By Randy B. Singer
Copyright © Randy B. Singer,
2018-2023. All worldwide rights reserved.
Permission is hereby given to link to this site, but no other use is permitted without express written permission.
Note: Any discrepancies between the prices listed on this Web site and the price on the developer's site are irrelevant.
The price you should expect to pay is the price asked by the developer.
Permission is hereby given to link to this site, but no other use is permitted without express written permission.
Note: Any discrepancies between the prices listed on this Web site and the price on the developer's site are irrelevant.
The price you should expect to pay is the price asked by the developer.
167
completely free products now listed!
One of the things that makes the Macintosh a great value is the wide array of excellent software applications that come with it. Apple’s included applications are surprisingly competent. But they don’t always provide everything, or exactly what one could want. And there are certain types of applications that simply don’t come with a new Mac. There are, of course, a huge number of commercial applications to do whatever you want with your Macintosh, but sometimes folks want something that is either free, or which is extremely reasonably priced. Fortunately, there are a large assortment of free applications for the Macintosh that are very much worth having, or which are at least worth checking out. I’ve tried to list as many such programs here as I know about, emphasizing software that I feel is either invaluable or highly desirable. Hopefully even long-time Mac users will find something new and useful in this list.
Note: This is not meant to be a comprehensive listing of all of the free software for the Macintosh. The applications listed here are limited to those that are easy to install, which work really well, and which are either easy to use or which are easy to learn to use.
Important: If you are running a recent version of the Macintosh operating system, and you download software from somewhere other than Apple’s Mac App Store, when you go to launch that software you will get a dialog that says that you can’t open the application because it’s “from an unidentified developer.” This is simply Apple’s security measure telling you to be careful where you get your software from. This alert does not mean that the application is dangerous or that it won’t run on your Macintosh. Software that you get directly from a legitimate developer is just about always perfectly safe. You can open the application by right-clicking (or Control-clicking) on the application’s icon, and then choosing Open; you will still get a warning dialog, but you can now choose to Open the application anyway, even if it comes from an unidentified developer. From this point on you can launch the application normally and there will be no warning dialog box. However, this doesn't work if the application is located anywhere but in the Applications folder. See:
http://osxdaily.com/2012/07/27/app-cant-be-opened-because-it-is-from-an-unidentified-developer/
Why is this software free?
AdGuard for Safari (free)
https://adguard.com/en/adguard-safari/overview.html
(Ad blocking extension for Safari.)
AltTab (free)
https://alt-tab-macos.netlify.app/
(Really cool window switcher using the keyboard.)
Amethyst (free)
https://ianyh.com/amethyst/
(Simple window manager.)
AmorphousDiskMark (free)
https://katsurashareware.com/amorphousdiskmark/
(Measures the read/write performance of your hard drive.)
AppCleaner (free)
https://freemacsoft.net/appcleaner/
(Macs don’t really need uninstallers, but for those who really want one, AppCleaner allows you to quickly, easily and thoroughly uninstall unwanted apps.)
Audacity (free)
https://www.audacityteam.org
(Multi-track audio editor and recorder.)
BBEdit (free/$50)
https://www.barebones.com/products/bbedit/
List of differences between free and commercial version:
https://www.barebones.com/products/bbedit/comparison.html
(The premier text editor for the Macintosh. )
BeeBeep (free)
https://www.beebeep.net
(Peer to peer instant encrypted office messaging. )
BetterDisplay/Pro (free/$15) (was: BetterDummy)
https://github.com/waydabber/BetterDummy
(Allows custom resolutions with external monitors. Some monitors don't look quite right using Apple's default resolutions. This utility gives you more resolution choices so that hopefully you can find the perfect one. Now compatible with Apple Silicon.)
BGBlitz (free version)
https://www.bgblitz.com/
(A supremely wonderful backgammon game. Addictive.)
Big Red Clock (free)
http://www.bigredclock.com
(Big red numbers desktop clock with countdown timer and stopwatch features.)
Blender (free)
https://www.blender.org/download/
(Very powerful 3D graphics program.)
BlueGriffon (free. There are three versions, two of which aren't free, but the free version is full-featured and sincerely free. It isn’t a demo or crippled version.)
http://bluegriffon.org/
“What-you-see-is-what-you-get” Web site creation program (there is also a built-in text editor if you choose to work with the raw HTML, and it helps you by allowing you to add HTML commands with one click). Easy to use (if you know how to use a word processor you will take to this program quickly), and full featured. It's great for beginners and experienced Web designers alike. If you liked Apple’s departed iWeb, you will like this program. Many folks are skeptical upon approaching this program because it seems too-good-to-be-true. It’s true!
Free video tutorial series:
(The tutorial does not use the Mac version of the program, but the program is virtually identical across platforms.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWPj7EGjQt0&list=PLEDA9CB299E1DE0EB
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nnj6i_ckRp0&list=PLEDA9CB299E1DE0EB
BlueGriffon Tutorial: How to Design a Website with BlueGriffon
https://www.thesitewizard.com/bluegriffon/bluegriffon-2-tutorial-1.shtml
A tip for using BlueGriffon:
When you first open it, the interface will look terrible. Don't get discouraged. Do this:
BlueGriffon menu --> Preferences --> General tab --> Theme -> enable "Light"
The interface will now look world's better!
BlueStacks (free)
https://www.bluestacks.com/features.html
(Lets you run Android apps on your Mac!)
