MacNotch & Menu Bar Apps

SuperIsland

Free

Live activities plus a next-meeting countdown with one-tap join for Zoom, Meet, and Teams.

Perch

Free

A dynamic notch island distributed through the Mac App Store.

DynamicNotch

Free

A free, open-source island built on its own engine — live activities, HUDs, and a floating capsule for notchless Macs.

Islet

$5.99 one-time (launch offer, first 100 users; $7.99 regular)

A quiet menu-bar agent with 13 optional notch features — music, HUDs, calendar, weather, and a file tray.

NotchDrop

Free / ≈$15 one-time Pro

A free file-drop notch hub with a Pro tier adding AI chat, screen recording, and cross-platform file sharing.

Aurora Notch

€24.99 one-time (or €2.99/mo)

A private, local-first control center at the notch — notes, clipboard, calendar, focus timers, and an AI writing helper.

Itchy

Free

A free notch hub with 12 built-in modules and a Swift SDK for building your own.

NotchSpace

Free

An intentional drag-in workspace at the notch — not a passive clipboard, but a shelf you actively curate.

MediaMate

€6.99 one-time

Clean, responsive media controls at the notch — no kitchen sink attached.

Tuneful

Price unverified

Native Spotify and Apple Music control for the notch, menu bar, and a mini player — built to feel like part of macOS.

Meeter

Free

A free menu-bar countdown and one-click meeting join — currently unreachable; its site and App Store listing are both down.

MeetingMenu

Price unverified

A menu bar countdown so the next meeting is always in view.

MeetingBar

Free

Open-source menu bar meetings with link detection for ~20 conferencing services.

Notchie

$29.99 one-time

A teleprompter that hides in the notch — scrolls automatically as you speak, and stays out of screen shares in supported apps.

NotchPrompt

Free (Beta Tester) / $49 one-time (Lifetime Pro)

A macOS teleprompter that stays hidden in your notch — invisible to your audience, crystal clear to you.

Time Out

Freemium

The long-running break reminder — gentle full-screen pauses on your schedule.

Stretchly

Free

Open-source break reminders — micro-pauses and long breaks, cross-platform.

FocusNotch

Free, Pro $5.99/mo or $29.99/yr

A focus timer and distraction blocker that lives in the notch, with website blocking that works across every browser.

iPromise

Price unverified

Body doubling for one task at a time — an AI buddy that watches your screen context and nudges you back when you drift.

Kickfolder

$2.99

A hover-to-reveal command center at the top edge — including the notch — for your most-used folders, files, and apps.

Ditch

Free

Drag an app to the notch and it cleanly removes it, plus every hidden cache, preference, and leftover file.

Ice

Free

Free, open-source menu bar management — the community’s answer to Bartender.

Hidden Bar

Free

A tiny open-source toggle that tucks menu bar icons out of sight.

iStat Menus

$11.99 one-time (Family Pack $14.99)

Dense, beautiful system monitoring in the menu bar, from Bjango.

Stats

Free

Free, open-source system monitor in the menu bar.

AgentPeek

$15 one-time

A kanban board for every coding-agent session, answered and monitored from the Mac notch.

TrackNotch

Free

Real-time LLM usage and rate-limit tracking across Claude, OpenAI, Cursor, and Codex, right in the notch.

X Island

Free

A free Dynamic Island for AI coding agents — monitor, approve, and jump back into Claude Code, Codex, Gemini CLI, or OpenCode.

Arc

Free

The spatial browser that put Spaces, Split View, and a sidebar-first layout ahead of tabs — now in maintenance mode while its maker builds an AI-first successor.

Brave

Free

A Chromium browser with an ad blocker and tracker blocker on by default, built by an independent company that isn’t selling your data.

Vivaldi

Free

A deeply customizable Chromium browser from a company that turns down investor money on principle, built by one of the original Opera co-founders.

Orion

Price unverified

A native WebKit browser from Kagi that supports Safari, Chrome, and Firefox extensions, built on zero telemetry and no ads.

Zen Browser

Free

A free, open-source Firefox fork focused on Workspaces and a calmer, more compact tab layout.

Nitro PDF Pro

$14.99/mo via Setapp membership (7-day free trial); no standalone purchase found

A full PDF editor for Mac — edit text, merge files, add signatures, and convert PDFs, sold only through Setapp.

PDF Squeezer

$19.99 standalone, or included in Setapp from $14.99/mo

Compresses PDFs without visible quality loss, in batches, entirely offline — from an indie developer, available standalone or via Setapp.

Skim

Free

A free, open-source PDF reader and annotator built for marking up scientific papers — highlights, notes, and exportable annotations.

OBS Studio

Free

Free, open-source recording and live-streaming software — the standard the paid screen recorders in this list get compared against.

CleanShot X

$29 one-time (app + 1 year of updates + 1 GB cloud); Cloud Pro from $8/mo billed annually

A screenshot and screen recording app with a built-in annotation tool, from the makers of PixelSnap — a one-time license, not a subscription for the base app.

Kap

Free

A free, open-source screen recorder that exports straight to GIF, MP4, WebM, or APNG from a simple menu bar dropdown.

Capto

7-day free trial, then paid (standalone price not listed on site); also included in Setapp from $14.99/mo

A screen recording and screenshot app with a built-in video and image editor, from Global Delight — also captures your connected iPhone or iPad’s screen.

Proton VPN

Free tier available; VPN Plus from $9.99/mo (as low as ~$2.99/mo on a 2-year plan)

A privacy-focused VPN from the makers of Proton Mail, with a genuinely usable free tier and a native Mac app.

ClearVPN

$14.99/mo via Setapp membership (7-day free trial); no standalone purchase found

A VPN with preset "shortcuts" for specific tasks — streaming, privacy, bypassing blocks — rather than a bare server list, sold only through Setapp.

