The Best Mac Apps

On this page, you will find the best Mac applications for all your needs.

We’ve taken the effort to categorize the apps and picked only those we believe to be the best ones and which will most likely be useful to you.

By Category:
Audio Tools Browsing Dashboard Featured
Email Image tools News Others
For Switchers Social Utilities Video Tools
Productivity

Audio

bowtie The Best Mac Apps Bowtie
Customisable (themeable) iTunes controller and Last.fm scrobbler. Useful.

Download | Full review

scrobblepod The Best Mac Apps ScrobblePod
Last.fm scrobbler that handles songs played in iTunes and on your iOS devices.

Download | Full review

Tomahawk
Manage all of your music services with one simple app.

Download | Full review

Spotify
Instantly listen to over 15 million tracks online and sync them to your iPod.

Download | Full review

Breakaway
Pull out your headphones, and iTunes pauses. Plug it back in, and it starts again.

Download | Full review

X Lossless Decoder
Decode/convert various lossless audio file formats including FLAC, Apple Lossless, Monkey’s Audio, etc.

Download

Audacity
Open sources, cross-platform audio editor. Must have for amateur musicians.

Download | Full review

Songbird
Alternative music player and library manager.

Download | Full review

back to top

 

Browsing Aids

Google Chrome
A lightweight, fast browser. Great alternative to Safari.

Download

Firefox
For Firefox fans who can’t live without it.

Download

Opera
The only popular browser for Mac that’s available on the Mac App Store.

Download

Hotspot Shield
Utility to secure your browsing sessions and prevent identity theft or bypass restrictions.

Download | Full review

CCleaner
Finally the Mac version of the essential CCleaner for Windows.

Download | Full review

back to top

 

Dashboard Widgets

Delivery Status
Delivery tracker that alerts you when your package clears custom or is on the delivery truck!

Download | Full review

CurrencyConverter
One of the best currency converter widgets for Mac OS X. Updated frequently.

Download

The Weather Channel Widget
All the weather information you need right on your Dashboard. Check it out.

Download

Countdown Dashboard widget
Set the date and time for any event and it will show you how much time you have left.

Download | Full review

Symbol Caddy
Can’t seem to find the Euro currency symbol? Symbol Caddy provides access to all special characters.

Download | Full review

back to top

 

Featured

The apps and services below participate in the MakeUseOf Rewards program. You can exchange your points for a free copy or subscription. Each product has been selected because of its quality, so check them out. We think you’ll like what you see.

 

Paragon NTFS
Read and write to NTFS-formatted hard drives (like external hard drives used on Windows computer). $19.95

Download | Full review | Redeem

Postbox
The perfect desktop email client. Adds loads of features like labels, canned responses, third-party app integration, more. $29.95

Download | Full review | Redeem

deskPDF Creator 2012
Create new PDFs, convert to PDF, watermark and lock PDF documents. $34.99

Download

Crashplan+
One of the best backup solutions for home users. Backup 10 GB od data to the cloud.

Download | Redeem

back to top

 

Email Clients

Postbox
The perfect desktop email client. Adds loads of features like labels, canned responses, third-party app integration, more. $29.95

Download | Full review

Mozilla Thunderbird
If Mail isn’t good enough, try Thunderbird.

Download | Full review

Gmail Notifier
Menubar app that alerts you when you have new Gmail message or upcoming GCal events.

Download

back to top

 

Photos/Images

SketchBook Express
Free, professional-grade drawing application for Mac.

Download | Full review

Pixelmator
Great Photoshop alternative. Extremely capable and easy to use. $29.99

Download | Full review

Skitch
Skitch helps you to create screenshots and add annotations, then share it with friends.

Download | Full review

Paparazzi!
A useful tool to take screenshots of webpages.

Download | Full review

Hugin
Free panorama photo stitcher, assembles a mosaic of photos into a series of overlapping pictures.

Download

HDRtist
Create HDR images easily and simply from multiple images with different exposures.

Download

Inkscape
Open source vector graphics editor similar to Illustrator. Uses the SVG file format.

Download | Full review

GraphicConverter
A fantastic, affordable photo editor that offers many of the features of the big boys. $39.95

Download

back to top

 

News

Fresh Feed
Fresh and light menubar feed reader.

Download

Pocket
An awesome way to read things from the web later.

Download | Full review

Vienna
A fantastic, open-source RSS reader.

Download

back to top

 

Others

Paragon NTFS
Read and write to NTFS-formatted hard drives (like external hard drives used on Windows computer). $19.95

Download | Full review

Transmission
The ultimate torrent downloader for Mac.

Download | Full review

Prey
Open source anti-theft solution. Tracks your stolen laptop’s position, photographs the thief, and much more.

Download | Full review

Cyberduck
Open source FTP, SFTP, WebDAV, Google Storage and Amazon S3 browser for Mac.

Download

iAlertU
Uses the MacBook’s Sudden Motion Sensor to trigger an alarm when your MacBook is touched or moved.

Download

teleport
Seamlessly control multiple Macs with a single keyboard and mouse.

Download

f.lux
Cross-platform app that automatically tweaks the colour of your screen to suit the time of day.

Download | Full review

DiskWave
Free utility to determine which files and folders consume the most disk space.

Download

Mactracker
Get detailed specifications of every Mac ever made.

Download | Full review

Transmit
Superb FTP client that also supports SFTP, WebDAV, Amazon S3 file transfers. $35.99

Download

ClamXav
A free virus scanner based on the ClamAV open source antivirus engine.

