maintenance by pressing the button ‘Run tasks’ and through the Utilities tab which allowed me to clean all files from the past week or month.

For me, the best part of the app is the functionality which works smoothly, and yet for free software – you get a lot of features which can you manually enable/disable.

This, of course, ensures that you completely automate the process of cleaning your Mac on a regular schedule without deleting any important files/documents.

I also like how Onyx has a complete insight into my Mac and doesn’t only know the memory/storage, but it also knows other components and apps I’ve been using the most.

Onyx also works in 3 different ways which are maintenance, rebuilding, and cleaning.

For example, if one of your updates didn’t install correctly, Onyx would recognize this through the software, rebuild the update and confirm another installation, and even after the installation – it would delete all unnecessary files that are leftover.

The great thing about Onyx is that it’s completely free and you can install it for almost any Mac OS version.

CCleaner Free for Mac

CCleaner is the ‘old-school’ software when it comes down to cleaning your Mac and even though it’s a very popular option among Windows users – you should know that CCleaner is available and free for Mac users too!

The download took a bit but the software is pretty lightweight so the installation only takes a minute or two.

Once you run the CCleaner for the first time, it’ll automatically detect your Mac hardware, its OS, and your apps/files.

You’ll be greeted with a ‘Cleaner’ tab where you can choose which parts of your Mac should be cleaned and which one shouldn’t. I find this option to be very useful, but if you aren’t sure which one to tick or untick – you can just leave it by default.

Being able to clean both my Mac computer but also the Apps is a great way to keep both in control, and with the help of tools, I was able to uninstall some apps that didn’t have a clear and easy-to-find uninstaller.

The user interface is very simple and you will have everything you need ready – and you’ll always be only a couple of clicks away from the cleaning process.

Even though there’s a paid version which has a bit better capabilities, CCleaner also has a free version that I think is very much capable of being the only software you’ll ever need to clean your Mac.

App Cleaner

If you already know that your apps are something you must clean first and that this might make a significant improvement for your Mac – App Cleaner is the perfect app.

It’s a very lightweight app that only took me a couple of seconds to download (using an average internet speed) but knowing that it doesn’t even require installation yet can help me is a great start.

This software is very simple to use and it has a clean interface with only two tabs. You can either drop all of your selected apps into the software for the cleaning to begin – or you can also click on the list tab to get a list of all the apps installed on your Mac.

I’ve noticed that this software is good at listing all apps that are installed on the Mac, even some of the apps that come integrated into every Mac. These seem to be locked from further changes so you don’t accidentally end up deleting something important (which is another feature I like).

This ensures that there is no learning curve to take advantage of this free software and I believe that anyone without any advanced technical knowledge will be able to clean apps on their Mac with the help of this software.

Technically, you can click on Finder and Applications to list all of your apps to easily delete them – but I think of this software as an advanced & improved version without a complicating interface that would confuse everyone.

Of course, benefits don’t stop here. Another great thing about the app is that it’s free and it’s even available for the previous version of the Mac OS.

DiskInventory X

DiskInventory X is one of the smallest software out there and it doesn’t even require an installation but its efficiency is the main reason why it made it to our list of the top 7 free cleaning Mac software.

Even though it’s a bit of an older software, its reliability is still relevant nowadays with the most modern Macs and the newest file systems.

What’s the most unique thing about this software is its tree map that got me a bit confused at first, but once you understand what it represents – you won’t have to think twice.

The special graphical map is called a ‘treemap’ and it’s a treemap of your storage (your disk drive) and all files you have on it, categorized under different categories to help you understand exactly where your space is at.

If you’re lacking space but you’ve deleted most of the stuff from your Mac and you just can’t understand why – I believe that this old-school but in-depth software is a perfect solution to ‘open your eyes’ to what you couldn’t see just by using your Mac.

I was able to find 2 installer packages that were installed but didn’t delete themselves. And since we’re talking about update installer packages, you can imagine the large size they were taking on my Mac.

The software is very simple to use, the interface is simple, and once you find your way on the treemap – this software will help you find ways to clean your Mac, free up some space, and keep it running smoothly.

OmniDiskSweeper for Mac

If you’re afraid of very technical software or if you’re looking for the simplest app to clean your whole Mac – OmniDiskSweeper is the most suitable app for your Mac.

It’s an app that’s doesn’t take long to download & install, and yet once you run it – you’ll be greeted with a very simple interface.

The only option is to sweep and clean a selected drive, so once a tab pops up with your drives – you’ll just need to select your Mac’s drive and click the button to get started with the cleaning process.

