CleanMyMac by MacPaw is one of the best-known Mac cleaners. People look for alternatives for different reasons: price, wanting a tool that does one job well, or preferring software that doesn't send data anywhere. Here are the options worth knowing, grouped by what they do.
Disclosure: we make Binzide. We've kept the other entries factual and focused on what each tool is for, and prices change, so check each developer's site.
At a glance
| App | Clean | Uninstall | Disk map | Monitor | Open source | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Binzide | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | – | Free; Pro $11.99 |
| AppCleaner | – | ✓ | – | – | – | Free |
| Pearcleaner | – | ✓ | – | – | ✓ | Free |
| OnyX | ✓ | – | – | – | – | Free |
| GrandPerspective | – | – | ✓ | – | ✓ | Free (paid on the App Store) |
| DaisyDisk | – | – | ✓ | – | – | Paid |
| Stats | – | – | – | ✓ | ✓ | Free |
All-in-one
Binzide
Binzide covers the main jobs people use CleanMyMac for: cleaning caches, logs, and developer files; uninstalling apps with their support files; storage analysis; CPU, memory, and network monitoring; and reviewing login items and background activity. It also includes annotated screenshots and 20 local developer tools. It has no account, analytics, or cloud backend, risky items start unchecked, and removed files go to the Trash. Binzide is free to download; Pro ($11.99) unlocks unlimited cleaning and advanced tools.
Uninstallers
AppCleaner
A long-standing free utility from FreeMacSoft. Drop an app on its window and it lists the related files to remove with it. Simple and focused on one job.
Pearcleaner
A free, open-source uninstaller with a modern interface. Like AppCleaner, it finds an app's leftover files; it can also look for orphaned files from apps you already removed.
Disk space analyzers
DaisyDisk
A paid app that draws your disk as an interactive map, making it easy to spot large folders and drag them to a collector to delete.
GrandPerspective
A free, open-source visualizer that shows every file as a block sized by how much space it uses. It's also sold on the Mac App Store to support development.
Maintenance and monitoring
OnyX
A free maintenance utility from Titanium Software that runs macOS maintenance tasks, clears caches, and exposes hidden settings. It's released separately for each major macOS version, so download the build that matches yours.
Stats
A free, open-source menu bar monitor for CPU, GPU, memory, disk, network, battery, and sensors. Great if you only want to keep an eye on your Mac.
Don't forget macOS itself
macOS includes a storage manager in System Settings › General › Storage and Activity Monitor for performance. For a walkthrough of the manual approach, see how to free up space on your Mac and how to completely uninstall apps.
Which should you choose?
- Want one private app that covers cleaning, uninstalling, storage, and monitoring? Try Binzide.
- Only need to uninstall apps? AppCleaner or Pearcleaner.
- Want to see what's filling your disk? DaisyDisk or GrandPerspective.
- Only want live stats in the menu bar? Stats.