Best Mac Apps In 2024: Must Have Software For Macbook (Free/ Paid)

Mac Applications & Utilities offers a great way to get the most out of your Catalina toting MacBook Pro or MacBook Air. Some users prefer to pack their device with easy-to-use tools that smooth their workflow, while others prefer to have complex utilities that might take time to set up but saves time in the long run. THE CHOICE IS YOURS!

Get the perfect suite of Mac Apps that meet your needs, ease your daily tasks & increases productivity!

List of Best Mac Apps – Free and Paid Macbook Apps

Categories	Name of The App	Compatible macOS	Price	Latest Version	Download Link
Best Mac Cleaner Apps	Cleanup My System	macOS 10.11 or later	Free limited trial after that $34.99	2.5	Download Here
	Nektony AppCleaner & Uninstaller Pro	macOS 10.10 and above	$19.90 for 1 Mac (One-time purchase), free evaluation for 1-day	7.7.1	Download Here
	CleanMyMac X	macOS 10.10 and higher	Starts at $34.95	4.10.6	Download Here
	Disk Clean Pro	macOS 10.7 or later	$26.99	6.1	Download Here
Best Apps on Mac for Writers	Scrivener	macOS 10.12.1 and higher	Starts from $49	3.2.3	Download Here
	Grammarly	macOS 10.12.4 or later.	Free and in-app purchases	9.56.0	Download Here
	iAWriter	macOS 10.11 or later	$29.99	5.6.16	Download Here
Best Productivity Mac Apps	Alfred 4	macOS 10.11 or higher	Approx $41.6	4.6.5 b1299	Download Here
	Airmail 3	macOS 10.12 or higher	Fee limited trial, after that subscription starts at $2.99/ month	5.5.3	Download Here
	Fantastical	macOS 10.13.2 or higher	14 days free trial, after that, $3.33 per month	3.6.4	Download Here
	SetApp	macOS 10.12 or higher	7 days free, after that, $9.99/ month + taxes	2.13.2	Download Here
Best PDF Editors For Mac	PDF Expert	macOS 10.12 or higher	Free limited trial, after that $79.99 (one license for 3 Macs)	7.9.9	Download Here
	PDFelement 6	macOS 10.14 – macOS 11.	Free trial, then $6.99/ month	8.4.2	Download Here
	PDFpenPro	Minimum macOS 11	$79.95	Version 12	Download Here
Best Security Apps For Mac	Norton AntiVirus Plus	Minimum 10.13 and higher	$19.99 first year, then $59.99 annually	NA	Download Here
	LastPass	Minimum macOS 11 Big Sur (64-bit processor)	30-day premium trial, after that $ 3 per month billed annually	4.94.0	Download Here
	Disk Drill	Minumum Mac OS X 10.11. 6 and higher	Free and premium. Premium version starts at $89.00	4.6	Download Here
	ExpressVPN	Minimum macOS X 10.11 or higher	Starts at $8.32/month billed every 12 months	11.45.0	Download Here
Best Photo Editing/ Video Editing/ Managing Mac Apps	Pixelmator Pro	macOS 10.15 Catalina or higher		2.4.2	Download Here
	Final Cut Pro	macOS 11.5.1 or higher	Free, $299.99	10.6.2	Download Here

All these Best Mac apps will help you squeeze more productive hours out of everyday use.

Best Mac Cleaner Apps:

1. Cleanup My System

Cleanup My System is one of the best Mac cleaning apps that helps remove unwanted junk from your Mac while optimizing it for supreme performance. It also helps get rid of identity and privacy traces in your Mac as well. It has an easy-to-use interface that further expedites the process of cleaning and optimization. To know more about this wonderful Mac cleaning utility, you can check out our in-depth review of Cleanup My System.

FEATURES: Cleanup My System

• One-click care to clean, optimize and get rid of unwanted files.
• Remove large and old files.
• Uninstall apps that you don’t longer use.
• Analyze disk space.
• Remove identity and privacy traces.

Get Cleanup My System Here

2. Nektony AppCleaner & Uninstaller Pro

Nektony’s App Cleaner & Uninstaller is another best cleaning solution for your Mac. It helps you delete unwanted applications safely along with leftover files to recover huge chunks of space. You can use the Mac cleaner to disable, hide login items & launch agents so that no residues or unwanted files hamper your performance. Listed are the functionalities offered by App Cleaner!

Get Nektony AppCleaner & Uninstaller Pro

3. CleanMyMac X

CleanMyMac X rises above your average Mac cleaner because it does just clean your Mac but even optimizes it efficiently. No surprise it is one of the best Mac cleaners out there. It even keeps you updated on what’s taking up storage on your Mac and what you can remove to make your Mac breathe freely. On the face of it, its interface is easy to get accustomed to but when you dive deeper you get to know the various great features it offers. Do check out our indepth review of CleanMyMac X.

