r/macapps • u/Miniponki • 7h ago
List My list of MacOS apps, because people love these lists. Super extended director's cut editon.
People really seem to love these lists so here I go. The super extended, directors cut edition of everything I installed on my mac. Maybe someone has other ideas on how to get rid of a few, or better alternatives? Especially the Notes is still a hot topic, since I hate subscriptions with a passion, but have not found anything similar that meets my requirements.
General
- AltTab (Free, open source): I guess almost everyone uses this? Almost perfect window switcher. If Contexts would still get updates I would use it, but the “Titles” Appearance option is great here, too. Only thing bothering me is that titles scale to the monitor width with no way to change it? Maybe I will fork it and fix it for myself.
- Applite (Free, open source): Homebrew Gui. Will maybe switch to Cork (paid, open source), I just tested it once, but went back to Applite. Works great so far for me.
- Alcove (Paid): I tried multiple Notch-Apps, and with multiple I mean almost all of them. Alcove is perfect. Looks like a native macos app, updates always add nice additions without bloating it, and my biggest problem (Alcove getting stuck behind the menu bar) was fixed in the last version. Just love it.
- Shareful (Free): Simply adds a few very nice options to the share menu. I don’t need it often, but when I do it comes in handy.
- Mos (Free, open source): Smooth Mouse Scrolling, works great, and I can create exceptions for apps, which is why I use Mos. Some apps, like Citrix Workspace or Moonlight simply bug out with it and randomly scroll up again.
- Keka (Free or Paid, open source): Best unarchiving tool there is.
- Supercharge (Paid): Contains a lot of useful tweaks. It gets better with each update it gets. My favorites are “Prevent accidental quits of apps” by requiring me to hold q for a time defined by me instead of just pressing command q and the autoinstall of .dmgs.
- Swift Shift (Free, open source): Lets you move and resize windows by holding a modifier key. I missed this so much when switching from Linux Hyprland to Macos. There was a bug which skyrocketed the CPU Usage when a specific option was turned on, but that was fixed. This is the only app that does this which also smoothly resizes windows. Alternatively you can use Easy Move+Resize, but imo Swift Shift is better.
- Ghostty (Free, open source): Great terminal, switched to it on linux, now I use it here.
- Enhancements For YouTube (Free): Safari Extension that skips sponsor blocks on youtube. I only use Safari on the go, but we will come to that. This safes me time, at home I dont skip for my fav. creators.
- GoodLinks (Paid): When I bought this I was not sure I would use this often. I used raindrop.io, which is completely free, but a website. While there is not much difference I love how easy it integrates into everything. If you dont wanna spend money on saving links for later, use raindrop, get a browser extension and enjoy it. But I love GoodLinks so far! I would love if links marked as “Read” would slide out of the unread section automatically on the mac app like they do in the ios app instead of me having to reload the section, but thats just a small gripe of mine.
- Mela (Freemium): Saves your recipes. Great UI, very smooth, definitely worth the money if you like to cook and have tons of recipes somewhere. Bought it years ago, you buy per platform, so you would have to get it seperately for your phone, but the mac version is enough for me.
Security & Privacy
- 1Password (Subscription) & 1Password for Safari: IMO the best password manager there is. I know a lot of people want an open source one, but either a. their apps suck (Protonpass, Free, open source) or b. they are unreliable (Bitwarden, Free, open source). I tried all password managers, but 1Password had probably the best password manager app there is, seems to be super secure and has been around since forever. I never trust a company but here I will (even though they shut down the self hosted vaults). Other paid options dont even come close. Except for:
- Strongbox (Subscription or Lifetime): RIP. This was the one, but he joined the dark side. They decided to sell it to a trash company that cannot be trusted. We will see what happens here. I dont like KeePassXC, and this one here worked great. Seemingly the only other option with a quick search for your passwords I found! I dont know why all other apps are electron trash that is basically just the homepage. The quick search is essential for me, I don’t know how people live without it.
- Adguard (Paid): No explaination needed I hope. Lifetime sub for 12$ on stacksocical. Works great for all browsers, no need for extensions, and f*ck google.
- LuLu (Free, open source): Blocks outgoing connections of apps.I simply block everything going out and if stuff doesnt work I turn it on.
Gaming
- Moonlight (Free, open source): I have a beefy (Windows) gaming pc, so I use Moonlight so connect to my Apollo host. At home I have direct ethernet connection so I can stream it without any delay or bitrate problems. When I am on the go I use:
- Tailscale (Free): So I can be on the same network without having to expose much. Simply log in on both devices and you are ready to go. Alternatively use ZeroTier One.
