30 Best Mac Apps You Should Download Now (2024): Free and Paid

Remember the first clip you took a large ol' wound retired of that shiny caller Apple? With that MacBook oregon iMac, whether Mac Mini oregon Mac Pro, you were bathed successful the time-honored Apple startup chime and greeted by a slick, intuitive operating system. Inevitably you noticed that not each the homegrown bundle Apple decided to see successful macOS was tasty. Not that 1 (or five) atrocious apples present spoil the full bunch, but you whitethorn arsenic good prime retired the atrocious ones, propulsion them away, and find yourself immoderate third-party alternatives that sensation sweeter.

We emotion macOS itself for its out-of-the-box stableness that requires little tinkering than Windows and Linux, truthful don't ditch the machine. Just instrumentality a look alternatively astatine these third-party applications to upgrade your macOS experience. Some are for niche uses, but others hole gaps successful vanilla macOS. Many of these apps aren't free, but astir person escaped trials you tin cheque retired portion you determine whether to buy. It's besides communal for them to sync with companion apps connected your iPhone. They mightiness conscionable marque your beingness a small easier.

Also, beryllium definite to cheque retired our galore other guides, including the Best Music Streaming Apps, Best MacBooks, Best iPads, Best iPhones, and How to Back Up Your iPhone.

Updated August 2024: We've added autochthonal Apple apps similar Notes, Reminders, and FreeForm, arsenic good arsenic different apps similar Zoom and Bitwarden. We besides updated links and pricing throughout.

Power up with unlimited entree to WIRED. Get best-in-class reporting that's excessively important to disregard for conscionable $2.50 $1 per period for 1 year. Includes unlimited integer entree and exclusive subscriber-only content. Subscribe Today.

If you bargain thing utilizing links successful our stories, we whitethorn gain a commission. This helps enactment our journalism. Learn more.

For a Better User Experience

Yes, you tin usage Split View connected macOS to presumption 2 applications broadside by side, but it's obscurity adjacent arsenic intuitive arsenic it is connected Microsoft's Windows, wherever you tin simply resistance a model to a country and person it drawback into place. This app is worthy the $3 if you don't privation to messiness with resizing model borders constantly. Magnet for $5 is different bully option, though present that they've raised the terms from $3, BetterSnapTool is simply a amended deal.

If you've ever had to support wiggling a digit connected the trackpad during a movie oregon YouTube video to halt the surface from going to slumber implicit and implicit (or possibly during a peculiarly agelong download), you'll admit an app that lets you support the surface connected for definite tasks. It adjacent works with outer displays. Sure, you tin support going into your strategy preferences to alteration the screensaver and hard disk shutdown settings, but that tin get tiresome quickly.

The default hunt instrumentality connected macOS isn't bad, but there's country for it to spell deeper. Alfred is simply a supercharged alternate that lets you make customized shortcuts to programs and record folders, activate strategy commands by typing, make automated customized workflows that statesman with the propulsion of a fastener oregon a typed phrase, and, well, a batch more. It's free, but you tin acquisition a mentation called Powerpack that has much features, specified arsenic contacts and app integrations. It costs 29 British pounds (around $37) for a azygous idiosyncratic license, oregon £49 (around $62) for a beingness of escaped upgrades to consequent versions of Alfred.

MacOS is packed with each kinds of wondrously utile keyboard shortcuts that you'll ne'er usage due to the fact that adjacent becoming alert of their specified beingness is similar a trial of wits successful an Indiana Jones movie. From Command + Shift + T (reopens past unfastened browser tabs, adjacent if you closed the window) to trying to retrieve that successful Slack, laying a hyperlink into substance is Command + V and not Command + K, similar it is successful Microsoft Word, determination are a batch of arcane but supremely hidden keyboard shortcuts each crossed macOS's apps, some first- and third-party. With a speedy pat of a button, CheatSheet appears to show each the disposable keyboard shortcuts successful immoderate app you're presently using, and different property hides it away. Simple, clean, and free.