FEATURES: CleanMyMac X

• Clean up unnecessary log files
• Get rid of system junk
• Remove large hidden files
• Get rid of all kinds of malicious threats
• Uninstall apps completely with no residue files
• Regular disk cleanups to know what to keep and what to delete

Get CleanMyMac X

4. Disk Clean Pro

All-round Mac Optimization & Cleaning utility, Disk Clean Pro is an excellent tool to clean, optimize & protect your Mac with a package of features. As the name itself suggests, Disk Clean Pro scans out junk, log & unused files, and possesses ways to optimize the system. Here are all the benefits that come along with this best Mac solution!

FEATURES: Disk Clean Pro

• System cleaner
• Logs cleaner
• Trash cleaner
• Cleaning partial downloads
• Duplicate finder
• Internet privacy
• Shredder

Get Disk Clean Pro

Best Apps on Mac for Writers:

1. Scrivener

Scrivener is nothing short of the most comprehensive writing program around. It offers all the essential tools you’ll need to get started as a writer. The Mac app is packed with various brainstorming tools, a virtual draft board for pinning ideas & note cards.  It offers a dedicated section for storing research docs for quick access. What’s more? 

FEATURES: Scrivener

• Comes with dozens of project templates for Screenplays, Novels, Stories etc.
• Import different file types.
• Get familiar with different writing & formatting types & tools.
• Name generator.
• Live word counts.
• Export to Word.
• Print or create PDF files.

Get Scrivener Here

2. Grammarly

Spell-check on iPhones are awesome, but it’s not that greats on Mac machines. That’s why Grammarly shines. It’s available as a dedicated Mac Application & as a Safari extension. You can rely on this freemium Mac application to do powerful spelling & grammar checking. Grammarly arrives as a true life savior for anyone who works with clumsy typing fingers.

FEATURES: Grammarly

• Just drag & drop documents you would like to proofread.
• Makes sure that anything you write is effective, precise & error-free.
• It offers a bunch of context-free suggestions to polish your writing.
• Compatible with platforms like Facebook, Twitter & almost anywhere on the web.

Get Grammarly Here

3. iAWriter

For every writer, words are very precious. He or she has to count every word before they fall. For the same iAWriter is a simple tool that offers a distraction-free environment wHere a writer can focus on what he or she writing. It even comes with a “Focus Mode” which lets you focus on only the sentence you are writing.

FEATURES: iAWriter

• Quickly switch between documents
• Focus mode helps focus on one sentence at a time
• Write in plain text and preview in HTML
• Spot weak verbs, superfluous adjectives, repetitive nouns, and other grammatical aspects
• Customizable templates

Get iAWriter Here

Best Productivity Mac Apps:

1. Alfred 4

Similar to your Mac’s built-in ‘Spotlight’ search, Alfred helps in making a hassle-free search on your machine while keeping your fingers on the keyboard, rather than on mouse. The Mac utility is perfect for those suffering from mouse-related repetitive stress. You can use Alfred, to search for folders, files & even surf the web using just your keyboard.

 FEATURES: Alfred

• Lets you search & browse with ease.
• With Alfred’s clipboard history, you don’t need to type the same URLs again.
• You can link keywords & hotkeys to create a customized workflow.
• You can perform math calculations in a jiffy.
• And perform other basic tasks without any hassles.

Get Alfred 4 Here

2. Airmail 3

For Apple users, who are not happy with the native design of macOS mail. Having Airmail 3 on their machine can completely transform the way & feel of handling emails. It helps you get a clear, systemized & Gmail-like interface on MacBook Pro. The Mac app comes with a customizable interface for easy email management. You can schedule emails, snooze it & manage your daily tasks for better productivity.

FEATURES: Airmail 3

• Easy to set up.
• Highly customizable for better management.
• Snooze messages for convivence.
• Lets you treat emails like tasks.

Get Airmail 3 Here

3. Fantastical

Flexibits’s Fantastical stands true to its name. It’s one of the best calendar apps for Mac that comes with several features. You can easily mark events on your calendar and join web conferences right from the calendar itself. It has also received the Mac App of the year as well.

FEATURES: Fantastical

• Join conference calls right from the app
• Interactive AI
• Multiple views – day/ week/ month/ quarter/ year
• Templates for frequent events and tasks
• Fantastic widgets
• Weather forecast

Get Fantastical

4. Setapp

Setapp is like Netflix for Mac applications. It provides users with a library of Mac utilities, just ready to install on your machine.  You can explore a huge range of software & apps, for nearly every task to be done on your Mac. Be it a Duplicate Finder, Mac Cleaner, Personal Budgeting, Task Manager, Coding, Blogging, etc. you name it & you can get it all for a single monthly fee.