I was able to quickly see all of my files on my main Mac storage drive, listed from the largest to the smallest with the ability to browse through them and trash any of them.

One of the features I find to be the most convenient is definitely the feature that allows you to open the file before trashing it. This way, if you aren’t sure which file it is by the name, you can easily find out what the file contains.

But probably, the two best features of the app are its simplicity and that it’s totally free for Mac users.

Disk Doctor

We decided that the last and final option will be a paid but cheap option as Disk Doctor is well worth the price and there might be some people who just need the paid version with a lot more features to clean even the oldest Macs out there.

Disk Doctor is award-winning software that solely focuses on disk cleanup only. Disk cleanup is the biggest part of cleanup as all files or documents you have on your Mac are stored on the disk.

The interface is very simple and I like the convenient 3-tab bar at the top that gives a clear insight into the free space on your Mac, the amount you can free, and what your disk space will be after the cleanup.

Below this 3-tab bar at the top, you’ll get a detailed look at all files and documents that are being cleaned, and I find it useful that you can manually select which file types you would like to be cleaned.

I found that application logs were piling up on my Mac and that removing them freed up a decent amount of space.

It seems to me that Disk Doctor is a doctor that can find files things that the most average Mac users don’t even know about and yet cleaning them up won’t affect how your Mac runs. It’ll improve the way your Mac loads, runs, and it will even free up a lot more space for you.

I’ve mentioned that this is a paid version, but don’t feel overwhelmed as the price of Disk Doctor is only $2.99 on the App Store.

Are These FREE Cleaning Software Good Enough to Keep My Mac Healthy?

Since we are not trying to do data recovery or anything that sensitive – cleaning up your Mac can be done manually and this software provides an automated purpose.

With that being said, about 89% of userswill be more than fine with the help of these free cleaning software.

As you can see, there’s a wide range from software that cleans the apps, software that cleans the unused files and logs, to software that cleans almost everything on your Mac that you aren’t using and is taking up your space.

What I like about some of these software is that they combine more than just the cleaning feature. Cleaning is the core of the app and yet the software such as the maintenance of existing and important system files, cleaning of the unimportant files, and even regeneration of important files in case something goes wrong.

I also believe that it’s always better to give free software a try before considering the paid option. And since this free software is so efficient, the price of the paid versions is relatively low so you’re going to find the best Mac cleaner software suitable for your needs, whether it’s free or paid.

Bonus Tips to Keep Your Mac in Good Condition

Cleaning your Mac from files that have piled up to removing apps that you no longer need, and a couple of other ways are a great start to keep your Mac in good condition.

However, it’s important to regularly think of ways you can use to keep your Mac in good condition and even prevent your Mac from becoming unusable before you reach out for the cleaning software.

To keep your Mac in good condition, have it run smoothly, increase its speed, and free up a lot more space – here are some of the actionable tips you can start with today:

Backing up data regularly will decrease the chance of cache files & logs and yet will keep your mind at ease knowing your data is secure
Cutting down the number of apps you’re using in the background can help increase the speed of your Mac (especially an older one that’s using older hardware)
Anti-malware software can help catch viruses and malware that might slow down your Mac, harm your disk drive, and take up even more of your free space
Clean out your old files and remove duplicate files that were once important by storing them on external drives or in the cloud
Keep an eye on Disk Utility (integrated feature in the Mac) that can keep you up with the health of your Mac and the storage you have available
Updating software to the latest released OS is recommended, but maybe not straight away as this will help avoid the glitches in the newly released operating system versions
Shutting down apps when you’re not using them will help your battery, your Mac’s hardware, and will automatically improve the way you use your Mac

If nothing helps and your Mac is still running slow (can easily happen with older Macs), the best way to boost up your storage and speed is to replace your HDD with an SSD.

But no matter the type of your disk drive, you should always avoid filling it up to 100%. You should always leave a bit of space for the system as you never know when the next update might be or when you might need just a bit more space for the app update or to install a new app to your Mac.

Best Free Cleaner Software For Mac

Damaged files should be taken care of as soon as you spot them and the best way to spot them is either through Disk Utility or by using one of the cleaning software (with the capability) from this software.

Conclusion

Cleaning up your Mac doesn’t take a lot of time and if you get help from any of the cleaning software mentioned in this article, you won’t only speed up the process – but you’ll also have another set of eyes.

This means that you’ll ensure that you’ve cleaned your Mac thoroughly. Most of these software can dig deep and clean the files that we don’t even know we have on our Macs.

These files might be just old app logs and yet once these add up – they can cause some damage to your Mac’s health.

Free Mac Cleaners

And remember – if none of the free cleaning software helps, a powerful paid option is just $3 away!