Download | Full review

Stellarium
A free planetarium right in your Mac.

Download | Full review

Flutter
Control your media with gestures using a webcam.

Download | Full review

Mint Quick View
Get a quick idea of what?s happening with your finances.

Download | Full review

back to top

 

Productivity

TextExpander
The best solution for text substitution. Syncs with Dropbox if you have multiple copies. $34.95

Download | Full review

Evernote
Jot your ideas, memories and thoughts and bring them with you.

Download | Full review

Wunderlist
The desktop client for the one and only Wunderlist.

Download | Full review

Anxiety
Another great, super lightweight to-do list manager. Syncs with iCal and Mail.

Download | Full review

Bean
Free, easy to use word processor. Reads MS Word and OpenOffice documents.

Download | Full review

WriteRoom
Distraction-free, full screen writing environment.

Download

TextWrangler
Much better text editor than TextEdit. Supports syntax colouring and advance search functions.

Download | Full review

Stuf
The ultimate clipboard manager. Supports clipboard sharing over network. $24.99

Download

LibreOffice
Alternative, free office suite.

Download | Full review

Quicksilver
Resurrected, Quicksiler is the best Mac launcher and time saver you’ll ever need.

Download

Dropbox
Sync and share files with other Dropbox users or mobile devices.

Download | Articles

SugarSync
Dropbox alternative that allows you to sync any folder. Provides a free 5 GB account upon subscription.

Download | Full review

Do Something When
System preference pane that allows the user to watch for certain events and invoke an automated response.

Download

Notational Velocity
Store notes, thoughts and data securely. Syncs with Dropbox and Simplenote. Open source.

Download | Full review

Desktop Curtain
Temporarily hide the clutter on your desktop. $4.99

Download | Full review

Alfred
Saves you time searching your desktop and the web. Launch your apps with shortcuts.

Download | Full review

CloudApp
Drop images, links, music, videos and files from your desktop to share them.

Download | Full review

Keynote
Create incredible presentations and slideshows with dazzling effects. $19.99

Download | Full review

Noteworthy+
Take notes from your Mac’s menu bar in seconds.

Download

Clear
A slim, easy to use to do list application. $6.99

Download

back to top

 

For Switchers

Parallels Desktop
Easy to use virtualisation app. Allows you to run Windows and Mac OS X simultaneously. $79.99

Download | Full review

VMware Fusion
Another great virtualisation application. $79.99

Download

Virtualbox
Open source, cross platform virtualisation software. Not as easy to use as Parallels or VMware but is free.

Download | Full review

WineBottler
Run Windows apps on OS X without installing Windows.

Download | Full review

Microsoft Office for Mac
Microsoft Word, Powerpoint, and Excel included in the Home & Student suite. $149.99

Download

Wineskin
Make wrappers to run Windows software on Mac OS X.

Download

back to top

 

Social

Adium
Customisable, themeable, multiprotocol instant messenger.

Download | Full review

Twitter
Follow your friends’ tweets and send out your blurts from the desktop.

Download | Full review

Skype
Essential application, especially useful for long-distance teleconferencing.

Download | Full review

FaceTime
Chat with your friends on OS X and iOS face to face.

Download

back to top

 

Utilities

Crashplan+
One of the best backup solutions for home users. Backup 10 GB od data to the cloud.

Download | Redeem

The Unarchiver
Unarchiver works with just about any type of compressed file.

Download | Full review

Little Snitch
Control and administer connectivity privileges for each of your applications. $29.95

Download

Caffeine
Temporarily prevents your Mac from automatically going to sleep or initiating the screensaver.

Download | Full review

AppCleaner
Completely removes all preference and system files when uninstalling apps.

Download | Full review

OnyX
Enables you to configure and tweak hidden parameters of OS X.

Download | Full review

1Password
Great password manager that automatically stores and retrieves online passwords. $39.99

Download | Full review

Burn
A free and better solution to Mac OS X’s innate DVD recording feature.

Download

Carbon Copy Cloner
Easily create and backup bootable images of your hard drive in case it crashes. $39.95

Download | Full review

Keyboard Cleaner
Handy application that temporarily disables your keyboard and mouse, allowing you to wipe it clean.

Download | Full review

BetterTouchTool
Adds configurable gestures to your Magic Mouse and Magic TrackPad.

Download | Full review

Secrets
A database of hidden settings for Mac OS X. More user friendly than OnyX.

Download | Full review

Lab Tick
Control the brightness of your MacBook Pro’s backlit keyboard.

Download

Hazel
Create folder rules to automatically organise files and run tasks. $21.95

Download | Full review

Monolingual
Removes unnecessary languages from your applications, saving disk space.

Download

Drop Copy
The easiest way to send files across your internet network.

Download

RPN scientific
Easy to use scientific and RPN calculator for your Mac.

Download

AppFresh
Easily keep all of your applications up to date on your Mac.

Download | Full review

ixPaste
Brings the default copy and paste to another level.

Download

Geektool
Display various kinds of information on your desktop in beautiful ways.

Download | Full review

Growl
Better notifications for just about any system event.

Download | Full review

iPartition
Easily create and manage partions on your Mac.