FEATURES: Setapp

• Just pay a subscription-free for $9.99 & you can have access to more than 120+ Mac apps.
• Use the number of best mac software under one subscription.
• Several Mac utilities get added to Setapp.
• Suitable for students & freelancers to get a handy toolkit of major apps all under one license fee.

Get Setapp Here

Best PDF Editors For Mac:

1. PDF Expert

Having to work with PDFs is a fact of life. Fortunately, PDF Expert makes the task super-easy. The Mac software doesn’t allow you to fill out the forms or merge PDF files, but it also offers users great editing tools. You can rely on PDF Expert to annotate, sign PDF files without any hassles. Here are some of the benefits that make it one of the Best PDF Editor for Mac.

FEATURES: PDF Expert

• Edit PDF text, images, links & outlines.
• Its quick annotations, hassle-free form filing & file merging completely the task in record time.
• Convert PDF files to popular formats such as Word, Pages, Docs, etc.
• It helps you create signatures with a single click.
• Helps users to share the documents to clients, co-workers & everyone in between through built-in options.

Get PDF Expert here

2. PDFelement 6 – PDF Editor

A complete package of editing tools such as PDF Editor, Annotator, Converter, Reader, Form Filler & much more. PDFelement is an amazing PDF solution to change the way you work & manage your important files. Be it basic key features to edit, delete, cut, change font attributes, edit a hyperlink, or advanced tools to combine, convert, reorganize PDFs. PDFelement 6 has everything you’ll need!

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FEATURES: PDFelement Pro

• Fill PDF forms.
• Extract, crop, delete, insert pages.
• Convert PDFs to popular file formats, including DOCX, PNG, JPG, GIF, BMP, etc.
• Combine different file formats into a new PDF.
• Set a password to protect files from being opened by unauthorized users.
• Support printing, send PDFs, save files to cloud storage such as Google Drive, Dropbox, etc.

Get PDFelement 6 here

3. PDFpenPro

You can perform tasks such as adding text,  correcting typos, adding clickable links and doing so much more with this PDF editing tool. It also lets you export your PDF files into multiple formats such as Docx, PPT, Xls, and many more. Here are some more PDF editors to choose from.

FEATURES: PDFpenPro

• Add text, images, signatures, and many other elements.
• Adjust the color and resolution of any scanned document.
• Export and edit PDF files in various formats.
• Add clickable links and make PDFs more interactive by adding radio buttons, checkboxes, etc
• Edit typos

Get PDFpenPro for Mac here

Best Security Apps For Mac:

1. Norton AntiVirus Plus

Norton Antivirus Plus is a reliable Mac Antivirus solution to have stable and all-round protection for your MacBook. The software runs fast & detects malicious threats accurately. The Mac utility offers Real-Time Threat Protection, a Password Manager, Smart Firewall & 2GB of Cloud Backup, to store important files & prevent them from data loss. Norton offers multiple versions, based on device use!

FEATURES: Norton AntiVirus Plus

• A built-in firewall for ideal protection.
• Finds & eliminates potential malware, spyware, online threats & other viruses.
• Capable of catching phishing emails that might trick you into compromising personal data.
• Cloud Storage for safeguarding personal documents.
• Automated backup.
• Parental Controls.

Get Norton Antivirus Plus here

2. LastPass

LastPass is your ultimate password manager that can protect your password and other confidential credentials from getting stolen in situations like cyberattacks. It is easy to use and packs several features that don’t just help you store passwords but even create and share passwords securely.

FEATURES: Lastpass

• Sync password across devices
• Generate strong and secure passwords
• Securely share passwords
• Strong encryption and master password
• Multi-factor authentication
• Store confidential details like credit/ debit card details, bank account details, social security numbers, personal notes, etc

Get LastPass

3. Disk Drill

Losing important data to malware, system crashes, accidental deletion, and many such situations can happen to anyone, and Disk Drill is a data recovery tool for mac that keeps you prepared and safe in such situations. In the event you lose important data and use Disk Drill, it will scan your complete Mac and recover it. Apart from being a great data recovery Mac utility, it is also one of the best duplicate photo finders for Mac as well.

