5 FREE or Better Alternatives to CCleaner for Mac: Comparison & Reviews 2024

Best Mac Optimizer and Cleaner Apps of 2024

Read the quick review of each of them to get an idea about which one fits you the best.

#1. CleanMyMac Review 2024

This popular CCleaner alternative is a great tool to optimize your Mac computer. This comes from MacPaw, one of the trusted developers in the industry right now.

The first Mac optimizer that most users think of is also CleanMyMac, which has six different optimization options divided into sections such as Cleanup, Protection, Speed, Applications, and Files. All of these features work toward one goal: a cleaner, faster Mac.

If your Mac has a lot of junk files, it can be a headache to find and delete all of them from your computer. Fortunately, this tool includes a mass junk remover that deletes all your redundant files, including the hidden files, with a few clicks.

Unfortunately, the app lacks a duplicate file finder feature, and you won't be able to find and delete files that are the replicas of each other.

Many cleaning tools don't offer virus and malware scanners, but this one does.

Price

• Free trial – lets you remove up to 500 MB of junk data

• One Year Plan(with free automatic updates)
  1 Mac — US$ 34.95
  2 Mac — US$ 54.95
  5 Mac — US$ 79.95
  

• One-time Purchase(with no free updates)
  1 Mac — US$ 89.95
  2 Mac — US$ 134.95
  5 Mac — US$ 199.95

Free Download: https://macpaw.com/cleanmymac

Although CleanMyMac has a free trial version with unlimited features and comprehensive, diverse customer support, it can only clean 500MB of junk data, which means that if you want to clean up more space, you will have to opt for the paid version . It costs $39.95 and comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee, but its developer, MacPaw, is offering massive discounts ranging from up to five licenses to software bundles for up to 55% off the price.

MacPaw is currently offering a 30% discount for students.

Pros

1. The best Mac cleaning software to give you an experience of a stable, faster, and optimized Mac.

2. A full range of cleaning options and advanced tools like an uninstaller, general maintenance, online privacy functions, etc.

3. Secures your computer from malware, spyware, adware, ransomware and other malicious threats.

4. The best Mac cleaning software to give you an experience of a stable, faster, and optimized Mac.

5. Simple user interface that matches Apple’s aesthetic.

6. CleanMyMac X is Apple-notarized, which means it’s safe for your Mac.

7. Remove browsing history along with online and offline activity traces

8. Multi-Lingual

9. One-click cleaning and optimization feature to save time

10. Frees up RAM, repairs disk permission, flushes DNS Cache, etc.

11. You will be notified of important files before cleaning.

12. It runs very quickly, often taking 2 minutes or less to perform its tasks.

13. Free version

14. Real-time monitoring with Space Lens

15. Lacks duplicate-file removal

16. Free version available 

17. Most users have reported very positive experiences

Cons

1. Not very cheaply priced

2. Cannot find duplicate files.

3. Free version restricts cleaning up to a maximum size of 500 MB.

4. No restore points

5. Updater feature missed some app updates
   
   

Why Should You Pick CleanMyMac X?

According to our analysis and research, CleanMyMac is the best cleaning tool available today. With reasonable prices and fully effective tools that can meet the needs of most Mac users, we think this product is definitely worth the money.

CleanMyMac has received a lot of positive reviews - most users have seen a notably enhanced Mac performance and they appreciate the ease and simplicity of usage of the software.

Furthermore, it is not just a clean-up service. Without compromising on its cleaning utility, the app also offers a malware protection program, and a digital shredder, as well as a program uninstaller.

Finally, another dazzling feature of CleanMyMac is how beautifully it integrates with the MacOS, which feels like an in-built part of Apple’s software.

Regardless of whether you use CleanMyMac X as a simple storage cleaner or explore some of its more advanced features, you can always rest assured, knowing the app will never accidentally delete important files or make your Mac unbootable because it’s been designed from the ground up for maximum safety and reliability.

In short, if you don’t care about the price, and are looking for a program that can do more than just scan and remove junk files from your Mac, then you should definitely try CleanMyMac X.

#2. MacKeeper Review 2024

MacKeeper is a top premium alternative.

Since its launch in 2010, MacKeeper has gained notoriety for its old policies of aggressive online marketing. However, since MacKeeper developer Kromtech was acquired by Clario, the software has undergone a complete transformation. Now it's one of the best optimizers out there, full of surprising features.

The program comes with tons of cleaning tools to keep your Mac free of any junk files. It offers a deep scan feature that deeply scans your Mac to find and remove redundant content. You then need to give your consent to actually remove the junk files.

While removing the junk files, the app ensures the files that your installed apps need to function are not removed. It intelligently senses the required files and it doesn’t delete them.