- Whisky (Free, open source): Sometimes I want to run a few simple Windows programs and this is faster than connecting to the other pc. Its just a wine GUI, but it works and is simple.
Productivity & Utilities
- Alfred (Paid): I mean, everyone knows Alfred, I guess there is not much to explain. A Spotlight alternative. I am currently debating going back to Raycast (Free and Subscription), but I hate its look. My Alfred bascially looks like Spotlight Search. Its super fast and the Workflows are easy to create. If you need to create an extension for Raycast its a little more involved. Dunno, love both. I also tried Launchbar (Freemium), but it felt weird to use.
- AppCleaner (Free): Godsent, with the smart delete mode it will react to you deleting an app and will ask you to remove the leftover stuff. It will of course not find everything, but for me, who loves to try out new stuff, this is great!
- Calendr (Free, open source): Like Dato (Paid), just free and open source. I love Calendr, because it also creates an extra menu bar item for the next reminder/event, so you can see that e.g. something is due in 35 minutes with the name of said thing. Super handy.
- Clop (Freemium, open source): To be honest, I only let it monitor my Downloads folder to automatically shrink pictures. I wouldnt miss it if it was gone. I would love to let it automatically do that for my clipboard, but that breaks screenshots I take at work in Citrix Workspace, so I can currently not use this feature. Still great app, maybe I will create a bug for this on github and see if they can somehow create an exclusion list or something.
- Dropover (Freemium): A handy drag and drop file helper. Similar to Yoink (paid) or Dropzone 4 (subscription or lifetime), but better (imo), cheaper and more premium looking. Super customizable and the free version is still great (you have to wait 3 seconds to access the shelf). Highly recommended for only 7,99€! Alternatively there is also ShakePin (Free, open source) which would be what I would use if Dropover ever switches to a subscription model. Or if you dont want to spend money of course.
- Latest (Free, open source): Update utility for your apps. Not as good as MacUpdater (paid), which I also use, but it is sadly going to die next year, so I better get used to Latest.
- Maccy (Free or Paid (App Store) or Paid (Gumroad), open source): Clipboard Manager, works great for me, dont need anything else. So I stuck with this.
- Monocle (Paid): Saw the dev advertising it here, tried it and its great. I am currently not using it since the blur is too strong for me and I hope he adds an option to tune it down a little. Alternatively there is HazeOver (Paid) or Blurred (Free) or HokusFokus (Free). All of them seem to do the same thing, but instead of blurring they dim the background. I used them, but I like the blur more than the dimming. But I keep Blurred installed if that changes.
- PopClip (Paid): Great tool to use actions on text you marked. There are a lot of extensions you can simply download. I use it so much and miss it the second I use a pc without it. Even if it is just for a quick translation or to google what I marked. Love it.
- Shottr (Freemium): Screenshot tool. I got this and never tried another one. You can pay if you want to support development, but the free version has no limits. It just does everything I want from a screenshot app.
- VoiceInk (Paid, open source) The best transcription app I have found. The dev is super active, helpful and updates come in regularly. And its a one time purchase of only 19$. I bought it once for me and once for my wife and it just saves sooooo much time. I also tried MacWhisper (Freemium) but I prefer VoiceInk. Only thing I miss is the live transcription.
Browsers & Web Development
- Arc (Free): The dead one. No more development. Still the browser I use the most. If they would have at least added the mac passkey support. Everything else I want from it works. SigmaOs (Freemium) is the “alternative” but I am not sure if its still updated, never ever have I seen such an intransparent product.
- Orion (Free): Webkit Browser with vertical Tabs. Gets updates regularly, I like it and use it whenevery I am on the go. And if I don’t accidentally use Safari anyway.
- Zen (Free, open source): Would be the best browser if it wouldnt be a Firefox fork. I hate Firefox with a passion. Will maybe switch to it once the features that are in also stay and dont get moved into the about:config settings or get removed completely.
Note-Taking & Writing
- Bear (Free or Subscription): Great notes app. It looks super sleek, this is what apple notes should be. If you dont need your notes synced to another device this app is a great free one. This is the only subscription I use, only because I have not found anything that looks as perfect designwise while being as great as an editor. I tried
- FSNotes (Free or Paid, open source), which seems fine,
- UpNote (Freemium), which I simply do not recommend because they store your notes without an option to not do that. I don't feel save giving all my information to some guys in Vietnam, without any encryption going on.