Even though I said immoderate bully things astir Apple Music successful my guide to the champion euphony streaming apps, I inactive similar Spotify arsenic an all-around euphony streamer. Its interface is arguably the cleanest and astir user-friendly successful the field, and it has the strongest euphony find algorithms and societal components for swapping euphony with your friends. I instrumentality my euphony excessively overmuch to bosom to enactment up with advertisements and constricted opus skips, truthful I urge you driblet the $12 per period for the Premium tier. Spotify HiFi, with CD-quality lossless audio, has nary merchandise day successful sight, but unless you're a die-hard audiophile with the ears and listening instrumentality to observe it, you astir apt don't request lossless anyway.

AdGuard's stand-alone macOS app lets you take from and custom-toggle a immense array of filters to artifact societal media extensions, pop-up ads, URL redirects, and a full batch more. It works not lone connected your browser but besides connected different apps you person installed. There's a escaped two-week trial, but you'll request to wage for a licence to usage it aft the proceedings expires. For $2.49 a month, you get entree to the work connected 3 devices simultaneously.

You're apt already utilizing Zoom for video calls connected your enactment laptop, but it's a large app for your idiosyncratic Mac too—especially if your friends oregon household don't ain Apple devices to FaceTime on. In summation to meetings (for up to 40 minutes), it comes with different features similar sharing your screen, messaging, notes, the whiteboard diagnostic (where radical tin collaborate connected a shared committee with drawings and text), and more. This is the escaped tier, but Zoom offers paid options including the Pro tier ($13 a month) and the Business tier (for $18 a month), some of which connection further features and capabilities that are each listed here.

For a Better Writing Experience

Tired of paying for Microsoft Office, unimpressed with Apple's default bureau suite, and incapable oregon unwilling to power wholly implicit to Google's G Suite connected the unreality for everything? Download LibreOffice, a full-featured suite that includes the accustomed applications, specified arsenic a connection processor and spreadsheet editor. It's wholly compatible with each the accustomed Microsoft record types, including bequest formats specified arsenic .doc. It's unfastened root and costs thing to use, adjacent commercially. For goodwill, donate a fewer bucks if you extremity up liking it and utilizing it a lot.

OK, OK, I cognize I conscionable presented a precise worthy, escaped alternate to Microsoft Office, but determination are 2 features that marque paying for a Microsoft 365 subscription worthy it, if you usage them. First, Word's included Editor feature, which scans for grammatical mistakes and makes suggestions, is arsenic utile and casual to usage arsenic Grammarly. Second, Microsoft softly rolled retired escaped in-app dependable transcription successful Word a mates of years ago, and it's arsenic close arsenic galore of the expensive, stand-alone dependable transcription bundle I've used.

I emotion Ulysses' plain substance and cleanable interface for penning longer stories, but it's besides cleanable for abbreviated stories, novels, poetry, and scripts. It strips distant each the unnecessary icons, buttons, and settings and lets you absorption connected your work. You tin get a escaped proceedings earlier committing to the subscription fee. (You tin opt for $6 per period alternatively of the yearly outgo plan.) If you bash ammunition out, the iOS app is bundled with the macOS version.

Confused astir which characters spell wrong quotation marks and which spell outside? Make definite cipher tin responsibility your grammar, spelling, and syntax with Grammarly, an app that works wrong your browser and connected your desktop. Whether you're penning successful an email client, connection processor, oregon different app, Grammarly works crossed each of them. Although there's a escaped version, stepping up to the $12-per-month Premium mentation takes a overmuch much progressive relation and offers full-sentence rewrites, vocabulary ideas, and code suggestions. Plus, adjacent though Microsoft Word has an exertion conscionable arsenic useful, you tin usage Grammarly successful Word done an easy-to-install plug-in.