However, what really makes MacKeeper stand out are the extra features provided like an adblocking browser extension, identity theft protection, and even a free VPN. The VPN in particular is impressive for a free extra, as it offers reliable servers from all around the world.

Price

• $10.95/1 Mac/month,
  

• $60/1 Mac/year, (save 15%)
  

• $62.40/3 Macs/year, (save 30%)

With MacKeeper, you can download the software for free to perform an initial scan but for a full cleanup you’ll have to subscribe. 

Compared to other similar cleanup tools, MacKeeper is a bit too expensive and many people might not shell out a huge amount of money to get this app. 

Pros

1. It features real-time adware monitoring

2. It also comes with a duplicate file finder

3. Remote tracking is another MacKeeper feature that CleanMyMac lacks.

4. The software's integrated VPN (Virtual Private Network) allows you to surf the Internet safely.

5. MacKeeper is fast and efficient.

6. With the Smart Uninstaller feature in MacKeeper, you can get rid of your apps as well as all of the files associated with them.

7. It also lets you view your least used apps, which gives you a chance to find and delete apps you haven't used in a long time.
   

8. Provides premium support services.

9. Lightweight program

Cons

1. MacKeeper does not have the ability to detect and delete large old files.

2. MacKeeper's user interface is not as advanced as CleanMyMac.

3. Unlike CleanMyMac, it has a controversial past.

4. Not worthy of the price if you don’t want all the features.

5. Hard to remove

Why Should You Pick MacKeeper For Mac?

MacKeeper is a great way to clean your Mac. What makes this software the best Mac cleaner software is the unique Supercharge system of the software that allows you to clean the storage of Mac with ease. Apart from storage, the software also keeps an eye on malware and virus attacks as well as cleans the infected files in real-time.

Download: https://mackeeper.com/

#3. MacClean Review 2024

MacClean was created by iMobie, a Chinese company founded in 2011 that revolves its business around Apple's: the team of developers is focused on iOS device content management, iOS data recovery and Mac utility software.

The latest version is MacClean 3 and offers an impressive way to clean your Mac and make sure it is safe from malware.

When you launch MacClean you're greeted by a simple, basic and easy-to-understand user interface with a list of functions on the left side of the window. The app incorporates two main modules, cleanup and utilities, each of which has a list of actions you can take to optimize your Mac.

Just like its competitors, MacClean seeks to clean your Mac of system cache junk and internet junk data. But what makes this app particularly interesting is its ability to scan web browsers (Safari, Google Chrome, Firefox or Opera) for malicious cookies. 

It also features a script called security issue, which will analyze your computer for potential virus threats based on a third-party virus database and search engine that you'll need to download first. This is essentially the open-source ClamAV scanning engine, which is a super-slow resource hog when run on demand. 

One other interesting component of MacClean is the quarantine feature. Since MacClean includes a security check feature, it will store all infected files in quarantine if you manually decide to do so, where you can either remove or clean these files.

Price

MacClean is a freemium app, meaning it can be downloaded and used for free, although limitations do apply.

The free evaluation version can scan files, but not delete them. At least you know how much space the app will save you.

The price starts at $29.99 which is significantly lower than some of its competitors. That makes it a contender for those who want to free up hard drive space while holding on to some cash.

1. 1 Year Subscription for $19.99. It can be used only on one Mac device and implies one year of free support.

2. Personal License – for $29.99. It is also for one Mac, but this time you’re a lifetime access to the app.

3. Family License – for $39.99. You and up to five family members can use the app. This plan also offers free and priority support.

All plans imply 60-days money back guarantee.

The Family License, which is the best priced offer from iMobie, costs $39.99 and means a license for up to five family members' Macs, bringing the cost of a license down to $7.99 per Mac. 

iMobie, through its payment processor cleverbridge AG, accept bank cards (Visa, Mastercard, Diners Club, Discover, GiroPay, Direct Debit, JCB and Delta) and PayPal as payment methods.

Pros

1. High effectiveness to free up gigabytes of space on your hard drive.
   

2. Most scans are very quick - just a few seconds.

3. Choose to clear all cookies or just malicious cookies.

4. Scan your Mac's application and download folders for potential security risks.

5. Traces of documents, applications, folders and even web servers can be removed.

6. Deleted FaceTime and iMessage history won't be retrieved by attackers

7. The Quarantine is where an application places files it considers infected. You can delete them from here, or restore them. 

8. Clean, easy-to-understand user interface

9. Duplicate File Finder

10. Free Diagnostic Tool

11. 60-day money-back guarantee

12. Built-in antivirus software

13. Multi-browser compatibility

14. It’s cheap, and you can even buy a lifetime license for as little as $7.99.

Cons

1. Lacks the convenience of one-click diagnostics offered by other similar apps.

2. The app failed to find some large, old files. 

3. The app crashed several times. 
   

4. Security Issue Cleanup requires additional download
   

5. Security scan is very slow and a resource hog

#4. MacBooster Review 2024

MacBooster 8 is especially useful in removing all kinds of junk files on Mac. From large old potentially unwanted folders to extremely small cache memories, it's all gone in seconds. We also found that MacBooster identified a few more files for deletion than CleanMyMac did.