Minecraft

$29.99 one-time (Standard Edition, includes Java + Bedrock Edition access)

The sandbox building-and-survival game, available on Mac as Java Edition — one-time purchase, no subscription required to play.

NordVPN

$14.99/mo billed monthly; from $3.49/mo on a 2-year plan (renews at $139.08/yr, ≈$11.59/mo)

One of the largest VPN services by server count and brand recognition, with a native Mac App Store app and no-log servers in 118 countries.

ExpressVPN

From $2.99/mo on a 2-year plan (billed $83.72 for the first 28 months, renews at $99.95/yr)

A premium VPN known for consistent speed and a simple one-tap Mac app, with servers in 105 countries.

Surfshark VPN

From $2.49/mo on the Starter 2-year plan ($67.23 for the first 27 months); monthly and 1-year plans also available

A budget-friendly VPN with unlimited simultaneous device connections — no per-device cap, unlike most competitors.

PDFgear

Free

A completely free PDF editor for Mac — edit text, merge, convert, and sign PDFs with no sign-up and no paywalled features.

WPS Office

Free (WPS Standard); WPS Pro+ from $5.83/mo billed $69.99/yr

A free office suite with a full PDF editor built in — word processor, spreadsheet, and presentation tools alongside PDF editing, from Kingsoft.

Balatro

$14.99 one-time

A poker-inspired roguelike deckbuilder that became one of 2024’s breakout indie hits — a native Mac release via Steam, one-time purchase.

Stardew Valley

$14.99 one-time

The farming-and-life-sim that defined the modern indie genre — a native Mac release via Steam from solo developer ConcernedApe, one-time purchase.

Vampire Survivors

$4.99 one-time

The game that named the "bullet heaven" genre — a cheap, native Mac release via Steam with hundreds of hours of content for under $5.

Slay the Spire

$24.99 one-time

The game that defined the modern deckbuilding roguelike genre — a native Mac release via Steam from Mega Crit, one-time purchase.

Google Chrome

Free

Google’s own Chromium browser, with Gemini AI built into the address bar and sign-in sync across every device.

Visual Studio Code

Free

Microsoft’s free code editor, now pitched as “your home for multi-agent development” — GitHub Copilot’s AI agents built in, alongside the extension ecosystem that already made it the default.

Sublime Text

Free to evaluate; $99 one-time personal license

A fast, native code and text editor from a small Sydney studio — free to evaluate indefinitely, $99 one-time for a personal license.

BBEdit

Free Mode forever after a 30-day trial; $59.99 one-time to unlock full features

Bare Bones Software’s veteran macOS text and code editor — a 30-day full-feature trial, then free forever in a reduced "Free Mode," or $59.99 to unlock everything.

Ghostty

Free

A fast, native terminal emulator built by Mitchell Hashimoto (HashiCorp co-founder) as a personal project — GPU-accelerated, with a shared Zig core so the macOS GUI is written in Swift, not a cross-platform wrapper.

iTerm2

Free

The long-running free, open-source replacement for macOS’s built-in Terminal — split panes, real search, and deep customization, maintained by one developer since the 2010s.

Warp

Free (core terminal); paid AI plans from $18/mo pay-as-you-go, per the developer’s pricing page

A block-based, AI-oriented terminal with a free core app and paid plans layered on top for built-in coding-agent usage.

Tabby

Free

A free, open-source, highly configurable terminal with an integrated SSH client, serial terminal, and plugin system, for Windows, Mac, and Linux.

WezTerm

Free

A free, open-source, GPU-accelerated terminal emulator and multiplexer written in Rust, with built-in remote multiplexing and Lua-based configuration.

Obsidian

Free

A local-first notes app that stores everything as plain Markdown files on your device — free with no feature paywall, plus optional paid Sync and Publish add-ons.

Claude

Free

Anthropic’s AI chat app for Mac — desktop access to Claude’s chat, Claude Code, and Claude Cowork in one app, free to start with paid plans for heavier use.

ChatGPT

Free

OpenAI’s desktop chat app for Mac — brings ChatGPT, ChatGPT Work, and Codex to the desktop with screen and file context, free to start.

Firefox

Free

The independent, non-profit-backed browser — tracker blocking on by default, no shareholders to answer to, and Mozilla says it never sells personal data.

Android Studio

Free

Google’s official IDE for building Android apps — a full IntelliJ-based environment with a built-in Gemini AI assistant, free to download straight from Google.

Postman

Free

An API platform for building, testing, and documenting APIs — desktop app and browser version, with AI features layered on top of a genuinely free starting plan.

Discord

Free

Free group voice, video, and text chat built for gaming communities — servers, screen sharing, and an optional paid Nitro tier for extra perks.

VLC media player

Free

The free, open-source media player that plays almost anything — no codec packs, no ads, no tracking, maintained by the VideoLAN project since the 1990s.

Blender

Free

Free, open-source 3D creation software — modeling, sculpting, animation, VFX, and rendering in one app, owned by its contributors rather than a company.

DBeaver Community Edition

Free

A free, open-source universal database client — one app for MySQL, PostgreSQL, MariaDB, SQLite, and more, from DBeaver Corporation.

Rectangle

Free

Free, open-source window snapping for macOS — keyboard shortcuts and drag-to-edge snap areas, built as a spiritual successor to the discontinued Spectacle app.

Maccy

Free

A free, open-source clipboard manager that does one job — searchable clipboard history, keyboard-first, with nothing else bolted on.

PDF Pals

$60 one-time (1 device) up to $300 (5-device team) at source; or via Setapp from $14.99/mo with bundled AI credits

Chat with your PDFs using local AI — ask questions and get cited answers, with documents processed on-device instead of uploaded.

