Find a better Mac app alternative.

Arc

Arc rethought what a browser looks like: sidebar tabs, workspaces, split view and a command bar that made Chrome feel dated. For two years it was the darling of the Mac productivity crowd. Then The Browser Company halted feature development in May 2025 to build Dia, and was acquired by Atlassian later that year. Arc still works and still gets security patches, but its future is maintenance, not momentum. It remains free and polished — but if you are wondering where to go next, our alternatives page covers the browsers Arc users actually switch to.

Notion

Notion is the default answer to "where does our team write things down" — pages, wikis, databases and now AI in one workspace. Its flexibility is the draw: the same tool runs personal notes, project trackers and company handbooks. The trade-offs are real, though. It is cloud-first with weak offline support, the Mac app is a wrapper rather than native, and your notes live in Notion's format on Notion's servers. Free for personal use; paid plans add collaboration. If longevity, privacy or speed matter more than databases, see our alternatives page.

Bartender 5

Bartender 5 gives you complete control over macOS menu bar icons. Hide, rearrange, or show items only when they update. Create custom menu bar sections, set trigger conditions, and search all menu bar items with a single keystroke. Particularly useful on MacBooks where the notch eats into menu bar real estate. Includes a full menu bar replacement mode for the minimalist who wants to see only what matters.

CleanShot X

CleanShot X replaces macOS's native screenshot tool entirely. Capture screenshots, scrolling captures, and screen recordings. Annotate with a powerful markup toolbar, blur sensitive data, pin screenshots to your screen for reference, and upload to CleanShot Cloud with one click. All-in-One mode gives you a permanent screenshot crosshair shortcut. Scrolling capture finally works reliably. One of those apps where you wonder how you survived without it.

Bear

Bear is a focused, beautiful Markdown note-taking app with a deeply integrated tag system. Notes are stored as plain Markdown — no lock-in, no proprietary format. Rich Markdown editing with inline previews, code blocks, tables, and task lists. Hashtag-based organisation scales from a handful of notes to thousands. Bear 2.0 introduced backlinks, a canvas mode, and a completely rewritten sync engine. Elegant dark mode, multiple themes, and a native feel on every Apple device.

Fantastical

Fantastical by Flexibits is the most recommended third-party calendar app for Mac and iOS. Its standout feature is natural language input — type 'Lunch with Sarah next Tuesday at 1pm at Café Nero' and it creates the event correctly. Supports Apple Calendar, Google Calendar, Exchange, and more. Beautiful full-screen calendar, task management, meeting proposals, and weather integration. Available via subscription or the Mac App Store.

Ollama

Ollama makes running local LLMs on your Mac as easy as a single terminal command. Pull models like Llama 3, Mistral, Phi-3, and Gemma, then chat with them via a simple REST API or the Ollama CLI. No internet connection required once downloaded, no privacy concerns, and no API fees. Supports Apple Silicon acceleration via Metal. The de facto standard for local LLM experimentation on Mac — integrates with Open WebUI, Continue, and dozens of other clients.

1Password

1Password is the most polished password manager available for Mac. Stores passwords, passkeys, credit cards, secure notes, SSH keys, and API tokens. The browser extension fills credentials instantly. Travel Mode hides sensitive vaults at border crossings. Watchtower monitors for breached passwords and weak credentials. Family plans share access without revealing individual passwords. The 2024 redesign brought a significantly faster and cleaner interface.

Alfred

Alfred is the benchmark productivity launcher on macOS. It replaces Spotlight with instant file search, web searches, clipboard history, and a polished scripting layer called Workflows. The free tier is genuinely useful, but the one-time Powerpack unlocks the real power: custom Workflows, integrations with 1 Password, file actions, and a thriving community of extensions. It's the app most power users think of first when they want to move faster on their Mac.

Amphetamine

Amphetamine keeps your Mac awake on demand — indefinitely, for a set time, while an app is running, or while a file is downloading. Lives in your menu bar with a simple on/off toggle. Supports drive mounting triggers, allowing it to stay awake while a specific drive is connected. Session statistics track how much time your Mac has been kept awake. Used by sysadmins, developers running long builds, and anyone who needs their Mac to not sleep mid-task. Completely free, no ads, no IAP.