Download

CleanMyMac
Keep your Mac running in tip-top shape with one program. Demo version limits cleaning to 500MB. $29.95

Download | Full review

DaisyDisk
Disk analyzer tool that visualizes hard disk usage and allows you to free up hard disk space. A trial version is available. $9.99

Download | Full review

deskPDF Creator 2012
Create new PDFs, convert to PDF, watermark and lock PDF documents. $34.99

Download

Bartender
Organize and take control of your Mac menu bar. $15

Download | Full review

SideKick
Automatically have your Mac take certain actions at different locations. $29

Download

Memory Clean
Purge your Mac’s inactive memory to make it run faster.

Download

Found
A better search client for Mac that makes finding files easy.

Download | Full review

SyncMate Expert
Keep all of your devices and computers in sync. $39.95 (free version available)

Download | Full review

back to top

 

Video Tools

VLC Media Player
The best cross-platform multimedia player. Ever.

Download | Full review

MPlayerX
Strong contender for VLC Player. Plays almost any media format, sleek user interface.

Download

Handbrake
The best open source, multiplatform, multitreaded video transcoder.

Download | Full review

MetaX
Meta-data tagger for MP4 files that automatically searches IMDB and tagChimp for movie credits.

Download

Flip4Mac WMV
Play Windows Media files (WMA and WMV) in QuickTime.

Download

Fairmount
Decrypt DVD content on-the-fly for archival.

Download

Evom
For those looking for a simple, one-click video converting solution.

Download | Full review

XBMC
Fully loaded media center for your Mac.

Download | Full review

MpegStreamClip
Play, create, and convert almost any video format.

Download | Full review

PS3 Media Server
Turn your Mac into a full-featured DLNA-compliant UPnP Media Server

Download

back to top

 

Disclaimer: All applications listed were thoroughly reviewed. MakeUseOf is not responsible for any damage and/or data loss
that might result from use of any of the above mentioned applications.

  • linux games 250x250 Best Linux Games
  • web hosting services new 250x250 The Best Web Hosting Services
  • android games 2 250x250 The Best Android Games
  • cydia 250x250 The Best Cydia Tweaks
  • iphone games 250x250 The Best iPhone Games
  • windows phone 250x250 The Best Windows Phone Apps
  • portable 300 250x250 The Best Portable Apps
  • linux distro 300 250x250 The Best Linux Distros
  • firefox 300 250x250 The Best Firefox Addons
  • chrome 300 250x250 The Best Chrome Extensions
  • wordpress 300 250x250 The Best Wordpress Plugins
  • ipad 300 250x250 The Best iPad Apps
  • android 300 250x250 Best Android Apps
  • iphone 300 250x250 The Best iPhone Apps
  • web 300 250x250 The Best Websites on the Internet
  • linux 300 250x250 The Best Of Linux Software
  • windows 300 250x250 The Best Windows Software

Reader Feedback

Leave a comment

Get a MakeUseOf account using one of your online accounts below.
Why? Earn points, unlock giveaways, access locked exclusives.

Hide 151 Comments

  • ResQBrett August 23, 2011
    0 likes

    Evom is awesome. I had a ton of videos stuck in .mpg format. I was looking for a free program that would easily batch convert all my .mpg videos to .MP4. That did it.

    | Like
    • Luqman Shantal August 23, 2011
      0 likes

      An Excellent collection, downloaded many on my new MacBook Air, what I liked that most are free and better than paid, Been looking for this for so long, thanks!

      | Like
    • Aibek August 23, 2011
      0 likes

      thanks for the feedback

      | Like
    • DrunkReport.com December 10, 2011
      0 likes

      unfortunately it hasnt worked in several months now though. they seemed to have stopped development :(

      | Like
    • Wolf277 May 17, 2012
      0 likes

      handbrake is better, i say i converted an AVI file from fraps using it and it sustained if not gained more quality

      | Like
  • Bssaw August 24, 2011
    0 likes

    Thanks. The collection are very good for most Mac user out there. They dont have to buy just for trying out the app. Keep up the good job !!

    | Like
  • Guest August 30, 2011
    0 likes

    If …
    “Cross-platform app that automatically tweaks the colour of your screen to suit the time of day.”

    is really one of the best 100 available – it’s time to switch back to Windows.

    Overall though, helpful stuff. Thanks

    | Like
    • Luthien March 27, 2012
      1 like

      The notion that anything which doesn’t produce immediate, profitable results is worthless – that has indeed resulted in Windows.
      Thinking like that simply dismisses things such as screen brightness and colour as frivolous nonsense. But it’s wrong. These are real, important issues in how a person interacts with a computer. It has been Apple’s attention to this sort of detail that makes working on a Mac so immeasurably more pleasant than working on Windows. You can’t measure it directly. But that’s doesn’t mean that it doesn’t exist.
      If that’s of no importance to you, you might indeed just as well use Windows.

      | Like
  • Aibek August 31, 2011
    0 likes

    thanks for the recommendation, we’ll check it out

    | Like
  • Jimmy September 6, 2011
    0 likes

    You guys should try SwiftRing – little known but I can’t live without it

    | Like
    • Aibek September 6, 2011
      0 likes

      thanks, will check it out

      | Like
    • Ahmed Khalil September 9, 2012
      0 likes

      What is this program do exactly Jimmy?

      | Like
    • Saikat Basu September 18, 2012
      0 likes

      SwiftRing is officially dead and is no longer supported.

      | Like
  • Justin9 September 16, 2011
    0 likes

    whats the best anti virus software for mac……!!!

