over 3 years ago

Keeping your Mac in top shape can be hard as over time various clutter and digital debris begin to take residence on your system. Thankfully, there are a wealth of tools available to rectify this malady and get your iMac or MacBook back in fine fettle once more. We gather together some of the best clean-up utilities for macOS.

First a word of warning. While normally the fact that an app is in the Mac App Store would mean that it has been heavily vetted by Apple, and therefore we would recommend it as safe, there has been a case of an app - specifically one used for cleaning your Mac - being found to be stealing data from machines.

The app, Dr Cleaner, was found to be collecting data from Macs and sending it to a specific address. Apple has since removed it from the store. We recommend that anyone using Dr Cleaner should stop doing so now. CleanMyMac X £34.95/$39.95 a year (currently £29.95). Trial available here.

One heavy hitter in the clean-sweep stakes is CleanMyMac X by MacPaw (£34.95/$39.95 but currently discounted to £29.95). This popular utility comes from a stable of useful tools all in one package, including a macOS cleaner, performance monitor and malware remover.

It has a simple layout that offers a variety of functions. These include a general system clean that optimises space by removing temporary files that could be lingering, as well as slimming down unnecessary parts of applications and removing any odds and ends left behind after uninstalls.

CleanMyMacX There's also the ability to search through your Photos, iTunes/Music, and Mail folders to remove and clean up waifs and strays that could be slowing down your system.

CleanMyMac is a comprehensive package, which offers several additional tools for uninstalling apps cleanly, removing various extensions, improving disk performance, and digitally shredding files that you don't want anyone to revive.

All of this functionality doesn't come free though. There is a free trial version available on the Mac App Store, 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 from the Mac App Store for free (here) and scan your Mac to see just now much space before committing to buying the app.

On the Mac App Store it costs £29.99, compared to the current price of £29.95 on MacPaw's website. Alternatively if you prefer a one-time purchase to the subscription model it costs from £76.95.

The license can be transferred to a new machine, so long as the previous installation is deactivated first.

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

DaisyDisk £9.99/$9.99 on the Mac App Store. Trial available here.

If you're more of a visual person, then DaisyDisk (£9.99/$9.99 on the Mac App Store) is an excellent tool for seeing the contents of your drive in a colourful and interactive graph. The files are sorted into various groups such as Large files, Documents, Music, and Downloads, each of which are allocated their own colours and spokes that show how much space that area is taking up.

best mac cleanup utilities It's a good at-a-glance method for understanding where all your space has gone. Each section can be clicked to bring up another circular breakdown of its contents, with each sector representing a file. These can be previewed to see whether you want them or not, and if it's a case of the latter then you simply drag them to the bottom of the screen where all your junk files are stored.

When your pruning is complete, hit the Delete button and they will be dispatched without a hint of mercy.

If you visit the DaisyDisk site then you'll be able to download a trial version that shows you how the app works. This is useful, but as the delete feature has been disabled you won't be able to clear out any files. Instead, go for the full-blown version which costs £9.99/$9.99.

MacBooster 7 $39.95 (around £33), trial available

This powerful app not only offers the standard disk clean-up features like removing duplicates, scanning for large files, claiming back memory, and general performance enhancing duties, but also includes Virus and Malware scans to keep your Mac free from malicious software.

best mac cleanup utilities

While it's certainly a comprehensive suite, the power under-the-hood could prove a little too much for beginners. We'd also heavily recommend, as with any app in this roundup, that you make a complete backup of your system before you begin deleting files.

MacBooster 7 is available on a free 14-day trial, but after that it costs $39.95 (around £33) for single Mac license or $59.95 (around £49) for three Macs.

Parallels Toolbox £15.99 a year (or free with Parallels Desktop), 7-day trial available here

Parallels sells a bunch of tools that can be used to perform various actions on your Mac. A number of the tools on offer can be used to clean your Mac.

Parallel's Toolbox costs £15.99 a year, and offers a collection of useful tools. You can read about Toolbox's various features, and download a seven-day trial, from the company's website.

Mac cleaning tools provided in the Toolbox that could also be useful when cleaning a Mac include: Clean Drive, Uninstall Apps, Find Duplicates, Free Memory.

Parallels says the Clean Drive tool will "Keep your Mac clutter-free and running at max speed." The tool scans your drive and then lets you choose what to delete.

over 3 years ago

Personally I have heard a lot of positive reviews of this program so yeah, you definitely need to try it too right now. :)

over 3 years ago

Such a huge and useful article! Thanks for sharing it