Best Mac Cleaner software: Boost performance and disk space with a Mac cleaner app

MacCleaner Pro from Nektony is divided into a core app and several module apps, namely App Cleaner & Uninstaller, Disk Space Analyzer, Duplicate File Finder, Memory Cleaner, and Funter. The core app can perform an overall disk cleaning and help free up storage space by eliminating extraneous files. 

The App Cleaner & Uninstaller module works well, and allows you to see the app you’re removing as well as its support files. This module has been improved compared to version 3, and now offers you easier access to startup programs and extension files, allowing you to enable, disable, or remove them. A Remaining Files feature allows you to chase down loose files, while an Open With feature lets you assign applications to open certain file types.

With Duplicate File Finder it’s easy to specify file types to look for, such as audio and photo files, with an impressive level of precise control. Memory Cleaner module offers an easy interface to show which applications and processes are consuming the most RAM. Funter module finds hidden files within your operating system. 

The Fast Cleanup option was able to clear up 11.4GB of drive space, most of these being application cache files, while the Deep Cleanup feature helped reclaim 65.4GB of drive space. 

We did have some peculiar instances in which a reminder poped up advising us to clear disk space for a macOS Sonoma (which was already installed). On another occasion when we paused scanning after half an hour we saw a request for full access to the hard drive. 

MacCleaner Pro is easy to install, runs well and has a good feature base. You can buy it on an annual or monthly subscription or as a one-time purchase.

The free trial version is fully functioning for two days and will actually perform some of the tasks you need to do, rather than ask you to buy the full version.

You can get MacCleaner Pro here.

CleanMyMac X is a catch-all utility designed to identify and clean out gigabytes upon gigabytes of unused system garbage. It grants you easy access to several handy utilities to clear up disk space, protect user privacy, optimize performance, update applications, uninstall software, and help prevent malware and adware.

The modules include Smart Scan, System Junk, Mail Attachments, Trash Bins, Malware Removal, Privacy, Optimization, Maintenance, Uninstaller, Updater, Extensions, Space Lens, Large & Old Files, and Shredder. Among these you will find tools for file cleanup, malware removal, privacy cleanup, easy access to system extensions, the app uninstaller, and the ability to down multi-GB files you forgot to delete and a quick means of deleting them.

Smart Scan is the overarching umbrella feature, hunting down extraneous files that can be deleted to clear drive space, performing a quick malware scan, and executing a speed test to look into optimization functions, such as freeing up RAM or quickly clearing system caches. The Disk Lens and Uninstaller offered a clear view as to which folders were consuming the most drive space and a quick means of removing applications. 

I was able to recover more than 30GB of drive space as the program found unused files and disk images galore. 

Unfortunately, some features aren’t as good as others – particularly the Malware removal module and the Updater function, neither of which work as well as we hoped, even with the antivirus being updated to take advantage of the Moonlock Engine. 

CleanMyMac X is easy to download and install, and features a bright, friendly user interface and it’s exceptionally easy to see what’s gobbling up the most space on your Mac’s hard drive. The features are well-integrated. The software costs can be purchased on an annual subscription or a one-time purchase for a 1 Mac license.

There’s a free version available to download and a free trial version available on the Mac App Store and from MacPaw’s website, but it restricts the app to only remove files up to a maximum of 500MB – and in the middle of deleting files it will demand you pay the license fee for the app. You can download that limited version and scan your Mac to see just now much space you can save before committing to buying the app.

MacPaw is currently running a 30% discount for students – submit your university email address and receive a download code here. 

You can get CleanMyMac X here.

Cleaner One Pro for Mac is easy to download and install. The software requires is available in both free and paid subscription-based tiers. For the free tier, the software offers basic scanning and no user limits while requiring no credit or debit card to be stored with Trend Micro. The Basic tier, requires a payment method to be stored with Trend Micro, offers support for one device, access to additional tools, and easy uninstallation if desired. The Advanced tier requires a payment method to be stored with Trend Micro, and offers support for five devices, macOS and Windows support, quick uninstallation, and access to additional tools. 

Cleaner One Pro is designed around an assortment of modules including Smart Scan, which looks over your storage, diagnostics, and applications, Junk Files, Big Files, Disk Map, Startup Manager, Duplicate Files, Similar Photos, App Manager, and File Shredder. The modules performed well during testing, and were able to locate large files and duplicates to be disposed of.

The Junk Files module found a variety of unused disk images and installers. An interface along the Menu Bar tracked memory usage, CPU usage, network usage, and hooked into Dropbox to help put files up on the cloud.