PDF Search

$14.99/mo via Setapp membership (7-day free trial); no standalone purchase found

A dedicated relevancy search engine for PDFs — finds matches across thousands of pages, OCRs text trapped in scanned images, and syncs to iOS over WiFi.

PDF Reader Pro

Free to download and read; Pro unlock $99.99 one-time (1 device, lifetime) or $79.99/yr (4 devices, auto-renews)

A free-to-download PDF reader with a paid Pro unlock — full text/image editing, OCR, and eSign workflows behind a one-time or annual plan.

Gifox

$29.99 one-time, or included in Setapp from $14.99/mo

A menu bar screen recorder built around one output — shareable animated GIFs — with dedicated compression controls and direct sharing to Dropbox, Google Drive, and Imgur.

ScreenFloat

$17.99 one-time (Mac App Store or direct); also included in Setapp

A screenshot-and-recording tool built around “floating” shots that stay pinned above every window, with OCR text/barcode extraction and non-destructive markup.

Movavi Screen Recorder

From $5.41/mo on the 1-year plan ($64.95/yr, frequently discounted at checkout); $19.95/mo month-to-month. Free Mac App Store listing is a 7-day watermarked trial, not a free tier

A subscription screen recorder from an established multimedia software company — webcam overlay, live drawing, and a recording scheduler, aimed at tutorials and webinars.

Tunnelblick

Free

A free, open-source OpenVPN client for Mac — no ads or affiliate links, and the developer states it keeps no logs, but you supply your own VPN server or provider config.

WireGuard

Free

The official Mac client for the WireGuard VPN protocol — simpler and faster than OpenVPN by design, free on the Mac App Store, but you still need your own server or provider config.

Granola

Free (Basic); $14/mo per user (Business); $35/mo per user (Enterprise)

An AI notepad for back-to-back meetings that transcribes your own computer audio instead of sending a bot into the call — used internally at Linear, Vercel, and Figma, per its own site.

Fathom

Free forever (individuals); Premium $20/mo ($16/mo billed annually); Team $19/mo per user; Business $34/mo per user; Enterprise custom

A free-forever AI notetaker for Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams, now adding a bot-free capture mode — used at 300,000+ companies, per its own site.

Fellow

Free (5 AI notes and recordings, lifetime); Team $7/mo per user billed annually ($11 monthly); Business $15/mo per user billed annually ($23 monthly); Enterprise $25/mo per user billed annually

An AI meeting notetaker built around compliance controls — zero-day retention, MNPI redaction, and SEC/FINRA-ready audit trails — aimed at regulated industries like finance and healthcare.

Noted

Free; Noted+ subscription unlocks AI Transcribe and other features

A note-taking and audio-recording app with AI transcription added on — over 3 million downloads, and a long-running favorite for lectures and interviews rather than built specifically for meetings.

Aiko

$24.00 one-time (Mac App Store; 14-day free trial via TestFlight)

On-device Whisper transcription for Mac from Sindre Sorhus, a well-known indie developer behind dozens of Mac and open-source tools — no cloud upload, and support for 100 languages.

UTM

Free (direct download); $9.99 one-time (Mac App Store — identical app, funds development + auto-updates)

A free, open-source virtual machine app built specifically for Apple platforms — runs Windows, Linux, and even extra macOS guests, using Apple’s own virtualization framework or QEMU.

Parallels Desktop

From $54.99/yr (Standard, discounted from $99.99), or $219.99 one-time (current version only, no guaranteed future-OS compatibility); Pro $65.99/yr (subscription only); Business $97.49/yr per seat; Enterprise custom

The flagship, Microsoft-authorized way to run Windows on a Mac — including Windows 11 on Apple Silicon — from the company that’s been building Mac virtualization since 2006.

Oracle VirtualBox

Free (base app, GPLv3); Extension Pack free for personal/educational use, paid Oracle license required for commercial use

A free, open-source virtualization tool backed by Oracle, running natively on Apple Silicon since version 7.1 — the long-running default for anyone who wants a no-cost hypervisor.

Multipass

Free

A command-line tool from Canonical (the company behind Ubuntu) that spins up disposable Ubuntu VMs in seconds — built for developers simulating cloud servers locally, not a general-purpose desktop VM app.

VMTek

7-day free trial; one-time in-app purchase to unlock the full version (price not listed in static page content — check the App Store listing)

A native-feeling Mac virtualization app from a small indie developer, using Apple’s own Virtualization framework for VM performance rather than emulation.

DaVinci Resolve

Free; DaVinci Resolve Studio $295 one-time (adds the AI Neural Engine, more Resolve FX, noise reduction, text-based editing, 10-bit/120fps and beyond-4K support)

Hollywood’s color-grading tool grew into a full free NLE — editing, color, VFX (Fusion), and audio post (Fairlight) in one app, with a $295 Studio upgrade for the AI and HDR extras.

iMovie

Free

Apple’s free, built-in video editor — trailers, 4K editing, and green-screen effects, with a straight hand-off into Final Cut Pro when a project outgrows it.

Final Cut Pro

$299.99 one-time; or included in Apple Creator Studio ($12.99/mo or $129/yr, bundled with Logic Pro, Pixelmator Pro, Motion, Compressor, and MainStage)

Apple’s professional NLE — Magnetic Timeline editing, AI-powered captions and object tracking, and ProRes-native performance on Apple silicon — $299.99 one-time or bundled in Apple Creator Studio.

Filmora

Free (basic editing, watermarked export, 100 AI credits); paid plan removes the watermark and unlocks Filmora Cloud storage plus the full Creative Assets library — exact subscription price not listed as a static number on this page, see filmora.wondershare.com/shop

Wondershare’s AI-heavy consumer video editor — text-to-video, auto captions, vocal removal, and a large stock/template library, free to edit and export with a watermark.