Journaling is simply a meditative experience, but if you're similar maine and your handwriting looks similar an SOS connection carved into a rock, you thin to debar penning connected paper. Day One is simply a large integer journaling acquisition that lets you insert photos, prevention dependable recordings, and export your logs successful assorted formats, similar PDFs. Your diary entries are end-to-end encrypted, automatically backed up, and secured with a passcode oregon biometrics too. There's a escaped version, but it's severely limited, truthful you're amended disconnected paying the $35 per twelvemonth for the afloat suite of features. There's a one-month escaped proceedings available, up from 7 days the past clip we updated this guide.

We love the Notes app. As WIRED reviewer Adrienne So wrote successful her rave of it: “If you privation to cognize who idiosyncratic genuinely is—what they eat, what books they read, what movies they watch, oregon however furious they get wrong their ain minds—you should astir apt cheque their Notes app.” And it's true. It's the cleanable spot to dump each your thoughts, whether it's putting unneurotic a checklist for an upcoming travel oregon journaling your thoughts (unfortunately, the Journal app isn't disposable connected macOS), Notes is ace versatile. In summation to your ain words, you tin besides adhd attachments (like photos, web links, and PDFs), change the substance styles, nexus antithetic notes to each other, and more.

For a Better Viewing Experience

If you request a heavy-duty representation spectator that lets you edit and presumption metadata, batch-process catalogs of RAW representation files, and acceptable up automated processes to benignant and classify photos for you, past measurement up to ApolloOne. This is simply a programme for superior photographers—or astatine slightest radical who instrumentality a batch of pictures and privation to signifier them. The 14-day escaped proceedings has limits connected what you tin do, but it's a bully mode to spot if you'll privation to wage $12 a twelvemonth for the Standard Edition oregon $20 a twelvemonth for the Pro Edition. You tin usage the escaped proceedings past 14 days if you don't caput the annoying pop-up reminders to subscribe. If you autumn successful emotion with it and cognize you'll privation to usage it for years and years (at slightest three), you tin wage a one-time interest for a perpetual licence for Standard oregon Pro astatine $30 and $50, respectively. Another alternate is XnView MP for free.

I've recovered Lightroom to onslaught the close equilibrium betwixt extent of almighty editing tools and intuitive idiosyncratic interface, with each the options for tweaking colour contrast, colour temperature, distortion, and more. You person to measurement up to the $20-per-month program to edit and store images connected your desktop, alternatively than conscionable enactment disconnected 1 TB of retention successful Adobe's Cloud, but it besides comes packaged with Photoshop. If you're superior astir your photography editing, this is the bundle to get. Although Photoshop's learning curve is steep, it's an manufacture modular for almighty photograph-manipulation tools. Paying for 1 licence allows you to usage it connected immoderate device, from mobile to tablet to computer. There's a seven-day escaped trial if you'd similar to get your feet bedewed earlier committing.

As communal arsenic PDFs are, computers definite marque it hard to usage them. While the days of having to download a abstracted programme conscionable to work them are over, you inactive request a robust stand-alone instrumentality to capable successful fields and motion your integer signature connected PDF forms. Next clip idiosyncratic sends you a PDF to motion and capable out, hide going done the occupation of printing it, signing it, and scanning it backmost in. Use Adobe Reader and beryllium done wrong minutes.

Our erstwhile recommendation, Xee³, hasn't been updated since December 2021, truthful we've moved to this lightweight representation viewer. Like Xee³, it doesn't travel with each the options and clutter of much precocious programs, but it's nicer to usage if you don't request each those features. The interface is cleanable and intuitive, but you tin browse done folders of images and determination photographs much easy than with the banal photograph viewer. It reminds maine of Windows Photo Viewer—in a bully way.

This slick video subordinate looks arsenic if it could've been designed by Apple itself, blending seamlessly into the macOS plan scheme. It plays galore much types of record formats and codecs than the banal player, including online streams and YouTube playlists. VLC Media Player, which is free, is besides a large video player. An oldie from 2001, it's been continually supported, though its interface looks dated by now.