There are some elements that require some attention. One annoyance was that you can’t navigate through module windows using the page up and page down keys, only a mouse will suffice. And we encountered a lack of communication from Trend Micro itself for product and technical questions, which was a concern. 

Cleaner One Pro is useful, lives up to its description, and offers an elegant and easy to navigate user interface that lets you prune your Mac down effectively. This useful set of Mac cleaning tools comes at a good price, and if you’re looking for something reliable in this field, it’s worth your consideration.

You can purchase from Trend Micro, or via the Mac App Store and an iOS version on the iOS App Store. 

You can get Cleaner One Pro here.

DaisyDisk incorporates a clean, fun, interesting user interface via which it sets out to help you visualize the data on your Mac and its local, network, and cloud-based volumes, map it out, see which files are taking up the most space, and help you free up gigabytes of drive space.

DaisyDisk supports a number of file formats and file systems, as well as network volumes, virtual elements and disk images, and can mount and scan just about anything as long as the volume itself is operational. 

DaisyDisk can also mount cloud-based services such as Google Drive, Dropbox, Microsoft OneDrive, and Box. It was simple to add my Google Drive, Dropbox, Microsoft OneDrive, and Box accounts, and then connect and sift through them to see which ancient files could be readily put out to pasture to clear up space as needed. See our round-up of the best cloud backups for Mac. I was able to clear up dozens of gigabytes of space in the process.

We did have some difficulties with Google Drive, which refused to allow DaisyDisk access, stating that the app was blocked and “This app tried to access sensitive info in your Google Account. To keep your account safe, Google blocked this access.” This appears to be a conflict between DaisyDisk’s developers and Google that has yet to be sorted out, and while some workarounds have been proposed online, there seems to be no quick solution to the conflict.

DaisyDisk users are also currently unable to add and sort through Apple’s iCloud Drive accounts given Apple’s sandboxing of the environment. You can scan a local copy of your iCloud Drive contents using the “Scan Folder…” button but not the Web-based data, which is frustrating.

In addition to being able to scan entire volumes at once, you can click the “Select Folder…” button and navigate to a custom folder. 

With DaisyDisk it’s entirely up to your own discretion as to which files and folders to delete, with nothing more than a five-second countdown clock and time period in which to cancel the decision.

Apple’s Disk Utility app can be accessed from the Menu bar to perform disk repairs on the fly. 

Unlike so many apps you don’t have to sign up for a subscription package: the app retails for a one off fee of $9.99/£9.99, which is excellent value. 

You can get Daisy Disk here.

Though not strictly a Mac cleaner, like other apps in this round-up, MacPaw’s Gemini 2 can certainly help you get back some disc space. It is a duplicate removal tool that focuses specifically on reducing the thousands of duplicate photos in your Photos library. It also hunts down duplicate files within Apple Music and across the macOS operating system. The app is available through Apple’s App Store and MacPaw’s SetApp application, which grants access to Gemini and other apps for $9.99 (£7.60) a month. It is easy to install and offers a seven-day free trial in exchange for either your credit or debit card information.

The app includes scripts for easy scanning of the Photos library and your Music library, as well as custom folders and external volumes that can be chosen from a menu or dragged, dropped, and quickly scanned. Other features include Menu Bar elements, whitelists that can be created that are exempt from being scanned, and a Duplicate Monitor feature that helps compare files and heads off duplicates before they begin to pile up.

In testing, Gemini 2 quickly sought out duplicates, offered the option to remove them, and eradicated them from our hard drive. This also applies to music files and other document types, and the Duplicate Monitor warns you about possible duplicates that have been carried over to your hard drive.

However, there are some caveats, such as confusion about account registration and permissions after downloading and installing Gemini 2 from the App Store. MacPaw is urging its clients towards SetApp subscriptions, which offer full access to the company’s apps for a given rate per month.

While Gemini 2 runs well, a scheduling feature for folder or volume scans would not go amiss. An improved filter for locating duplicate items would be more helpful.

Despite some minor hurdles, Gemini 2 is well-written, sharp, helpful, fast, works well with all kinds of duplicates, and lends a good feature set to the macOS operating system without being overbearing. It hones in on its tasks and performs them well enough to earn the trust of users.

You can get MacPaw Gemini 2 from the Mac App Store or from MacPaw here.