VN: Video Editor

Free — no watermark, no subscription required for core editing, per the developer

A free, no-watermark, no-subscription multi-track video editor that grew out of mobile — now on Mac with the same 4K/HDR timeline, auto captions, and beat-synced cuts.

Adobe Lightroom

Lightroom plan $11.99/mo (1TB cloud storage); Photography plan (Lightroom + Lightroom Classic + Photoshop) $19.99/mo; also bundled in Creative Cloud Pro. 7-day free trial.

Adobe’s subscription photo editor — AI Denoise, Generative Remove, and full-resolution edits synced across desktop, mobile, and web — from $11.99/mo, no one-time-purchase option.

Pixelmator Pro

$49.99 one-time (Mac App Store, standalone); or included in Apple Creator Studio ($12.99/mo or $129/yr, bundled with Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro, and more — adds the Warp Tool)

A layer-based photo editor and design tool — now owned by Apple, sold both as a $49.99 one-time Mac App Store purchase and as part of the Apple Creator Studio subscription.

Luminar Neo

Mac App Store download is free; full editing requires a purchased plan — Desktop Only, All Platforms, or Max license, one-time purchase (not a subscription). Exact current price at skylum.com/luminar/pricing (running a limited-time sale) — not itemized in static page content.

Skylum’s AI-forward RAW photo editor — sky replacement, generative object removal/expansion, and portrait AI tools, sold as a one-time license rather than a subscription.

PhotoScape X

Free

A free all-in-one photo editor, batch processor, and collage/GIF maker from Mooii Tech — editing, cut-out, RAW support, and screen capture in one app.

RAW Power

$39.99 one-time

A Finder- and Photos-integrated RAW editor from Gentlemen Coders that unlocks Apple’s own RAW engine — the closest thing to Aperture’s advanced processing still being sold.

Duplicate File Finder

Free (find and remove duplicate files, folders, and similar photos); in-app "Upgrade to Pro" purchase adds duplicate-folder removal, folder merging, and Auto Select — exact Pro price not listed as a static number on this page, check the Mac App Store listing

Nektony’s free-to-start duplicate and similar-file finder — scans folders, external drives, and Photos/Music libraries, with byte-for-byte comparison and safe Trash-based removal.

Duplicate Photos Fixer Pro

$4.99 one-time (free trial limited to removing 15 photos)

Systweak’s dedicated duplicate-photo scanner — adjustable matching levels, Google Drive scanning, and a $4.99 one-time price with a 15-photo free trial.

PhotoSweeper

$14.99 one-time (free trial limited to removing 10 photos)

A fast duplicate-and-similar-photo cleaner with deep integration into Apple Photos, Lightroom Classic, and Capture One — Apple Silicon-native, from an independent Mac developer.

OnlyOne X

Free (Scan & Clean); one-click "Smart check" selection requires upgrading to the pro version — exact Pro price not listed on the developer’s page, check the Mac App Store listing

A free, minimalist duplicate-file scanner from a small indie studio — scan and clean for free, with a pro upgrade for one-click smart selection.

Gemini 2

Free trial download; from $1.95/mo to unlock full duplicate removal, per MacPaw

MacPaw’s well-known duplicate and similar-file finder — a Red Dot Design Award winner with a "learning" selection algorithm, from $1.95/mo.

PastePal

$14.99 one-time (App Store or standalone Mac license) — free to download and try

A universal clipboard manager for Mac, iPhone, and iPad — one-time purchase with no subscription, syncing history across devices via iCloud.

Clipy

Free

A free, open-source clipboard and snippet manager for Mac — a maintained continuation of the classic ClipMenu, distributed outside the App Store.

Microsoft Copilot

Free

Microsoft’s free AI chat app for Mac — text and voice chat, AI image generation, and writing help, blending OpenAI and Microsoft’s own models.

Sider

Free to use with usage limits; paid plans available

A multi-model AI chat app for Mac — Gemini, Claude, Grok, and DeepSeek behind one sidebar-style interface, free to start with browser integration.

FreeChat

Free

A free, open-source, fully offline AI chat app for Mac — runs GGUF models like Llama and Mistral locally, no account or internet connection needed.

Feishu

unknown

ByteDance’s all-in-one team workspace — channel-based chat alongside docs, calendar, and video meetings, positioned as a Slack-and-Notion-style alternative.

Chanty

Free (up to 5 team members, 20GB team storage); Business from $3/user/mo billed annually ($4/user/mo billed monthly); Enterprise is custom pricing

Team chat with unlimited message history and a built-in task manager — free for small teams, from $3/user/mo for the rest.

Twist

Free forever (1 month of message history, up to 500 members, 5GB storage); Unlimited plan $6/user/mo for full history and unlimited storage

Thread-based team chat from the makers of Todoist, built to replace always-on chat with asynchronous, on-topic conversations — free forever, or $6/user/mo for full history.

Zulip

Free (Zulip Cloud: 10,000 messages of history, 5GB storage; self-hosted: every feature, unlimited history, no cost); paid Cloud and self-hosted tiers exist but list no public per-seat price on the official pricing page

Open-source, thread-based team chat — free to self-host with every feature included, or a managed Zulip Cloud plan with a real free tier.

Mattermost

Free limited-use evaluation edition (“Mattermost Entry”) for self-hosting; Professional, Enterprise, and Enterprise Advanced plans are all “contact sales” — no public per-seat price listed on the official pricing page

Open-source, self-hosted team chat — Homebrew’s own listing calls it exactly that: a “Slack-alternative.”

PDF Expert

$139.99 one-time via the Mac App Store (Lifetime license, Mac only); or $49.99/yr (Essential) to $79.99/yr (Pro) via pdfexpert.com, covering iPhone, iPad, and Mac together. Free trial available; no permanent free tier found

Readdle’s PDF editor for Mac, iPhone, and iPad — edit original text, sign, convert, and OCR scanned documents, from $49.99/yr or $139.99 once for Mac only.