    | Like
    • Aibek September 16, 2011
      0 likes

      check this MakeUseOf article, http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/two-free-antivirus-programs-for-mac-os-x/

      | Like
    • spinflux November 16, 2011
      0 likes

      Oh, sorry, did you see the part where it said Mac?

      | Like
    • Jceular December 23, 2011
      0 likes

      The best anti virus for mac is mac os x, lion if it’s possible.

      | Like
      • Jesse December 31, 2011
        0 likes

        antivirus for mac is useful so we mac users don’t pass along something to our enfeebled windows brethren. also, while rare and difficult to make happen, it is possible to craft a virus (or other malware) for a mac.

        happy new year, all!

        | Like
    • lialvart July 5, 2012
      0 likes

      I use sophos. It’s free and mac friendly

      | Like
  • Bla October 13, 2011
    0 likes

    awesome! thanks so much

    | Like
  • Alamoudi_789 October 15, 2011
    0 likes

    Thank you very much

    | Like
  • Po4ta-2 October 18, 2011
    0 likes

    +!!!

    | Like
  • Garcia_willian October 20, 2011
    0 likes

    Excellent info! thanks a lot!.

    | Like
    • Aibek October 21, 2011
      0 likes

      you’re welcome

      | Like
  • Mynor Raymundo November 5, 2011
    0 likes

    gay

    | Like
  • Mark Rushton November 7, 2011
    0 likes

    Some serious omissions here…
    - Keynote (the PowerPoint killer)
    - Transmit (FTP)
    - Timeline 3D (cool presentation of timeline data)
    - ClamXav (antivirus – run it once a year or so “just to be sure ;) )
    - Stellarium (gorgeous, free planetarium software)
    - Sweet Home 3D (architectural layout & 3D modelling)

    | Like
    • Aibek November 7, 2011
      0 likes

      thanks, we’ll check them out

      | Like
    • Jesse December 31, 2011
      0 likes

      I use ClamXav, myself. I couldn’t tell you if it’s actually working because it’s never triggered a response from a threat, and well, having mac I’m not likely to see a virus for a long time (if ever).

      I don’t think Keynote is freeware, though, as it’s part of the iWork suite.

      | Like
    • Hara January 2, 2012
      0 likes

      Stellarium. God I’ve been looking for a piece of software like this for years. Thanks!

      | Like
      • Luthien March 22, 2012
        0 likes

        If you like Stellarium maybe you’d like check out Celestia as well at http://www.shatters.net/celestia/
        Celestia is not just a planetarium app, but a kind of “universe simulator” that allows you to travel to other planets, stars or even galaxies. It’s also very useful for educational purposes: I used it for lectures more than once. One of my favourites is flying through Saturn’s rings .. it really looks awesome. Give it a try, it’s free as well.
        The default package comes with relatively low-res maps of planetary surfaces and a small star catalog, but you can download hugely detailed maps and a large star DB as well for free, great-looking nebulae and other objects plus all sorts of goodies such as real or imaginary spacecraft / stations etcetera.
        The only thing that I’d love to see in there is relativistic effects, because you can now travel with speeds like 100 lightyears / second without even a hint of blueshift :)

        | Like
  • John November 24, 2011
    0 likes

    How did Discovr Music not make this list!

    | Like
  • Gilbert Heroux November 24, 2011
    0 likes

    This is great stuff.

    | Like
  • Elmer December 4, 2011
    0 likes

    For the video segment i would recommend Nice Player which is an excellent player for mac if you want to play 1080p@60fps videos, i got a sanyo fh1a and vlc lags crazy when i try to play it, had to use windows to be able to see the clips until i found Nice Player. Here is a link http://code.google.com/p/niceplayer/ to there homepage check it out!

    Thanks!

    | Like
    • Poohmoore11 February 9, 2012
      0 likes

      you ugly gay ass niggas

      | Like
    • macwitty September 20, 2012
      0 likes

      I second that – Nice Player is very nice and light

      | Like
  • Josemacmaniac December 10, 2011
    0 likes

    Yes! I freakin love The Play List. I feel like a futuristic underground dj.

    | Like
  • Mohammed Sawaie December 12, 2011
    0 likes

    Thanks !

    | Like
  • Hamid December 20, 2011
    0 likes

    every one i need a help with my computer , i have bought the new lion mac pro and I like same windows games to play here i don’t know is there any software for it , and i have a WD hard drive and I can watch movies but i can’t copy any thing , or past any thing , thank you all

    | Like
    • None December 25, 2011
      0 likes

      It’s probably because the drive is NTFS meaning you can only read from it

      | Like
    • Hara January 2, 2012
      0 likes

      Dude, download mac fuze. If you can, format your external HD to Fat32 so it will read/write to both Windows & Mac OS.

      | Like
  • Anonymous December 26, 2011
    0 likes

    You shouldn’t believe, my co-worker’s step-aunt makes USD80/hr on the computer. She has been without work for 9 months but last month her income was $9023 just working on the computer for a few hours. Read more on this site… MakeCash17.cøm

    | Like
  • Awesome ;D January 1, 2012
    0 likes

    Thanks for the list! :)

    | Like
  • Awesome ;D January 1, 2012
    0 likes

    Thanks for the list! :)

    | Like
  • Mobile Inquirer January 4, 2012
    0 likes

    Hi, nice list OminWriter is a free version of Writeroom and I actually prefer it, worth a mention?

    | Like
  • Anonymous January 4, 2012
    0 likes

    Thanks alot!!