For Better Organization

Tidying up folders is simply a slog, and sorting each your files into spot ne'er ends due to the fact that you person to support doing it implicit and implicit arsenic you proceed utilizing your computer. That's wherever Hazel steps in. You archer it which folders to watch—say, your Downloads folder—and it'll automatically determination files to caller destination folders and benignant them by name, date, type, what tract they came from, and more. Newly created oregon downloaded files are moved automatically. It's a one-time purchase.

Instead of having to motion successful to each your email, workflow, and societal media accounts with idiosyncratic browser tabs, you tin nexus each of them into Shift. That means having conscionable 1 app model unfastened for each your enactment tasks. You tin hook up Gmail, Slack, Instagram, Facebook Messenger, Airbnb, LinkedIn, Spotify, Google Docs, and much (plus Chrome extensions!). The Advanced tier unlocks everything you'll privation for, uh, $149 per year. You get unlimited app accounts and unlimited Gmail, Outlook, GSuite, and Office 365 accounts—compared to the escaped tier's 1 and 2 allowed accounts, respectively—along with a Chrome hold and immoderate different insignificant features, but it's conscionable excessively expensive. Try the basal (and free) tier first.

Apple iCloud really works good for astir users who simply request a mode to person files and photographs accessible connected the cloud. But iCloud is clunky connected non-Apple devices. Dropbox works much seamlessly if you person a premix of Apple, Android, and Windows devices. It besides offers a amended record preview window, arsenic good arsenic Microsoft Office integration. You get up to 2 GB of retention with the escaped mentation of Dropbox, which is capable for elemental files, specified arsenic papers files, but you request to fto spell of $10 per period ($2 little than the past clip we updated this guide) for the cheapest paid program if you privation to store bigger files. That'll get you a chill 2 TB of storage, arsenic good arsenic papers betterment for erstwhile versions of files from the past 30 days.

Upgrade to the $18-per-month Essentials tier if you request to nonstop files bigger than 2 GB; you get 3 TB of retention and tin nonstop files up to 100 GB, positive betterment of files' erstwhile versions for 180 days. One happening Dropbox is not is simply a backup app. Files successful Dropbox reflector the ones connected your machine folder, truthful if you delete it connected the desktop, it deletes from the cloud, too, truthful find different app if you're hoping to usage the unreality to backmost up your data.

Hear maine retired connected this one. This staple of the firm satellite mightiness springiness you flashbacks to your workplace, but it makes for a large organizational chat level to support hobbyist groups adjacent (but not too close). There's little unit to respond instantly than with texts, and dissimilar WhatsApp groups, determination are plentifulness of options to filter retired intrusions erstwhile you don't privation to beryllium disturbed. You tin acceptable do-not-disturb times, get notifications erstwhile idiosyncratic sends you a nonstop connection oregon mentions you successful a channel, and mute definite channels entirely.

Save look web pages and Paprika automatically formats them into a azygous design. All your recipes are organized successful folders, and you tin usage the app's interactive features to cheque disconnected ingredients arsenic you navigator and standard up oregon down the ingredients needed for antithetic serving sizes. There's an iOS app and an Android app, but you person to bargain each separately for $5. It's besides disposable connected Windows for $30, truthful you tin sync recipes crossed aggregate platforms.

I americium precise picky astir which apps I support connected my dock, but Reminders is simply a non-negotiable. I'm ever utilizing it to acceptable reminders for assorted tasks similar picking up items astatine the market store, sending emails, mounting up doc appointments, and more. The app is ace casual to use, particularly if you're already acquainted with the iOS version. You tin make reminders for the time of an lawsuit arsenic good arsenic docket oregon emblem them. You tin besides signifier each 1 by title, owed date, and instauration date. You'll person entree to a ton of different features too, including the quality to prevention lists arsenic templates (for aboriginal use), docket reminders repeatedly, collaborate with others, and more.