CleanMyMac X

CleanMyMac X by MacPaw is the most recognised Mac optimisation tool on the market. It scans for junk files, large old files, and malware, then removes them with a single click. Features include a Smart Scan, Space Lens to visualise disk usage, App Uninstaller, Privacy cleaner, Extensions manager, and a real-time menu bar monitor. Available as a one-time purchase or subscription, and also included in Setapp. MacPaw runs an active affiliate programme.

Cotypist

Cotypist brings local autocomplete to everyday Mac writing. It learns from the words around the cursor, suggests the next phrase, and lets you accept useful completions with Tab in supported text fields. The app is aimed at Apple Silicon Macs running macOS 14 or later. Suggestions are generated on the Mac, which makes it a better fit for private notes and work documents than tools that require every keystroke to be processed in the cloud. A free plan remains available after the Pro trial, with optional paid tiers for additional features. Test compatibility with your main apps before upgrading.

Magnet

Magnet is the most downloaded window manager on the Mac App Store with millions of installs and a near-perfect rating. Drag a window to a screen edge or corner and it snaps into halves, thirds, quarters, or full-screen. Keyboard shortcuts cover all 45 layout positions, and multi-monitor setups are handled cleanly. It's the app most Mac users buy the moment they want better window control — and the benchmark every alternative is measured against.

Spark

Spark is Readdle's flagship email client — a polished, fast app with smart inbox sorting, snooze, send-later, and deep integrations with Notion, Todoist, and dozens of other tools. The free tier covers individuals well; Spark for Teams adds shared drafts and real-time collaboration. It supports all major email providers and has long been the go-to recommendation for anyone who finds Apple Mail too basic and wants something more capable without going enterprise.

Things 3

Things 3 by Cultured Code is the benchmark for Mac task management. Elegant enough to actually use daily, powerful enough for complex projects. Areas, projects, headings, and tags create a flexible hierarchy without overwhelm. Quick Entry with Autofill captures tasks from any app. Magic Plus drag-to-schedule on the Today view. Seamless sync via Things Cloud across Mac, iPhone, and iPad. No subscription — one licence, forever.

Wispr Flow

Wispr Flow provides system-wide voice dictation for the Mac. Speak into almost any text field and it turns the recording into edited prose, removing filler words and adapting the result to the app and context you are working in. It is designed for people who write a lot of email, documents, messages, or prompts and find speaking faster than typing. Automatic formatting and personal vocabulary help the output feel closer to finished text than a basic speech-to-text transcript. A free tier is available, with a paid subscription for heavier use and additional features. Because speech is processed as an AI service, review the current privacy terms before using it with sensitive material.

Yoink

Yoink adds a small, unobtrusive shelf to your screen that temporarily holds files and content while you drag-and-drop between windows. Instead of juggling windows with one hand to drag a file between Finder and another app, drop it onto Yoink first, switch windows, then pick it up again. Supports files, images, text, URLs, and more. Stacks multiple items. Integrates with Finder, Safari, and dozens of apps. Sounds too simple — until the first time it saves you five minutes.

Raycast

Raycast is a blazing-fast, fully extensible launcher that replaces Spotlight for serious Mac users. Search apps, files, and the web in milliseconds, then go further with 1,300+ community extensions for GitHub, Linear, Notion, Figma, and more. Built-in clipboard history, window management, snippets, and an AI assistant trained on your workflow. Free tier is genuinely excellent; Pro adds AI and team features. Built natively in Swift — no Electron.

Setapp

Setapp is a subscription-based Mac app platform that gives you unlimited access to over 240 premium Mac and iOS apps for a single monthly fee. Instead of buying apps individually, you pay $9.99/month and get everything from CleanMyMac X to iStat Menus to Ulysses. New apps are added regularly. Perfect for power users who would otherwise spend hundreds buying apps outright. An affiliate programme is available for bloggers and reviewers.