    | Like
  • Karin January 15, 2012
    0 likes

    Nice
    I miss a clone app like SuperDuper or Carbon Copy Clone
    Be able to start up from another Mac on a clone might save your day
    Then a have a soft spot for Sparrow when it comes to mail app …

    | Like
  • Anonymous January 19, 2012
    0 likes

    MacFUSE doesn’t work on Lion and is no longer in active development. I would recommend OSX-FUSE or any of the other alternatives/patches. It does kinda mess up the Preferences app with its ugly name, but what can you do? It’s functional and useful.

    | Like
  • A B Ikeda January 30, 2012
    0 likes

    Google Bookmark Single Icons vs Standard Bookmark Listing stinks for Mac OS X 10.6.8

    | Like
  • Efoltz January 31, 2012
    0 likes

    How do I turn the Theme back on for http://www.makeusof.com? I turned it off and cannot turn it back on. I like the web page better with the Theme on.

    | Like
    • Aibek January 31, 2012
      0 likes

      Hey Efoltz,

      I am not sure I understand what you mean. What theme you’re referring to?
      Aibek

      | Like
  • Jackforbes2209 February 2, 2012
    0 likes

    well that sucked

    | Like
  • Stevobe February 3, 2012
    0 likes

    my iphone 3 is showing imagency dial

    | Like
    • Tina February 3, 2012
      0 likes

      What is that? If this is an issue, please ask a question at MakeUseOf Answers.

      | Like
    • Badonis March 22, 2012
      0 likes

      Activate your iPhone.

      | Like
  • techyhere February 4, 2012
    0 likes

    A great list indeed. One app I would like to see in the list is MacCleanse- its a shareware, yet highly useful.

    | Like
  • Tony Tyler February 4, 2012
    0 likes

    How about an application to enable a quick find of the mouse curser / pointer
    on large 30″ double screen.
    Some years ago I had an app where there were a pair of eyes in the menu bar which looked in the direction that the mouse pointer was residing.

    | Like
  • Ebillig10 February 5, 2012
    0 likes

    I’ve used mac’s for quite a long time and this is by far the best collection I have ever seen. The one thing I would like to add is Switch which will convert any music format to any music format including FLAC files.

    | Like
  • Kim Merrild February 6, 2012
    0 likes

    There are some missing! Where is SMC FanControl and Geektool?

    | Like
  • La Cubana February 10, 2012
    0 likes

    I’m new to Mac-world and love the list! The comments are especially useful with so many “Top” lists out there it’s great to read the endorsements. I’m looking forward to trying many of these.

    | Like
    • Aibek February 11, 2012
      0 likes

      thank you, let us know about your favorite apps once you have tried them

      | Like
      • praniesh May 2, 2012
        0 likes

        i wana download free games.,curently i dont hav any games n my mac.,cn u sugest me sum gd webs for games..

        | Like
  • DLW February 15, 2012
    0 likes

    The app world is overwhelming so thanks for separating the wheat from the chaff! Good work.

    | Like
  • Teddy Caoying February 20, 2012
    0 likes

    Good collection and I thin Office for Mac is too too expensive

    | Like
    • Kim Merrild February 20, 2012
      0 likes

      That’s why you buy the Apple alternative…Pages, Numbers and Keynote ;-)

      | Like
  • Phill Holloway February 22, 2012
    0 likes

    Belter webpage mate! great place to look for cool apps!

    | Like
  • Itai Aaronsohn February 27, 2012
    0 likes

    And zeZebra is now also available for Mac- It’s free and great- Allows to send any kind of file in any size to anyone. And it’s completely free. Any feedback will be greatly appreciated!

    | Like
  • Mr.Manc February 28, 2012
    0 likes

    Omni Sweeper – See what’s hogging all your HDD space

    | Like
    • Mr.Manc February 28, 2012
      0 likes

      Sorry – Omni Disk Sweeper ;-)

      | Like
      • Kim Merrild March 1, 2012
        0 likes

        Thanks for mentioning that one! I had totally forgotten about that one! ;-)

        | Like
  • Paul Nandrajog March 1, 2012
    0 likes

    I love macs and I’ve used them for the past 10-years. The selection presented here is awesome. These are all great tools to create multimedia and video production projects. I’m a video producer and editor myself and I’ve used majority of the video tools mentioned. I mostly use Apple’s FCP 7 for editing.

    | Like
  • Ari3lzzz March 4, 2012
    0 likes

    what an excellent list

    | Like
  • Jdalton4fun March 4, 2012
    0 likes

    I simply could not live without Menu Pop and Cinch for productivity.

    | Like
  • Shane Millsom March 9, 2012
    0 likes

    Keka – like The Unarchiver – but you can make archives for free too! (I’ve used both for years now) Opens 7z, RAR, and just about every other format. Creates half a dozen formats including advanced options like volume spanning and graceful handling of resource forks, etc. Version 1.0 was recently launched, along with inclusion in the Mac App Store.