ScreenFlow

From $199 one-time (Standard); free, fully-functional trial available with no time limit, exports watermarked until purchase

Telestream’s screen recorder and video editor for Mac — simultaneous screen, camera, and mic capture plus a full timeline editor, from $199 one-time.

Mullvad VPN

€5/month flat rate, billed in EUR — no free tier, and no discount for paying further in advance

A flat €5/month, no-frills VPN from a Swedish privacy company — anonymous accounts, no logging, and an open-source app, with no free tier and no multi-year discount to chase.

Amphetamine

Free

A free keep-awake utility — a one-click toggle or automatic Triggers stop your Mac (and optionally its display) from sleeping, with power-user depth most caffeine-style apps skip.

Simple SVN Server

Free

A free, one-click SVN (Subversion) server for your Mac — no configuration beyond creating a repository and pressing start.

Simple Git Server

Free

A free, one-click Git server for your Mac — create a repository and start the git:// service in under a minute.

FTP Server

$6.99

Turn your Mac into an FTP server with its own login accounts — $6.99, no macOS Server app required.

SFTP Server

$6.99

A secure (SSH-based) file transfer server for your Mac, with its own accounts and per-user home directories — $6.99.

Personal Web Server

Free

A free, sandboxed local web server — pick a folder, serve it over HTTP on a port you choose, nothing else on disk is reachable.

FTP Mounter Lite

Free (one drive at a time; the separate full version removes that limit)

Mount an FTP, SFTP, or WebDAV server as a local drive in Finder — free, one drive at a time.

FileDrop Lite

Free (one file at a time; the separate full version removes that limit)

Send a file to another Mac in one step from Finder’s Share menu — free, one file at a time, over FileDrop, SFTP, or FTP.

Desktop App for Dropbox

Free (browse, search, sort); Lifetime $39.99 one-time, Yearly $24.99, or Monthly $4.99 to unlock uploads, sharing, offline files, and AI tools

A native, Finder-style Dropbox client with offline files, on-device AI summaries, and document creation — sign in with your existing Dropbox account.

Syncthing

Free

Free, open-source, peer-to-peer continuous file sync — no central server, no account, your data stays on your own devices.

Cyberduck

Free

A free, open-source (GPL) file transfer client for FTP, SFTP, WebDAV, S3, and most major cloud storage providers — from iterate GmbH.

Stickies - Sticky notes app

Free; Stickies Pro $2.99 one-time unlock

A markdown-formatted sticky notes app for macOS — free with a $2.99 Pro unlock, from the maker of the JSitor code playground.

Quick Note: Sticky Notes Menu

Free; Quick Note Pro $12.99 one-time unlock (unlimited notes, automation)

Menu bar notes that float above every window — one click or a shortcut to jot something down, free with a $12.99 lifetime Pro unlock.

System Stats Pro for Menu Bar

$3.99

CPU, memory, network, and battery stats in the menu bar — $3.99, from an independent developer with a decade-long track record.

Shark Stats

$0.99

A no-frills menu bar network monitor — live upload/download bandwidth as a graph and numbers, $0.99, recently rewritten in SwiftUI.

StatsWidget

$0.99; optional Meter Color Editor add-on $0.99

A Notification Center system monitor for CPU, memory, disk, and network — $0.99, with an optional $0.99 color customization add-on.

RustDesk

Free and open source; optional self-hosted Pro server plans from $11.88/mo billed annually

Free, open-source remote desktop with 113K+ GitHub stars — self-host your own server, or just use the free public relay.

AnyDesk

Free for personal use; professional Solo license from $28.90/mo billed annually

One of the two most recognized names in remote desktop software — free for personal use, professional licenses from $28.90/mo.

Jump Desktop (RDP, VNC, Fluid)

$34.99 one-time (Mac App Store); 14-day free trial via direct download; Jump Desktop for Teams is a separate per-user subscription

An RDP/VNC client built around a proprietary "Fluid" protocol, with SSO, MDM, and 2FA for teams — $34.99 one-time via the Mac App Store.

Windows App

Free (Mac App Store)

Microsoft’s own client for Windows 365, Azure Virtual Desktop, and remote PCs — free on the Mac App Store, formerly called Microsoft Remote Desktop.

TeamViewer

Free for personal use; commercial licenses from $24.90/mo billed yearly (Remote Access)

One of the best-known remote-support brands — free for personal use, commercial licenses from $24.90/mo.

Screens 5: VNC Remote Desktop

Free trial; then $3.99/mo or $29.99/yr subscription, or $179.99 lifetime

A long-running, well-regarded VNC client for Mac, Windows, Linux, and Raspberry Pi — free trial, then $3.99/mo, $29.99/yr, or $179.99 lifetime.

Parsec

Free for personal/consumer use; Warp (individuals) from $8.33/user/mo billed annually after a 14-day trial; Teams from $30/user/mo; Enterprise from $45/user/mo

A low-latency remote desktop built for game streaming and now used broadly for creative and dev work — free for personal use, paid tiers from $8.33/user/mo.

Melior Editor

Free

A free Markdown editor that doubles as a personal whiteboard — export to MD, HTML, SVG, or PNG.

iWallpaper - Live Wallpaper

Free to browse and preview; $6.99 per wallpaper to remove the watermark

A live/animated wallpaper engine for Mac with independent multi-monitor control — free to browse, $6.99 to remove the watermark per wallpaper.

LinearMouse

Free

A free, open-source mouse and trackpad utility for Mac — per-app scrolling, pointer-speed, and button-remap profiles that switch automatically by device, app, or display.

Scroll Reverser

Free

A free, open-source Mac utility that reverses scroll direction, with independent settings for trackpads and mice (including Magic Mouse).