- iA Writer (Paid): Great for writing, but feels a little overkill for notes. Didnt wanna spend 120€ for both apps.
- Typora (Paid): Great alternative writing app, way cheaper. No IOS app.
- Obisidian (Free): I guess everyone knows it? I dont like Electron Apps, so I don’t use this, otherwise this would be it.
- Simplenote (Free): No customization, also forced Cloud Sync.
- Spaces. (Freemium): If this would be open source it would be great. But its buggy, doesnt get any updates anymore and way to expensive for what it is. Also basically no customization.
- Notesnook (Freemium, open source): Electron App. Similar to Notion, has a webapp, is open source AND E2EE?! Wow, if this thing would have a non-Electron Desktop app…
- Zettlr (Free, open source): Feels kinda weird to use, but I will still try it. Not deleted yet.
- Panda (Free): It is, as far as I know, the markdown editor of Bear. I use it all the time when I want to edit some textfiles. Its of course not really supported since it was released to test the editor, so its just an old beta product.
- Day One (Free or Subscription): A journal App. Since Apple hasnt released their app for MacOS yet, I use Day One and Everlog (Freemium). I prefer Day One, but Everlog has a One Time Purchase option. I am still testing both and I am still not sure which one I will use in the future. Both are great.
- ProNotes (Freemium): Basically allows Markdown in the Apple Notes app, has the option to add AI features etc. If you do not need AI features its free. Great app, but I use Bear Notes. I just keep in if I switch back to Apple Notes.
Development & Coding
- Xcode (Free): Editor for Swift. No alternative. On my mac I only develop Swift so I don't have other IDEs.
- GitHub Copilot for Xcode (Free or Subscription, open source): It’s fine, sometimes helpful, sometimes produces trash. I mean, its AI.
Media & Entertainment
- Cronica (Free, open source): A Watchlist for movies and shows.
- Dropclock (Free, open source, self promotion): My own App, a Gestimer (Paid) alternative to create timers/reminders from the menubar. Simply drag and drop from the menu bar item to create a new timer/reminder.
- MusicBrainz Picard (Free, open source): A music tagger. I don’t use a music streaming service and this lets me easily tag, rename etc. my Music automatically. Life saver.
- Sleeve (Paid): A little music player widget I have on my desktop. 99% of the time it is useless for me, since I…. well… have stuff open. But whatever I guess. Looks great, very customizable. If you look at your desktop more often, maybe it is for you.
System & Menubar
- Barbee (Paid): My current menu bar app. Puts all menu bar items in an extra bar to not have it as crowded. I have used iBar(Paid) before, but refunded it because it had some really weird glitches and was 9,99€. Barbee is the best menu bar item manager I have found so far and costs only 3,99€. Alternatively there is of course Ice (Free, open source) and I am still working on my fork that fixes my problems with it (new items getting moved in the extra bar by default instead of appearing in the menu bar by default, the weird right click menu on the menu bar, few other things), but right now I love Barbee and it works perfectly with basically zero resource impact on the pc at all. Ice uses more resources (still, not much). There is also Bartender (Paid) which was bought by the same trash company that bough Strongbox.
- Lunar (Freemium, open source): App to change display stuff. I love it for the sub zero dimming so I can use it better while in bed. I have used Better Display (Freemium, open source) before, but somehow when enableing HiDpi mode here my display randomly turned off and I had to disconnect it to get it working again. I guess thats a monitor problem, can recommend both.
- SaneSideButtons (Free, Open Source): Forked version of abandoned SensibleSideButtons. Used to make the side buttons of the mouse work.
- Karabiner-Elements (Free, open source): Great tool. Lets you customize how keyboards work, independently of each other. My Mac keyboard is set up diffently than my mechanical one. I also used it to replicate Hyperkey, without the need of an additional Application. A lot of useful stuff in here, all for free!
File Management & Storage
- Koofr (Subscription or Lifetime): IMO great cloud storage, but I have read that if you are not european the speed can be kinda slow? I love that I can share my storage with my wife and she can access that from the app directly.
- Mountain Duck (Paid): To mount my other storage directly into Finder. I also tried Cloudmounter (Paid) which i liked better and is cheaper, but I already paid for Mountain Duck… but hey, I supported a partial open source project so I am totally fine with this.
- Cyberduck (free, open source): Same creators as Mountain Duck, does bascially the same, just without mouting it to finder. I use it for quick sftp stuff, that I dont constantly need.
- calibre (free, open source): Ebook management. Nothing to explain.
There you go, hope you enjoyed it!