It is very similar to CleanMyMac. Both remove system junk and malware, protecting your Mac environment from potential harm. But there are also some differences.

Given the diversity of CleanMyMac’s service, it’s hard to compete. As a result, Macbooster falls behind in providing services like Disabling Hung Apps, File Shredder, etc. However, it does have some useful features that even CleanMyMac doesn’t have. For instance, the duplicate file and photo finder.

Price

MacBooster comes in both free and paid versions. However, the free option doesn’t allow you to remove junk easily. It only provides a free scan. 

MacBooster is priced at 

$39.95 for Lite (1Mac),

$59.95 for Standard (3 Macs), and 

$89.95 for Premium (5 Macs). IObit offers support via email, and they have an active forum specifically dedicated to monitoring customer feedback.

Pros

1. So many of its features like Deep System Cleanup, Excellent Performance Boost, Full Security Protection. 

2. Highly sensitive about system security.

3. Comes with a full Mac security suite, including Virus Scan, Malware Scan & Privacy Protection.

4. Delete similar and hidden copies of photos

5. Uninstall apps completely

6. It works on powerful scan engines to scan and remove junk even from the remotest corners of your device storage.

7. Comprehensive scans are simple to conduct

Cons

1. It costs nearly as much as CleanMyMac, so you’ll be disappointed if you were looking for a low budget option.

2. In the past, Mac users have criticized Macbooster for frequent pop-up ads. CleanMyMac wins the gold medal for discreet marketing.

3. Prefer the user experience of CleanMyMac as they are inherently lighter.
   

4. Compatibility issues with older Mac versions

5. There aren't enough cautions before removing files/apps.

6. A deep scan takes longer.

#5. Cleaner One Pro Review 2024

Cleaner One Pro, formerly known as Dr.Cleaner, was also named one of the best Mac cleaner programs in 2024, providing enough Mac cleaning features to remove all kinds of junk files, duplicate files or shred files, uninstall apps, and more. With all these equipped features, everyone can easily get back disk space on Mac.

Cleaner One Pro might not sound as familiar as the other Mac cleaning apps in this guide, but this one was actually developed by well-known security company Trend Micro.

To ensure the equally-high Mac performance ability, Cleaner One Pro also enables the Smart Scan feature to instantly check the factors that have affected your system operation. Meanwhile, it would list certain recommended solutions to help fix the issues one by one. There is also the preview feature letting the user see what will be deleted from their Mac.

Cleaner One Pro can quickly and effectively find and remove unwanted data as well as old and junk files and app leftovers. 

Price

• One-year license (1 Mac): $19.99

• One-year license (5 Macs): $29.99

Pros

1. Comes with a variety of tools for Mac cleaning

2. It is able to powerfully monitor the computer performance and provide corresponding solutions to fix the problems affecting Mac's running.

3. Handy functions ensure the daily Mac checking easier to be processed.

4. The design is simple and easy to navigate

5. The software can remove system trash, unwanted apps, and old data.

6. There is a file shredder feature for secure deleting

7. It can easily identify the biggest files to quickly free up space

Cons

1. The security functions are missed.

2. Additional payment is needed for additional tools, such as VPN or anti-malware tool — these are separate apps

3. Disk Map is not easy to use — visualization is sophisticated

Conclusion

CCleaner: 

If you're on a budget and want to test the waters before breaking your wallet, try CCleaner—it's free for the Lite version, and you can upgrade to the Pro version if you decide it's right for your Mac. Note that what CCleaner thinks is junk may not actually be junk, so be sure to double check before bulk deleting files.

CleanMyMac: 

If you're looking for an easy-to-use, fast, and tidy Mac cleaning software, look no further than CleanMyMac X - we've had countless experiences with them and we've never been disappointed with the results.

Find hidden junk and free up unseen "system" storage. Locate large old folders, background apps and heavy memory hogs. Free up space on your Mac and tune it for top speed with CleanMyMac X. The new version effectively blocks adware, browser pop-ups and virus extensions.

CleanMyMac provides a great user experience that makes cleaning and maintaining your Mac incredibly easy. It's not the cheapest option at $39.95 for a year of service, but the features it offers, like malware removal, justify the price. Even better, use the rebate offer to get 5% back on the cost.

MacKeeper, MacBooster:

For advanced Mac users, consider checking out MacBooster, MacKeeper - they have advanced cleaning features that can remove deep junk files that normal cleaning software might miss.

Part 3. FAQs For Choosing The Best CCleaner Alternatives