Apple's FreeForm app is simply a large collaboration tool. The integer whiteboard app provides you with a blank canvas that you tin usage to gully sketches on, import files oregon web links, and adhd objects. It's an fantabulous enactment if you're looking for a spot to make plan boards, itineraries for upcoming vacations, storyboards, and more. You tin besides stock it with different Apple users who tin past adhd their ain contented to the aforesaid board. Since it's stored connected iCloud, immoderate changes you marque volition besides sync crossed each your different Apple devices successful existent clip too.

For More Security

Beyond adding functionality, you tin besides boost your security. It has thing to bash with utilizing a Mac and everything to bash with utilizing computers and mobile devices successful general. To defender against information snoops and individuality thieves, I highly urge paying for a virtual backstage web (VPN). While reviewer Scott Gilbertson recommends Surfshark, my idiosyncratic favourite is NordVPN. It's 1 of the astir fashionable VPNs, acknowledgment to its accelerated speeds, wide assortment of servers crossed the world, and a mounting that makes it automatically link whenever you're connected an untrusted Wi-Fi network. It's acold cheaper to acquisition a yearly program than wage $13 per period connected the monthly plan.

Bitwarden is simply a secure, unfastened root password manager that’s besides free. It’s our favourite password manager. The macOS and iOS applications are polished and user-friendly, and it’s unfastened source, which means the code that powers Bitwarden is freely disposable for anyone to inspect, question retired flaws, and fix. In theory, the much eyes connected the code, the much airtight it becomes. Bitwarden was besides audited for 2023 by a 3rd party to guarantee it’s secure. Bitwarden besides supports passwordless authentication utilizing passkeys, which means you don't request to usage your username oregon password adjacent to unfastened your vault. We've linked to the escaped mentation but Bitwarden besides offers a Premium mentation (for $10 a year) and a Families tier ($40 a year), some of which battalion further features listed here.

You cognize that password you have? Yeah, that aforesaid password you enactment into each 1 of your hundreds of website accounts? It's casual for intruders to breach 1 website relationship and past usage that stolen password to entree each of your others. Download a password manager, which volition make complex, secure, and unsocial passwords for each website and retrieve them each for you. Spring for Dashlane's Advanced tier astatine $3 per month. It lets you sync your passwords crossed an unlimited fig of devices (including iOS and iPadOS devices), alternatively than conscionable the 1 instrumentality for the escaped version.

Keeping up with the browser wars tin sometimes consciousness similar watching the Indianapolis 500. One browser takes the pb successful privateness oregon speed, and past different browser releases a caller bundle mentation and pulls ahead. Then a 3rd 1 flies successful retired of obscurity and edges them some out. Vivaldi has reliably been among the strongest protectors of idiosyncratic privacy. It comes with a built-in RSS reader, calendar, email client, and translation instrumentality truthful you tin usage these tools in-browser and not person to edifice to the third-party apps that nonstop your usage information to their server farms. Read elder reviewer Scott Gilbertson's piece connected wherefore Vivaldi is the champion browser if you request much convincing.

You should backmost up your files regularly successful respective places for redundancy, some connected physical hard drives and connected a unafraid unreality work specified arsenic Amazon AWS oregon BackBlaze. There's a saying that if information doesn't beryllium successful 3 places, it doesn't truly beryllium astatine all. MSP 360—which is sometimes inactive referred to by users by its aged name, Cloudberry—is a escaped app that automatically backs up your information to a abstracted cloud-based backup service, specified arsenic Amazon AWS S3 oregon Backblaze B2. You person to marque those accounts separately and acceptable them up, but erstwhile you bash that it's a set-it-and-forget-it operation. Unless you person loads of immense files, specified arsenic videos and raw-format photographs, you'll apt lone person to wage a subordinate oregon 2 per period for either one.