Intego’s Washing Machine X9 is a handy cleaning utility for the Mac that focuses on reclaiming disk space via the Reclaim tool, removing duplicate files on your Mac’s hard drive with the Duplicates tool, and organizing folders using the Organize tool.

As is standard, the software (compatible with macOS 13 High Sierra or later) requires that you grant it full access to your hard drive though your Mac’s Privacy and Security settings. Less standard was that we had to locate the Intego Washing Machine X9 app in the Applications folder and drag it into Full Disk Access in Privacy and Security settings to get it to function. It is more common that an installer will add an easy icon that can be dragged into the macOS Full Disk Access pane to complete the installation.

There’s a good level of customization. Like similar applications, the Reclaim tool can chase after caches, downloads, language files, logs, and trash files to help clean up disk space. The initial run cleared approximately 24GB of drive space from my M2 MacBook Pro’s SSD.

The Duplicates tool took about five hours to create an initial index for my 1TB SSD. It offered control over duplicates that can be selected and specific options and naming filters.

The Organize feature can help organize messy folders into a Snapshot folder for reorganization later. This tool can work with specific folders such as the ever-messy Desktop folder, your Home folder, and macOS’ Smart Folders, and help pull things into order. This Organize feature does feel like slapping a band-aid on the larger problem of a folder’s disorganization though.
The Scheduling option only allows for a specific week or month to be chosen, and it would have been nice to be able to schedule a process for a few minutes from now, as is common with similar software.

While it’s nice to be able to reclaim a few dozen gigabytes of drive space and have control over the duplicate files on your Mac, Washing Machine offers nothing groundbreaking.

With the current discounts and its attractive user interface it’s worth a look though. Alternatively, Intego’s Washing Machine X9 is bundled with Intego’s larger security suite so you could take advantage of that and get a Mac Cleaner with Intego’s Antivirus solution. The Mac Premium Bundle costs from $84.99/£84.99 (currently discounted to $39.99/£33.99) and includes VirusBarrier, NetBarrier, Content Barrier, and Personal Backup solutions.

You can get Washing Machine here.

Parallels Toolbox is a bunch of tools that can be used to perform various actions on your Mac – such as Download Video, Record Audio, Hide Desktop Files, Resize Image, Clipboard History, Find Duplicates, Free Memory, and even the ability to set alarms. Among all these tools is one that can be used to clean your Mac.

Mac cleaning tools provided in Parallels Toolbox that could also be useful when cleaning a Mac include Clean Drive, Uninstall Apps, Find Duplicates, and Free Memory. The Clean Drive tool scans your drive and then lets you choose what to delete.

You can delete applications by dragging them to the trash, but this doesn’t always completely delete them. Often files and folders can be left scattered around your system that were related to that now gone app. Parallels’s Uninstall Apps tool will remove apps and their associated files from your Mac.

Similarly, you can run Find Duplicates to dig out any identical files – even ones that have different file names.

Parallel’s Toolbox costs $24.99/£20.99 a year, but the free 14-day trial will actually delete files, free memory and do all those other useful things without you buying the app!

You can get an overview of Toolbox’s various features, and download the seven-day trial, from the company’s website.

You can get Parallels Toolbox here.

Also from Nektony, is the simple and easy to use App Cleaner & Installer. This lightweight app is actually bundled with MacCleaner Pro (above), but this version focuses on clearing out the broken links, files, and other gubbins that get left behind when apps are uninstalled.

It also, as the name suggests, allows you to uninstall apps cleanly from the get-go, and set which ones launch at start up.  

There is a free version that does most of these tasks, but if you pay $9.99/£9.99 for the Pro upgrade you’ll also be able to remove system extensions, executable parts of files, and uninstall apps, plus the ads that adorn the free version disappear.

Easy to recommend due to both its price and quality.

You can get App Cleaner & Uninstaller here.

There’s a reason Onyx from Titanium Software has been among the tools of choice for Mac techies for such a long time. It offers a great set of tools and an incredible level of customization. It’s also freeware, so you don’t have to pay a penny, although the developer Titanium Software appreciates donations.

Onyx also combines a unique, bare-bones approach to its user interface while offering an incredible level of customization as to what files are affected during a repair.

Onyx can repair permissions, rebuild databases, reorganize file structures, check hard disk structures, and restore indexes. It can even repaire Unix-level functions that would otherwise only be accessed through Terminal.

The main downside is that it’s not all that simple to use and it’s easy to make errors. Luckily there are handy FAQ links on the Titanium Software website for common issues.

There are versions of Onyx for each version of the macOS.

You can get Onyx here.