FEATURES: Disk Drill

• Supports not just your Mac’s internal drives but all external storage mediums as well.
• Recover files of all major file formats.
• Handle situations like unreadable drive, lost partition, etc
• Supports both Intel-based as well as M1 chip-based Macs.
• Quick scan and deep scan methods help you recover files from a variety of situations

Get Disk Drill here

4. ExpressVPN

Whether it be streaming content not available in your country or dodging hackers while sipping your favorite latte’ at a coffee shop, a VPN is a must and ExpressVPN is one of the first choices of users at that. Plus, the customer support is exceptional so in case you get stuck, the customer support team will go all out to resolve the issue for you.

FEATURES – ExpressVPN

• Unblock streaming services like Disney+, Netflix, BBCiPlayer, Vudu, HBO Max, and many others.
• 160 Server locations
• Comes with IP address masking
• Has VPN split tunneling
• Comes with a Kill switch

Get ExpressVPN here

Best Photo Editing/ Video Editing/ Managing Mac Apps:

1. Pixelmator Pro

Pixelmator boasts a massive bunch of powerful photo editing features to help you touch & enhance images with fun. The Mac software is designed to integrate seemingly well with macOS Catalina’s fresh & modern look. It’s power-packed tools, lets you draw, paint, apply dazzling effects & create amazing compositions without many hassles.

FEATURES: Pixelmator

• Top-notch painting tools.
• Lots of retouching tools.
• Correct wrinkles, repair scratches & lighten specific areas.
• A plethora of drawing tools to apply shadows, strokes & more effortlessly.
• Breath-taking effects. 

Get Pixelmator Pro here

2. Final Cut Pro

Looking for a video editing tool for Mac? You have probably heard of Final Cut Pro which is one of the most advanced video editors out there known for its supreme performance. Apart from editing videos, you, can also easily organize media in an efficient and hassle-free manner. What cements its credibility is the fact that it is designed by Apple itself.

FEATURES: Final Cut Pro

• Seamless video editing
• Several motion graphics options
• 360° VR editing
• Cinematic effects
• Advanced pixel by pixel color grading
• Large number of plug-ins
• Easy asset organization

Get Final Cut Pro here

Also Read: Top Ten Duplicate File Finders For Mac

Editor’s Choice Mac Apps:

1. Photos Exif Editor

Photos Exif Editor is a fast, reliable & easy-to-use Mac software to help users read, write & modify EXIF information/metadata from single or multiple photos at once. EXIF data is basically a set of data attached to each image you capture. It includes information such as Date, Camera Model, Size, Location & other Camera Settings. Reviewing this data can help you to know a lot about a particular photo. Moreover, you can easily manipulate this data according to different needs!

FEATURES: Photos Exif Editor

• View, edit & modify EXIF, IPTC & XMP photo metadata.
• See camera & lens setting information. This data comes handy if you’re an aspiring photographer.
• Change Geo-location coordinates to disguise the actual location of the picture taken.
• Delete entire metadata in a go, to have complete protection from any type of security threat.
• Supports multiple file formats.

2. Duplicate Photos Fixer Pro

Removing duplicates means removing unnecessary junk. Since most of the aspiring & pro photographers deal with lots of exact and similar-looking pictures. A Mac Software like Duplicate Photos Fixer would of great use to manage those duplicate, edited & resized photos, which are saved under different names. It’s one of the best apps for MacBook Pro to manage huge photo collection, delete unnecessary duplicates & reclaim huge storage space.

FEATURES: Duplicate Photos Fixer

• Easy-to-use & user-friendly interface.
• Find & remove both identical & similar looking photos.
• Different scanning modes for accurate identification.
• Auto-mark duplicates so that you don’t need to select the detected duplicates manually.
• Recover huge chunks of space by clearing dupes.
• Supports multiple file formats.
• Review results before deleting duplicates.

3. Tweak Photos

Tweak Photos is a perfect batch photo editing Mac tool, that brings a plethora of features to alter and enhance images to make it the liveliest. Mac Software has all the essential functionalities to resize, auto-correct, rotate, flip, de-noise, control brightness, sharpness, etc. You can apply lots of beautiful effects, frames, borders & whatnot to make photos look more pleasing & aesthetic.

FEATURES: Tweak Photos

• A perfect set of mesmerizing photo filters & effects to give an exclusive touch to your pictures.
• Create, apply elegant & effective watermarks.
• Keep track of the sequence of effects for better multi-layer management.
• Supports multiple file formats, making it the best batch photo editing software.
• De-noise images without much hassles.
• Rename multiple files at once.
• Convert photos in bulk & more.

Also Read: How to Speedup MacBook Pro: Make Your MacBook Pro Faster

Wrapping Up

Discussed Best Mac Apps & Utilities can help you express your creativity, become more productive, enhance security & helps you take care of your MacBook.

FAQs On Best Mac Apps: