Is your Mac slowing down, frequently freezing, regularly running out of RAM or just not behaving like it used to? Are you short of space on your Mac? Have you spotted the immense amount of room taken up by System Data and are now looking for a safe way to delete some of that data? What you need is a Mac cleaner app that will delete the clutter and digital debris from your system and free your RAM from memory hogs.

What is the Best Mac Cleaner?

The Best Mac Cleaner for you depends on what you want to use it for. Just looking for a quick and easy way to free up some space so that the latest version of macOS will install? You probably want something that doesn’t cost a lot for a one off use. Looking for something that won’t just clear space, but will also help you free up memory/RAM, diagnose problems, and even check for viruses, we have the solutions below.?

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We like CleanMyMac because there is the choice of a yearly subscription or a one time purchase price if you think you might want to keep it for the long haul. Another option we really like is Parallels Toolbox which offers a bundle of handy tools for just about everything. There are also some cheaper options including Cleaner One Pro and Nektony’s App Cleaner & Uninstaller and free options such as Onyx and CCleaner.

Best Mac Cleaner 2025

Below you can read about the Mac Cleaners we have reviewed. Read on to find out why we rate these options so highly.

1. MacPaw CleanMyMac – The most comprehensive Mac cleaner

Few cleanup apps are as comprehensive as CleanMyMac from MacPaw, which has been updated to version 5.0 (and dropped the X from its name). Version 5.0 sports a redesigned interface that simplifies things by displaying the results of its scans as a series of tiles that give you a quick summary of each scan.?

CleanMyMac’s tools fall into five main categories that focus on different tasks: Cleanup, Protection, Performance, Applications and My Clutter. A new Smart Care feature gives your Mac a quick check-up and summarises the result of its scans for all five categories.

The Cleanup tools focus on deleting junk. The Protection tools can scan for malware, detecting and quarantining threats. CleanMyMac isn’t a dedicated antivirus program like those featured in our?Best Antivirus for Mac?round-up, but it’s a nice addition.

The Performance tools help with routine maintenance, such as clearing out DNS cache, or re-indexing Spotlight and Mail to speed up search results. The Applications tools help you delete unwanted applications and left over installation files.?

My Clutter can scan either individual folders or your entire Mac drive to locate old files. Version 5 adds the ability to identify duplicate files, or photos that look very similar, so that you can delete them.

There are also some new diagnostic tools, including the ability to identify apps that are using a lot of battery power.

You can buy CleanMyMac from MacPaw’s own?website, or from the?Mac App Store, although the version sold on the Mac App Store omits a few features. You can choose from an annual subscription, or you can buy it for a one-time fee. It’s not the cheapest cleanup app, but it provides dozens of different tools for deleting old files and data.?

There’s a free version available to download and a free trial version available on 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 here.

Read our full CleanMyMac review

2. Parallels Toolbox – Everything you need in one app

Piriform Software’s?CCleaner?offers some useful tools in a friendly, appealing package. It retails for $39.95/￡39.95 for CCleaner Pro, which covers one device for one year. There’s also a free version: CCleaner.

CCleaner centers itself around several modules, which consist of Quick Clean, Clean Clutter, Clean Browser, Find Duplicates, Analyze Photos, Uninstall Apps, Manage Startups, System Monitor, and Statistics.

Uninstall Apps tool worked well and the Manage Startups tool dug up a chunk of files and and offered an easy way to remove them. The Clean Browser tool was able to locate and remove 2.01GB of cache files and cookies and Find Duplicates found 106.45GB of duplicate files. The Quick Clean tool was able to locate app cache files, log files, trash, cookies, web cache, and duplicate files offered to clear 6.5GB of cache files.

System Monitor offered system specs, access to sensors, and information such as fan usage, disk usage, battery cycles and temperature. The scheduling tool worked well, CCleaner offering a good level of customization.

There’s a good set of tutorial videos for CCleaner’s various versions, but you have to go looking for them. Piriform should offer quick links to these tutorial videos they’ve already produced and published.

There’s an excellent collection of tools to be found in CCleaner. The interface is clean, it runs well, and it doesn’t make the mistake of trying to perform every task under the sun.

Read our full CCleaner Pro review

7. Onyx – Excellent free option

Onyx is one of the best utilities on the market, and it’s free! OnyX is Donationware, with users asked to send along whatever they believe the program is worth.

It provides easy access to the powerful underlying tools within the macOS operating system. You can run powerful sets of customizable scripts to perform functions such as checking volume structures, getting low-level system specifications, repairing permissions, cleaning up system databases, and sorting out under-the-hood level system details.?

it’s easy to access complex system functions such as security, login options, Display Calibrator, Keychain Access and so on.?

Our only criticism would be that the Scheduling feature is a bit vague and seems to only function around specific days, hours, and minutes. And a set of tutorial videos would be useful. Users have complained that support is slow in getting back to them – but this is donationware, so, to be fair, it’s understandable.?

Read our full Onyx review

8. Daisy Disk – Nice one off price

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.?

It can also mount cloud-based services such as Google Drive, Dropbox, Microsoft OneDrive, and Box so you can find ancient files to be deleted. I was able to clear up dozens of gigabytes of space in the process. See our round-up of the?best cloud backups for Mac.

