Free CleanMyMac alternatives for macOS
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CleanMyMac from MacPaw is one of the best‑known Mac utilities: it bundles cleanup, an uninstaller, maintenance and malware checks in one polished app, and it's paid after a trial. If you'd rather not pay, the same jobs can be covered by free tools, most of them small and focused. Here's what each one is good at, so you can pick only what you need.
What a "cleaner" actually does
Before choosing, it helps to split the job into parts. All‑in‑one apps combine these, but you may only need one or two:
- See where the space went: disk maps and large‑file lists.
- Remove junk: caches, logs, developer leftovers, old installers.
- Uninstall apps with their leftover files.
- Maintenance: reindex Spotlight, flush DNS, rebuild caches.
- Privacy and security: browser data, login items, suspicious background services.
The free tools
| Tool | Covers | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| macOS Storage settings | 1, 2 (partly), 3 | Built in. Recommendations, large files, app deletion. Doesn't show leftovers or developer data. |
| OmniDiskSweeper | 1 | From The Omni Group. Simple column view of folders sorted by size, with delete. |
| GrandPerspective | 1 | Open source treemap of your disk. Free from its website; the Mac App Store version is paid. |
| AppCleaner | 3 | From FreeMacSoft. Drop an app on its window to see and remove related files. |
| Pearcleaner | 3 | Open source uninstaller that also looks for orphaned files from apps already deleted. |
| OnyX | 2, 4 | From Titanium Software. Deep maintenance and cache options; there's a separate version for each macOS release, so get the matching one. |
| KnockKnock | 5 | From Objective‑See. Lists everything set to run persistently (launch agents, login items, extensions) and checks it against VirusTotal on request. |
| Glint | 1–5 | Free all‑in‑one app; details below. |
Prices and macOS support change; check each developer's site before you download.
Seeing where your space went
Start here, because the biggest wins are usually a few large items, not thousands of cache files. OmniDiskSweeper is the quickest way to drill into folders by size. GrandPerspective draws each file as a rectangle sized by how much space it takes, so one huge video or VM image jumps out. Both need Full Disk Access to see everything. Without a tool, you can do the same in Terminal; see How to find large files on a Mac.
Uninstalling apps properly
Dragging an app to the Trash leaves its support files behind. AppCleaner and Pearcleaner both find those files by the app's bundle ID and let you review the list before deleting. Pearcleaner can also scan for leftovers of apps you removed in the past. The manual method is in How to completely uninstall apps on a Mac.
Maintenance
OnyX has been around for many macOS versions and exposes a lot of system options: cache cleaning, rebuilding the Launch Services database, Spotlight reindexing, and hidden Finder and Dock settings. It's powerful, so read each option before running it. Most maintenance jobs also have a one‑line Terminal equivalent, for example sudo mdutil -E / to reindex Spotlight, or sudo dscacheutil -flushcache; sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder to flush DNS.
Security and background items
macOS has its own malware protection (XProtect and Gatekeeper). For a look at what runs in the background, KnockKnock is a well‑regarded free tool from a long‑time Mac security researcher. System Settings › General › Login Items also shows most background items; see How to remove login items and launch agents.
How to choose a cleaner, any cleaner
- It shows you everything before deleting. A list with sizes, not a single "Clean" button with a number.
- You can undo. Deleted items go to the Trash or a quarantine, at least for anything that isn't a cache.
- It stays away from system files. Nothing under
/System, and no "registry"‑style cleaning; macOS doesn't have a registry. - It's signed and notarized, so macOS opens it without warnings, and you can tell who made it.
- It doesn't scare you. Warnings of "hundreds of problems" on a healthy Mac are a sales tactic.
- It respects your privacy. Check whether the app uploads file names or scan results anywhere.
Glint: a free all‑in‑one option
If you'd like the convenience of one app without a subscription, Glint is a free, native macOS app with no paid tier, no cleaning limit and no account. It covers the same ground as the list above:
- Space: Smart Clean (caches, logs, Xcode and package‑manager leftovers, Trash, old iOS backups, Mail downloads, installers), Large Files, Duplicate Files, Similar Photos and a Space Map sunburst.
- Apps: uninstall apps with their
~/Libraryleftovers; Startup Items for launch agents and daemons. - Maintenance: free RAM, flush DNS, reindex Spotlight, repair the "Open With" menu, reset Quick Look and font caches.
- Privacy and security: browser history, cookies and cache for Safari, Chrome, Edge, Brave, Arc, Vivaldi, Opera and Firefox; GPS removal from photos; a sensitive‑file finder; a security scan and an app permissions viewer.
- Health and recovery: SSD wear and SMART data, and file recovery for USB sticks and SD cards.
Caches that apps rebuild are deleted outright; everything else goes to Quarantine first and can be restored for 7 days by default. System folders are protected, and Glint makes no network requests of its own: no analytics, no telemetry. It needs macOS 14 Sonoma or later. If you only need one of the jobs above, a single‑purpose tool from the table may be all you need.
FAQ
Do I need a cleaner app on a Mac at all?
No. macOS manages caches and temporary files on its own, and everything a cleaner does can be done by hand with Finder and Terminal. Cleaner apps save time and show you where space went; they're a convenience, not a requirement.
Are free Mac cleaners safe?
The good ones are. Look for a signed and notarized app from a developer you can identify, a clear list of what will be deleted before anything is removed, and a way to undo. Be wary of any app that warns of “dozens of problems” to sell an upgrade.
Is CleanMyMac bad?
No. CleanMyMac is a polished, long-running commercial app from MacPaw. The tools here are for people who'd rather not pay or prefer smaller, single-purpose apps.
Glint is a free disk cleaner for macOS 14 Sonoma and later, on Apple Silicon and Intel. No limits, no account, and everything stays on your Mac.