Mac Mouse Fix

Free 30-day trial (based on usage, not calendar days), then $2.99 one-time

Brings Trackpad-style gestures — Mission Control, App Exposé, Launchpad, smooth momentum scrolling — to a plain third-party mouse, with a 30-day free trial then a $2.99 one-time purchase.

Pico: Local AI Chat Server

Free

Turns your Mac into a private, offline AI chat server running open models like Llama, Qwen, and DeepSeek — free, no cloud, no account.

Microsoft Teams

Free (personal, 1 user); Microsoft Teams Essentials from $4/user/mo billed yearly; bundled into Microsoft 365 Business Basic from $7/user/mo

The largest team-chat platform by market share, with a native Mac client — free for personal use, business plans from $4/user/mo.

Mini Calendar

Free

A free menu bar and Dock calendar with an optional always-on-desktop view, plus sunrise and sunset times.

SAM: System Activity Monitor

$2.99

A lightweight menu bar system monitor covering CPU, memory, GPU, disk, network, battery, and Bluetooth — $2.99, from Meerkey Inc.

uPaste - Clipboard Manager

Free (VIP upgrade optional)

A free clipboard manager with type-based grouping, tagging, and an app blacklist for privacy, from Oka Apps.

ZipMaster

Free

A free, no-ads archive tool — compress and decompress Zip, RAR, 7-Zip, and more, with password support.

NetworkCat

Free

A free TCP/UDP/WebSocket client for testing and debugging your own network programs and devices, from a solo indie portfolio.

MenuShot - Menu Bar Screenshot

$0.99

A $0.99 menu bar shortcut to Apple’s own Screenshot app — faster access, no extra editing features.

Folder Rack – File Manager

Price unverified

A multi-panel Finder alternative — any number of always-visible folder panels in one window, from a German solo developer.

Apps Are Go

$2.99

An unlimited-dock app and script launcher — the maintained successor to the discontinued DragThing.

AltTab

Free (Pro: $9.99 one-time or $24.99 lifetime)

A free, open-source window switcher — live thumbnails, up to 9 custom shortcuts, and trackpad gestures — with an optional $9.99 Pro upgrade for search and extra styles.

Amethyst

Free

A free, open-source tiling window manager for macOS built along the lines of Linux’s xmonad — 16k GitHub stars, and free forever with no paid tier at all.

BetterCmdTab

Free

A free, open-source Cmd+Tab replacement — grid or live-preview switching, fuzzy app search and launch, plus basic window tiling — zero telemetry, from a solo Polish developer.

Hammerspoon

Free

A free, open-source Lua bridge to macOS system APIs — not a dedicated window manager itself, but the deepest way to script your own custom window-tiling behavior.

Caffeine

Free

A free, open-source menu bar toggle that stops your Mac from sleeping, dimming, or starting a screen saver — the original 2006 utility, still maintained today.

KeepingYouAwake

Free

A free, open-source keep-awake menu bar toggle with preset durations and an automatic low-battery cutoff, from a solo German developer.

AlDente

Free (Pro: $13.99/yr, $24.99 lifetime, or via Setapp)

A free MacBook battery charge-limiter — cap charging between custom bounds — with a Pro upgrade ($13.99/yr, $24.99 lifetime, or via Setapp) adding automatic scheduling and heat protection.

coconutBattery

Free (Plus: $12.95 current-version or $17.95 lifetime, one-time)

A free battery-health reader for Mac, iPhone, and iPad — running since 2005 — with an optional one-time Plus upgrade for lifetime analytics and low-battery alerts.

AppCleaner

Free

A free, longstanding drag-and-drop app uninstaller from FreeMacSoft — finds and removes the leftover caches and preference files a Trash drag leaves behind.

Pearcleaner

Free

A free, source-available Mac cleanup suite — app uninstall, orphaned-file search, Homebrew management, and more — from Alin Lupascu, currently on hold since late 2025.

GrandPerspective

Free (or $2.99 via Mac App Store — same app)

A free, open-source disk-usage visualizer using tree maps — 20+ years running from a single developer — also on the Mac App Store for $2.99.

OnyX

Free

A free, all-in-one Mac maintenance utility — verify system files, clear caches, uninstall apps, and tweak hidden settings — from French developer Titanium Software, since 2003.

Transmission

Free

A free, open-source BitTorrent client built to feel like a native Mac app rather than a cross-platform port.

qBittorrent

Free

A free, open-source torrent client built as an ad-free µTorrent alternative, with a built-in search engine.

Deluge

Free

A free, open-source BitTorrent client with a plugin system and a full web interface.

Motrix

Free

A free, open-source download manager for HTTP, FTP, BitTorrent, and magnet links — not a BitTorrent-only client.

Folx

$19.95 (direct) or from $4.99/mo (Setapp, single app)

A Mac download manager and BitTorrent client with a built-in torrent search, from Electronic Team (formerly Eltima Software).

AccountEdge Pro

$20/mo (single user)

Desktop double-entry accounting for small businesses on Mac — invoicing, payroll, inventory, and a full general ledger, running locally rather than in a browser.

MoneyWorks

From ~$274 one-time (Express) — multiple editions and licensing options, see vendor site

Native Mac accounting and ERP software from New Zealand’s Cognito Software — cross-platform with Windows, shipping since 1992.

GnuCash

Free

Free, open-source double-entry accounting software for personal and small-business use, with native Apple Silicon and Intel builds.

Billings Pro: Time & Invoice

Free (1 invoice/estimate/statement per mo); subscription for more, via in-app purchase

Time tracking and invoicing from Marketcircle (makers of Daylite CRM) — free for light use, subscription for more.