    I second the recommendation for Stellarium. Unbelieveable, free, educational software… and cross platform too!

    | Like
  • Jimborkify March 14, 2012
    0 likes

    I feel like “ixPaste” belongs on this list. I bought it a week ago and cannot stop using it. It’s the best app I’ve bought. The developer is insane for only charging $2.99

    | Like
  • Jimborkify March 17, 2012
    0 likes

    I bet this will be on the list soon: ixpaste.dev32.net

    | Like
  • Shadmanshimanto March 21, 2012
    0 likes

    should get games

    | Like
  • Brent March 22, 2012
    0 likes

    I would add ultra copier to this list. Ultracopier’s copy function is similar to total commander for windows. It allows you to copy file(s) without worrying about the whole copy process being terminated by one file in use. So you can easily skip it.
    And… It’s free ‘cos it’s open source.

    http://ultracopier.first-world.info/

    | Like
  • Elisa March 24, 2012
    0 likes

    Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I spend heaps of time getting many of the aps featured feeling confident of your recommendations.

    | Like
  • Mark Evans March 24, 2012
    0 likes

    For email, you should definitely add Sparrow.

    | Like
  • Alelaye March 26, 2012
    0 likes

    thanks this helped

    | Like
  • Kervelle March 28, 2012
    0 likes

    i can’t find the “download” button (I don’t mean on this page) for some apps such as keynote and evernote. Does that mean its currently unavailable

    | Like
  • Aung Htet March 29, 2012
    0 likes

    excellent info!

    | Like
  • virus.app March 29, 2012
    0 likes

    best free mac apps.. not in any order for mac newbies
    1) vlc player, 2)7zX 3) onyx 4) better touch tool 5) growl 6) set icon 7) backlight 2
    8) firefox, chrome, opera 9) team viewer 10) adium, nimbuzz, skype, 11) thunderbird
    12) RPN scientific 13) stellarium 14) paintbrush 15) sweethome 3d 16) utorrent/ transmission 17) appcleaner 18) appfresh 19) insomniaX 20) clamxav 21) dupe guru
    22) google earth 23) istat pro 24) kindle 25) quicksilver 26) smc fan control 27) the unarchiver 28) get tube 29) tvu player 30) handbrake 31) smart converter 32) wine/ crossover. 33) calibre 34) nook 35) usbcat best screensaver free…1) hyperspace 2) lotsawater 3) skyrocket
    4) soundstream some useful widgets 1) pemdas 2) currency converter 3) podunes shuffle

    | Like
  • virus.app March 29, 2012
    0 likes

    a few really cool paid apps
    1) candybar 2) diskwarrior/drive genius 3) dolphins 3d 4) speed download 5) 1password 6) microsoft office 7) notebook 8) facetime 9) screenflow 10) machider
    11) watts 12)vmware fusion/ parallels desktop 13) boom 14) salling clicker
    forgot to add UBERSTRIKE in the free apps section

    | Like
  • virus.app March 29, 2012
    0 likes

    i tried the speech synthesis voice peter from acapela infovox ivox. totally fell in love with it… its a 30 day trial… very expensive stuff.. u ppl should try it. lion users get downloadable voice packs. i use snow leopard.
    some apps like gimp n blender arent user friendly…maybe cos they were developed to accomplish complex jobs.

    | Like
    • Gail Harmata September 18, 2012
      0 likes

      GIMP is the way to go. With the improved user interface for mac, the toolbars and menus are now streamlined just like on Windows or in photoshop. For someone with a small screen (like myself), losing track of which toolbar or open project went where is a pain. The new interface is so pretty and productive!

      | Like
  • appie March 30, 2012
    0 likes

    magicmenu 3.0 does a remarkable job. i get to use the entire screen be it on safari, itunes or the finder itself. it lacks a good UI but it still does the job quite well.

    | Like
  • one_infinite_loop March 30, 2012
    0 likes

    windows isnt as bad as you think it is. u get a good antivirus program and you are good to go. and clamxav does detect malicious software. it didnt warn me against macdefender but i doubt any paid av program during the outbreak could.
    cant live without BTT.

    | Like
  • Danielwilson75 April 6, 2012
    0 likes

    I’m looking for an app for the iMac for calendar and appointments at a beauty salon with 4 staff. Also to auto email customer appointment times and keep contact details of clients thanks

    | Like
    • Tina April 6, 2012
      0 likes

      Daniel, I recommend asking this question over on MakeUseOf Answers.

      | Like
    • Simon Barnett May 7, 2012
      0 likes

      I would strongly recommend using the iMac’s built-in services:
      Address Book.app and iCal.app

      Once you’re set up with Address Book and iCal you can use a number of services for auto emailing. Find one on MacUpdate and there’s a list of recommendations at the bottom eg: http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/16998/mailings

      Either sync iCal and Address Book to Apple’s iCloud (for safekeeping)..
      or sync to a Gmail account for safekeeping and enhanced capabilities like Auto emailing (there’s almost certainly an online service for that).

      Otherwise there’s Relationship.app for simple, unified customer management:
      http://www.jumsoft.com/relationship/

      Or Bento (by FileMaker):
      http://www.filemaker.com/za/products/bento/

      Or FilemakerPro:
      http://www.filemaker.com/

      | Like
  • Ftubes April 14, 2012
    0 likes

    Not for people like me, who always think outside the square.

    | Like
  • Ed Dalder April 27, 2012
    0 likes

    I downloaded a “Guide to Social Media Marketing” from a Make Use Of e-mail sent to me by your firm. The download will open but will not print. How about sending me a “clean copy” of the document, so that I might print it out, and forever sing thy praises. Thank you.

    | Like
    • Justin Pot April 30, 2012
      0 likes

      Ed, I’ve emailed you the PDF, but it probably isn’t any different than the one you downloaded. If that copy fails, please try updating your Adobe Reader, or trying out FoxIt:

      http://www.foxitsoftware.com/Secure_PDF_Reader/

      | Like
  • Simon Barnett April 29, 2012
    0 likes

    MpegStreamClip
    http://www.squared5.com/
    Excellent free, cross-platform, video conversion.