We did have some difficulties with Google Drive, which refused to allow DaisyDisk access, stating that the app was blocked and “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 and hopefully it will be sorted out soon.

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.?

Read our full Daisy Disk review

9. MacPaw Gemini – Dependable duplicate deleter

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.

Read our full MacPaw Gemini review

10. Intego Washing Machine

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 includes VirusBarrier, NetBarrier, Content Barrier, and Personal Backup solutions.

Read our full Intego Washing Machine X9 review

11. Nektony App Cleaner & Uninstaller

App Cleaner & Uninstaller simplifies the process of removing unwanted applications, startup programs, extensions, remaining files, and updates.

The Applications module indexes all applications and allows users to easily find and remove even the remnants of software. The Startup Programs module provides a convenient list of startup applications, categorised into All Programs, Active, and Disabled, and lets users select which to remove. The Extensions module categorises Mac extensions into Installation Files, Web Browser Extensions, Screen Savers, Settings Panes, Internet Plugins, and Widgets, making it easy to locate and remove specific extensions.

Unfortunately, App Cleaner & Uninstaller’s Remaining Files and Updater elements are problematic. The Remaining Files module, though useful, offers a generalised ‘Remove’ feature that can remove critical system elements like the App Store, affecting your Mac’s functionality.

During testing, it targeted Adobe Creative Cloud applications and files, removing file systems and requiring reinstallation of several Adobe applications. While a generalised cleanup is possible, the Remaining Files module should be used carefully to avoid removing critical elements. The Updates feature missed major updates like ff-Works, Slack, and Microsoft Office.?

Read our full Nektony App Cleaner & Uninstaller review

You may also like to consider:
Disk Doctor, $2.99/￡2.99 a year.
Tuneup for Mac, $65.99/￡54.99 a year.

We have also looked at MacBooster, find out why we don’t recommend it here: MacBooster Review: it’s no surprise people think it’s malware.

For more information about why a Mac cleaner app could be useful read: Why your Mac needs a cleaner app. We also discuss Tips for cleaning up your Mac.

How we test Mac Cleaning software

We tested the Mac cleaning software for this article by scanning our test system for junk files, caches, temporary files and more that could be removed. We then evaluated success depending not only on the amount of space freed up, but also whether there were issues related to data loss or performance slowdowns. We also evaluating the various modules in each app, such as the effectiveness of app uninstallers and the management of RAM. We also looked at ease of use and value for money.

Why you should trust Macworld

Macworld’s Mac cleaner app reviewer, Chris Barylick, is an Apple-Certified Macintosh Technician with more than twenty years of experience fixing Macs and in this time has seen just about every scenario that can be conceived of. You can trust the unbiassed recommendations and buying advice of Macworld’s team of experts because we use the products ourselves, running real-world tests to accurately assess how the software will perform in typical use.

How to choose the best Mac Cleaner

The best Mac Cleaner for you will depend on your requirements. Some of the options here do so much more than remove obsolete files from your Mac to free up space. Others promise to uninstall app completely, some will help you free up RAM, and some will even double up as antivirus software. The Mac Cleaner that meets your needs within you budget is the one that will best suit you and you can rest assumed that any app mentioned in this round up that fits your criteria comes with our recommendation.

FAQ

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1.

Can you clean your Mac without using a Mac Cleaner?

macOS doesn’t have a built-in system cleaner, but with a little knowhow you can do the job yourself.

It is possible to clean your Mac for free, however there are risks involved. There’s a reason why Apple doesn’t let you access the contents of System Data: if you delete the wrong thing it could bring down your whole Mac! However you can follow the steps in this tutorial to free up space without spending anything: How to delete System Data on a Mac.

2.

Is it worth paying for a Mac Cleaner or can I clean my Mac for free?

There are several options available that offer free trials or are completely free.

Free Trials: Some Mac cleaner apps, such as CleanMyMac, DaisyDisk, Parallels ToolBox and MacCleaner Pro featured above, offer free trial versions that allow users to clean their Mac for free for a limited period.

Free Versions: CCleaner has a free version with useful cleaning features. OnyX is a free utility that provides access to powerful tools for cleaning and maintenance of the macOS operating system

Some of these trials will merely show you how much space you can free up, but several are essentially free Mac Cleaners that will allow you to clean your Mac for free, albeit for a limited period. While some of these options may have limitations or time restrictions, they provide a way to clean your Mac without immediate cost.

3.

Is there a totally free Mac cleaner?

CCleaner and OnyX are the best options if you are looking for a free Mac cleaner. Alternatively you can use Apple’s built in tools to help you find ways to make more space and delete data you don’t need. See: How to check a Mac’s free hard drive space and How to clear disk space on a Mac and How to find and delete duplicate files on Mac.

4.

Should you use a Mac cleaner

Using a Mac cleaner application can be beneficial for system maintenance and performance, especially if a Mac is slowing down, freezing, or frequently running out of RAM.

However, those who are a little more confident may find that following Apple’s own recommendations to free up storage are preferable. For example, Apple’s own tools show what can be deleted from a Mac and recommend other ways to free up space. A Mac Cleaner may do more harm than good if it removes things needed by the operating system or deletes things unnecessarily.

Related Articles

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• How to speed up a slow Mac
• How to clean install macOS on your Mac

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