Invoice Rex

$4.99/mo or $49.99/yr (14-day free trial); included with Setapp

Invoicing and lightweight accounting for Mac, iPhone, and iPad, from Charlie Monroe Software (Downie, Permute) — synced privately via iCloud.

Sip

$29.99 one-time (per seat), 1 year of updates included; 15-day free trial; also included with Setapp

A menu bar color picker with palettes, a contrast checker, and team collaboration — used at Google, Adobe, and Apple, per the developer.

ColorSlurp

Free, with ColorSlurp Pro at $19.99/yr (in-app purchase, per the Mac App Store listing)

A free color picker for Mac and iOS with a precision magnifier, palette manager, and OKLCH/LAB/Display P3 support — over 10,000 five-star App Store ratings.

ColorSnapper 2

$14.99 one-time (standalone license via Paddle); free trial download; Pro is a separate one-time in-app upgrade

A menu bar magnifying-glass color picker for Mac with Hi-Precision retina picking and 30+ export formats — a one-time purchase sold directly, no longer on the Mac App Store.

System Color Picker

Free

A free, no-frills wrapper around macOS’s built-in color picker, from prolific indie developer Sindre Sorhus — palettes, global shortcuts, and Hex/HSL/RGB/OKLCH/LCH/CMYK copy formats.

Aquarelo

$12.99 one-time (Mac App Store)

A Mac utility that generates harmonious color palettes between two colors and converts values across 36 color formats and 46 ICC profiles.

Mozilla Thunderbird

Free forever (donation-supported)

A free, open-source, donation-funded email client from the Mozilla family — unified inbox, calendar and contacts, and no ads or AI training on your mail.

Proton Mail

Free (1 GB); Mail Plus $3.99/mo billed annually ($47.88/yr); Proton Unlimited $9.99/mo billed annually ($119.88/yr)

End-to-end encrypted email from Swiss privacy company Proton AG — free tier available, with paid plans bundling calendar, VPN, and storage.

Spark

Free; Plus $10/mo ($8.25/mo billed yearly); Pro $20/mo ($16.58/mo billed yearly); Enterprise custom

A cross-platform email client from Readdle with AI writing, summarization, and inbox-prioritization tools — free to start, with paid tiers for AI quota and team collaboration.

Mimestream

$49.99/yr or $4.99/mo, 14-day free trial; no one-time purchase option

A native Mac email client built specifically for Gmail, using the Gmail API directly rather than IMAP — subscription-only, 14-day free trial.

Canary Mail

Free; Growth $3/mo billed yearly ($36/yr); Pro+ $10/mo billed yearly ($100/yr); both paid tiers also sell as a one-time lifetime purchase

An AI email client with a built-in calendar, read receipts, and PGP encryption — free plan available, paid tiers add AI copilot and advanced security.

Typora

$14.99 one-time (without tax), 15-day free trial, usable on up to 3 devices

A minimal Markdown editor that renders formatting live as you type, with no separate source and preview panes.

Bear

Free; Bear Pro $2.99/mo or $29.99/yr (15% savings vs. monthly), 7-day free trial

A tag-based Markdown notes app for Mac and iOS with a genuinely usable free tier — Bear Pro adds iCloud sync, more themes, and export formats.

iA Writer

$49.99 one-time (Mac App Store); 7-day free trial downloadable directly from the developer, no credit card required

A distraction-free Markdown writing app whose Focus Mode dims everything but your current sentence — one-time $49.99 purchase, 7-day free trial.

Marked

$2.99/mo (or a $69.99 one-time Permanent Unlock / Marked 3 Pro, intro pricing) via direct download or the Mac App Store; also on Setapp

A live Markdown previewer, not an editor — pairs with any text editor and updates automatically every time you save, with proofreading and rich export.

Zettlr

Free and open source; supported by donations

A free, open-source Markdown workbench built for academic writing — citation manager integration, Zettelkasten-style note linking, and one-click journal export via Pandoc.

MultiMarkdown Composer

Free base version (Mac App Store); Standard and Pro upgrades available as in-app purchases, current prices not published on the developer’s site

A text editor built around the MultiMarkdown syntax, with a free Mac App Store base version and paid Standard/Pro upgrade tiers.

MacDown 3000

Free and open source

A free, open-source continuation of the discontinued MacDown editor, started by a different maintainer in 2026 — not the original project, but built in its spirit.

f.lux

Free

The original blue-light filter — free software that warms your screen’s color temperature after sunset and shifts back to daylight in the morning, based on your location.

Iris

$15 one-time (per major version), 7-day free trial

A blue-light filter and screen dimmer with PWM-free brightness control and 9 built-in presets — one-time $15 purchase after a free trial.

Shifty

Free

A free, open-source menu bar app that adds power-user controls to macOS Night Shift — per-app and per-website exceptions, custom schedules, and a quick-toggle slider.

NightTone

Free, with a Lifetime Access unlock via in-app purchase ($4.99 or $9.99, Mac App Store)

A blue-light filter with adjustable warm color palettes, sunset-to-sunrise auto-scheduling, and multi-monitor support — free, with a one-time unlock for extra options.

HandBrake

Free, open source

Free, open-source video transcoder — converts nearly any video format to modern, widely supported codecs.

MKVToolNix

Free, open source

Free, open-source toolset for creating, altering, and inspecting Matroska (MKV) files.

Permute

$14.99 one-time (direct or Mac App Store); also available via Setapp subscription

Drag-and-drop media converter for macOS — video, audio, images, and PDFs, from Charlie Monroe Software.

Termius

Free (Mac App Store); paid team/business tiers exist but are not itemized on the public homepage — see termius.com/pricing

Cross-platform SSH client with an encrypted vault for hosts and keys, SFTP, and real-time terminal collaboration.