    | Like
    • Tina May 3, 2012
      0 likes

      Thanks for sharing these Simon! They have been added to the list of apps to review for the next revision of this page.

      | Like
  • Simon Barnett April 29, 2012
    0 likes

    iPartition
    http://www.coriolis-systems.com/iPartition.php
    An alternative to the excellent Apple Disk Utility.app, iPartition includes a huge number of partition types and the ability to write MBR boot code to drives for advanced boot capabilities.

    | Like
  • Bill Shaw April 29, 2012
    0 likes

    iStat Pro, Diskwave, Stellarium, f.lux NOT AVAILABLE in App Store

    | Like
    • Jackson Chung April 30, 2012
      0 likes

      Not every app is available through the Mac App Store.

      | Like
  • IntricateMayhem May 1, 2012
    0 likes

    Thanks so much, there are definitely some great alternative programs in here! :)

    | Like
  • Compiled May 2, 2012
    0 likes

    We have released an app which is designed to work with Dropbox accounts, making sharing of files using public URLs dead easy (Twitter, IM, e-mail etc). It’s called Swiftdrop, and is available through the Mac App Store (http://itunes.apple.com/se/app/swiftdrop/id520829730?mt=12). Simply drop files and/or folders onto the Dock icon and the app starts uploading to the Public-folder of your linked Dropbox account. When done, you have a publicly accessible link ready for sharing in your pasteboard – simple as that! You don’t even need to have the Dropbox client installed to make Swiftdrop work, you only need a (free) Dropbox account. We hope you’ll love it as much as we do! :)

    | Like
  • sanket agrawal May 4, 2012
    0 likes

    great list!!!
    should have added HandBreak!
    even try Senuti!!!

    | Like
  • Jonathan L. Jones June 3, 2012
    0 likes

    Yeah, very nice apps! Thanks. But I missed a very cool app, it’s called “Short Menu”. In my opinion it’s the best url shortener for mac! You’ll find it in the mac app store: http://bit.ly/Ju5Dv3

    | Like
  • KensukeSan June 6, 2012
    0 likes

    Should check out:

    . DaisyDisk
    . CleanMyMac
    . GimmeSomeTune
    . Flutter
    . QuickPick (LaunchPad)
    . Camouflage
    . ScreenFlow

    They are awesome!

    | Like
  • Joel June 8, 2012
    0 likes

    I’d add to this list UnRarX, an excellent solution for decompressing .rar files.

    http://www.unrarx.com/

    | Like
  • Simon Barnett June 9, 2012
    0 likes

    SideEffects puts color back in the OS X 10.7 Lion sidebar.

    The all-in-one installer combines the work of several developers.
    Installs SIMBL, ColorfulSidebar and RelaunchFinder.

    http://macmatrix.blogspot.com/p/sideeffects.html

    | Like
  • Carl Byrd June 20, 2012
    0 likes

    Nice list man, thanks :) But I think you should add “Quick Web”, it’s a very cool app: http://bit.ly/NTpNqn

    | Like
  • mike July 6, 2012
    0 likes

    i want to recommend Macgo Blu-ray Player Software , the first BD player software in the world.it’s really helpful without any quality lost when playing other video files other than optical discs . hope i can get a free code from them ,could you ask them for a Giveaway

    http://www.macblurayplayer.com/

    thx

    | Like
  • Damien Garcia July 11, 2012
    0 likes

    Is there an app like “Freemaker” for windows. It basically lets me convert youtube videos automatically to mp3 files and sends it to my itunes automatically. Is there something similar to Freemaker for Mac?

    | Like
    • Tina July 11, 2012
      0 likes

      Damien,

      I think the equivalent for the Mac is HandBrake, which is listed under video tools above.

      | Like
  • Michelle Brinson July 17, 2012
    0 likes

    I love this site. You guys have some of the best info on the internet.

    | Like
  • Ralf Kolarsky July 18, 2012
    0 likes

    What about the RSS-Reader ‘Vienna’. I’ve been using this one for long time now. Great App…! :)

    | Like
  • Jota July 20, 2012
    0 likes

    I’m an Ubuntu user at desktop home, Windows at work, Mac at my portable and Androidat the phone. So, thank you very much for this site!! (as I feel happy with this “babel tower” and have no intentions to change any of them)

    My last incorporation was Mac. Searching for open source office suit I went directly to LibreOffice (same as in my Ubuntu). In my new (January/2012) Macbook Air, this soft kept displaying very annoying effects on my screen: the text-line being typed kept messing its pixels arround the screen. Asked in Libre’s web, I got as an answer: “Mac users have learnt to live with this”.