CrossOver

$74.00 (CodeWeavers’ homepage lists this as the "Buy Now" price; confirm current billing term — annual vs. one-time — at checkout)

Runs many Windows applications and games on Mac without a Windows license or a virtual machine — built on Wine.

Superwhisper

Free (3,000 words trial), then Pro from ≈$8.49/mo (annual and lifetime options also shown at checkout)

AI voice-to-text that types into any app on a keyboard shortcut, with offline and cloud transcription modes.

Wispr Flow

Free (2,000 words/week); paid Pro removes the word cap — price not listed on the homepage, see wisprflow.ai/pricing

Voice dictation that cleans up filler words and formatting as you speak, typing into any app.

MacWhisper

Free, or €65 one-time for Pro (≈$75 USD; 570,878+ sales per Gumroad)

Drag-and-drop audio and video transcription using OpenAI Whisper, Parakeet, and Qwen — plus system-wide dictation.

OpenSuperWhisper

Free

A free, open-source macOS dictation app using Whisper or Parakeet, with global shortcuts and mouse-button triggers.

WhisperTranscribe

$14.99/mo via Setapp membership (7-day free trial); no standalone purchase found; requires AI credits for content generation

Turns audio or video files into transcripts, blog posts, and social captions — sold only through Setapp.

Aerial

Free

The Apple TV aerial-video screensaver for Mac, with live wallpaper mode, your own videos, and community expansion packs.

Wallspace

Free, or $12.99 one-time for Pro (unlimited downloads, 4K, lock-screen wallpapers)

A native-Swift live-wallpaper app for Mac — 4K animated wallpapers with lock-screen support, under 2% CPU.

Fliqlo

Free

A minimalist flip-clock screensaver — large white numerals on black, the way airport departure boards used to look.

SaveHollywood

Free

Plays your own video files — trailers, WWDC sessions, home movies — as a Mac screensaver.

Ableton Live

Live 12 Intro $99, Standard $349, or Suite $749 one-time; Suite also available rent-to-own at $31.21/mo for 24 months

A DAW built for both studio production and live performance, with a clip-launcher workflow alongside the standard timeline.

Bitwig Studio

Essentials €99, Producer €199, or the full edition €399 one-time (prices shown in EUR on the developer’s site)

A modular DAW with a clip-launcher workflow and a visual sound-design environment called The Grid, for building custom instruments and effects.

FL Studio

Fruity Edition $99, Producer Edition $179, Signature Bundle $269, or All Plugins Edition $449 — all one-time with lifetime free updates

A beat-first DAW with a pattern-based Step Sequencer and Piano Roll workflow, sold as a one-time purchase with lifetime free updates.

REAPER

$60 discounted license (individuals, or businesses under $20k/yr revenue, or education/non-profit); $225 commercial license

A full multitrack recording, editing, and mixing DAW sold as an inexpensive, DRM-free license with a 60-day full-featured evaluation.

Logic Pro

$199.99 one-time (Mac App Store, standalone); or included in Apple Creator Studio ($12.99/mo or $129/yr, bundled with Final Cut Pro, Pixelmator Pro, and more)

Apple’s professional DAW for Mac, with AI-assisted Session Players, stem splitting, and mastering tools built on Apple silicon.

Day One

Free (Basic); Silver $49.99/yr; Gold $74.99/yr

An award-winning journaling app with end-to-end encryption, "On This Day" memory surfacing, and rich media entries across Mac, iPhone, iPad, and web.

Journey

Free tier available; Membership $4.17/mo billed annually, or a one-time Lifetime purchase

A cross-platform journal and diary app with photo/video entries, mood tracking, location tagging, and an optional AI chat over your own past entries.

Diarium

Free to use; Diarium Pro one-time purchase per platform (macOS Pro listed at $14.99)

A private, no-account-required journal app with automatic context integrations — weather, calendar, photos, fitness data — and a one-time Pro purchase instead of a subscription.

Diarly

Free (single journal, unlimited entries); Diarly Premium via in-app subscription, 7-day free trial

A minimal, markdown-friendly journaling app for Mac, iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch, with password protection, end-to-end encryption, and an optional AI assistant.

Grid Diary

Free tier available; Membership $2.99/mo (3-day trial) or $22.99/yr (14-day trial)

A prompt-based journaling app that replaces the blank page with a customizable grid of questions, for Mac, iPhone, and iPad.

Dozer

Free, open source

A free, open-source menu bar icon hider — drag icons behind a Dozer arrow to tuck them out of sight, with an optional second hidden group.

Night Shift Keeper

Free to try; $12.99 one-time to unlock Always On

Keeps macOS’s built-in Night Shift running around the clock instead of resetting at midnight or after sleep — free to try, $12.99 one-time to unlock Always On.

OpenEmu

Free, open source

A free, open-source multi-console emulator for Mac that organizes your ROMs into one unified, box-art library — NES, SNES, Game Boy, Genesis, PS1, and more.

Dolphin

Free, open source

A free, open-source GameCube and Wii emulator for Mac — with HD upscaling, netplay, and support for standard PC and Bluetooth Wii controllers.

RetroArch

Free, open source

A free, open-source frontend that runs dozens of individual emulator "cores" — NES through PS2 and beyond — through one unified interface, on Mac and nearly every other platform.

PCSX2

Free, open source

A free, open-source PlayStation 2 emulator for Mac, with native Apple Silicon support and most of the PS2 library considered playable.

DOSBox-X

Free, open source

A free, open-source DOS emulator for Mac — a more actively developed, feature-rich fork of the original DOSBox project, for running classic DOS games and software.

Simplenote

Free

Free, cross-platform note-taking app from Automattic — real-time sync, tags, note history, and Markdown, with nothing paid.

Sticky Notepad: Notes & Memo

Free

Free, colorful sticky notes for the Mac desktop and menu bar, with rich text formatting and adjustable transparency.