    I found “NeoOffice”. Afther a “donation” of 10$ I have a libre-office-like suite on my Mac working very great!!.

    | Like
  • carolyn johnson July 20, 2012
    0 likes

    I have lots of old kids learning games like Reader Rabbit from the Learning Company. I can’t run these on my Mac Book Pro. Do you have any apps that might help?

    | Like
    • Saikat Basu July 28, 2012
      0 likes

      Carolyn,
      We have a pretty large reader base. Perhaps you can put this question to our wider community at MakeUseOf Answers [http://www.makeuseof.com/answers/]

      | Like
  • jamesbirtwistle July 22, 2012
    0 likes

    Great selection!

    | Like
  • Colter Joles July 27, 2012
    0 likes

    you guys need to update the Spotify review- it just turned 1 year old for the US users and it’s amazing

    | Like
    • Saikat Basu July 28, 2012
      0 likes

      Hi Colter,
      We regularly review apps. We will do so for Spotify too. Thanks for the feedback.

      | Like
  • Frank O Brian July 30, 2012
    0 likes

    awesome range on apps found some good ones in there but is there any chance that theres a video recording one for mac because I’m going to america and want to record each day off my mac soooo yeah if there is can you email me

    | Like
  • angelika August 1, 2012
    0 likes

    i would like to know that if all these apps work on mountain lion?

    | Like
  • Mistry_Land August 1, 2012
    0 likes

    Excellent collection

    | Like
  • Hguo August 3, 2012
    0 likes

    My essential iPad app for business is Beesy. It’s a great tool for my everyday life at work. help to sort out and don’t forget a thing on my differents projects. Very useful also in meeting with I can take note and send minutes at the end of the meeting by mail very quickly and easily. http://www.beesapps.com/beesy-ipad-to-do/

    | Like
  • Burhan Ahmed August 4, 2012
    0 likes

    zoc6 is the best ssh telnet tool for mac… its on the expensive side. but worth the money

    | Like
    • Saikat Basu August 5, 2012
      0 likes

      Burhan, it could be, but we feature only free apps here at MUO.

      | Like
  • Alykhan Lalani August 9, 2012
    0 likes

    isnap and cheatsheet are also useful

    | Like
  • Ruben Fitch August 11, 2012
    0 likes

    How about doing best IDEs?

    | Like
  • Jared Whitley August 24, 2012
    0 likes

    One of my favorites is Bartender, a free beta program compared to Broomstick.

    | Like
    • Saikat Basu August 27, 2012
      0 likes

      Thanks for the recommendation.

      | Like
  • Jim Smith August 27, 2012
    0 likes

    I recommend this Timeline Eons app, a graphic representation of the entire natural and human history:

    http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/timeline-eons/id433352152?mt=8&ls=1

    | Like
  • Alexia Koblentz September 3, 2012
    0 likes

    I think Numi (http://getnumi.info) worth to be here. The best free calculator on OS X.

    | Like
  • Gerhard Tinned September 6, 2012
    0 likes

    I would like to recomand

    Forklift … http://www.binarynights.com/
    From my point of view THE BEST Filemanager/FTP/SCP/Multirename/Sync tool i have seen so far!

    SideKick … http://oomphalot.com/sidekick/
    Nice working tool to do a lot of things related to your current location. Things like change default printer, mount network shares, launch or quit apps, …

    | Like
  • Peter Sanders September 7, 2012
    0 likes

    At first, I thought “There could be more free apps listed here,”
    but that is more of a fault to the platform than this list.

    Adjusted remarks, this is a great list, but I note that some apps are listed twice

    – Also, Dock Spaces would make a great addition to this list

    | Like
  • Mark McKenna September 7, 2012
    0 likes

    In the utilities section consider adding prosoft’s Drive Genius. Been using it for years to keep my system running smooth. Definitely some apps on this list I will be downloading.

    | Like
  • Carlos Ramirez September 9, 2012
    0 likes

    Ccleaner is no longer in beta on mac. Here the link if Ccleaner latest release. http://www.piriform.com/mac/ccleaner

    | Like
  • Christopher Webb-Orenstein September 13, 2012
    0 likes

    Great collection, although the browser listing could have a few more apps listed.

    | Like
  • macwitty September 20, 2012
    0 likes

    Lots of good apps (have you been in my application folder ;) )
    i do miss one – GraphicConverter http://www.lemkesoft.com/
    Open all strange format you can get. It is also a very good for photo editing but there is a lot nowadays

    | Like
  • Connie Pritchett September 21, 2012
    0 likes

    Great lineup!

    | Like
  • Daniel Cantu October 16, 2012
    0 likes

    Great resource. I just downloaded Monolingual.

    | Like
  • Andrejs Gubars October 19, 2012
    0 likes

    Nice, helped me to improve my mac performance!

    | Like
  • Macwitty December 13, 2012
    0 likes

    Sorry to say but Skitch do not belong to “best mac apps” any longer. Version 2 destroyed a lot of the best things. You can still download version 1 from evernote.com but until they fixed it I think one should go fore another app

    | Like
    • Tina Sieber January 16, 2013
      0 likes

      Thanks for the feedback, Mac! We’ll keep that in mind when the list is revised.

      | Like
  • Will Zrnchik January 16, 2013
    0 likes

    An old list with many retired apps and many new ones not listed, but nonetheless a great starting point for new and experienced Mac owners.

    | Like
    • Tina Sieber January 16, 2013
      0 likes

      Will,

      Are there any specific apps we should remove or that you think are missing? We take suggestions into account for revisions.

      | Like
  • Angela Pinosi February 22, 2013
    0 likes

    wow great job! this is a very well done list I have to say. There are so many apps is hard to narrow them down tough…if you skim videogames and photofilter you’re already halfway tough lol for any finance and accounting needs I found a great list and more here: http://www.mevvy.com/articles/manage-your-finances-on-the-go-and-on-any-device/

    | Like
  • Alexander Mackenzie April 4, 2013
    0 likes

    I have VLC Media player already, is there any point getting any of the others as well?

    Cheers

    | Like
    • Alexander Mackenzie April 4, 2013
      0 likes

      Of the video tools that is! :S

      | Like