Brave browser (free)
https://www.brave.com/
(Apple provides it’s own Web browser with the Mac OS; Safari. Why would you want a different Web browser? Because Brave is FAST, it blocks ads without the need for add-ons, it blocks trackers, and it has excellent compatibility with various Web sites. Brave simply provides a much nicer browsing experience than other browsers.
More info:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brave_(web_browser)
Calibre (free)
https://calibre-ebook.com/
(E-book collection manager and converter. Read e-books from other Platforms on your Macintosh. Substitute for iBooks.)
Capital Asset Inventory Tracker (free)
http://4lightdata.com
(Track the location and value of individual capital or fixed asset items.)
CaseViewer (Donation Requested.)
https://www.caseviewer.app/
(Legal case law finder. You can retrieve cases from a variety of publicly available sources, and have them formatted for easy study.)
ClipGrab (free)
https://clipgrab.org
(ClipGrab is a free downloader and converter for YouTube, Vimeo, Facebook and many other Web-based audio and video sites. It converts downloaded files to MPEG4, MP3 or other common formats in just one easy step.)
ClipTools (free)
https://macmost.com/cliptools
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/cliptools/id1619348240?mt=12
(Access things that you have previously cut and pasted. You can save clips, use powerful Smart Clips, paste the date or time in any format you wish, paste boilerplate that you create.)
Clipy (free)
https://clipy-app.com
(An advanced clipboard manager that will allow you to copy and store as many things as you like, and then export them in any order that you like. Invaluable for doing research and writing.)
Don't let the Japanese on their home page scare you. This app is entirely in English.
Clix (free)
https://rixstep.com/4/0/clix/
(Learn to use the command line with training wheels!)
Clocker (free)
https://abhishekbanthia.com/clocker/
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/clocker-menubar-world-clock/id1056643111?ls=1&mt=12
(World clock integrated right into your menu bar, allowing you to quickly check up on your colleagues/friends/family in different time zones. Includes reminders feature.)
CloudClip Manager (free)
https://thinkbitz.com/cloudclip/
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/cloudclip-manager/id563362017?mt=12
(Sync your clipboard between your Mac and your iOS devices. It's the easiest way to transfer phone numbers, websites, addresses, and more.)
Coconut Battery (free)
https://www.coconut-flavour.com/coconutbattery/
(Tells you about the health of your Macbook’s battery. When your laptop gets down to about 80% of its original capacity, it’s time to think about getting a new one.)
CopyClip (free)
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/copyclip-clipboard-history/id595191960?mt=12
(Simple and efficient clipboard manager.)
CopyLess (free, additional features available for a fee)
https://copyless.net/
(Clipboard manager. Can store up to 1000 recent clippings.)
CoreBreach (free)
https://www.corecode.io/corebreach/CoreBreach/CoreBreach.html
(Futuristic anti-gravity racing game.)
Cyberduck (free)
https://cyberduck.io/download/
(FTP browser. “File Transfer Protocol” is how you move files to a server. More importantly, it’s how you upload HTML files to your ISP’s server to put them on the Web. There are a number of FTP programs for the Mac, but this one is free, easy to use, and fairly full featured.)
darktable (free)
https://www.darktable.org/
(A clone of Adobe Lightroom. Allows you to edit and enhance your photographs.)
Davinci Resolve (free; commercial "Studio" version has more features)
https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/davinciresolve/
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/davinci-resolve/id571213070?mt=12
(Professional video editing, color correction, audio post and visual effects!)
Desktop Icon Manager - "DIM" (free)
http://www.parker9.com/desktopIconManager2.0.html
(Saves placement of desktop icons. A one trick pony, but a valuable one. It’s way too easy to accidentally set the “View” for your desktop to something that re-arranges everything with no way to get back the organization you set up manually. With one click, DIM puts your desktop icons right back where they were when you last saved their arrangement.)
DetectX (free/$10 to register)
https://sqwarq.wordpress.com
(Looks for and eliminates all known adware. Will also remove some malware, but this isn’t a comprehensive solution for dealing with malware....fortunately you don't need a product to look for the latter because the Mac has built-in anti-malware software.)
draw.io Desktop (free)
https://www.diagrams.net
https://github.com/jgraph/drawio-desktop/releases/tag/v21.2.1
(Diagramming tool. For creating floorplans, org charts, process flows, mindmaps, circuit diagrams, story maps and timelines.)
DupeGuru (free)
https://dupeguru.voltaicideas.net/
(Finds duplicate files by either name or content. Works even with music and photos.)
EasyCardFile (free)
http://4lightdata.com/pdfs/EasyCardFile.pdf
http://4lightdata.com/zips/EasyCardFile.zip
(Simple flat file database for saving text or pictures.)
EasyFind (free)
https://www.devontechnologies.com/apps/freeware
(File search app. Spotlight doesn't look everywhere on your hard drive for things. It's designed for speed and to keep you away from things that might get you in trouble. EasyFind looks everywhere on your Mac. It can even look for invisible files.)
Easy Record and Trim (free)
https://ithinkapps.com/
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/mp3trueedit/id731468939
(Allows you to record MP3 files and AAC audio files directly and then trim the recordings without any quality loss.)
EasyRes (free)
https://easyresapp.com
https://apps.apple.com/app/easyres/id688211836?ls=1&mt=12
(Fast screen resolution switcher for Mac OS X with live animated previews. Quickly and easily select resolutions for any connected screen from the menu bar.)
Economix (free)
http://y.callaud.free.fr/economix.html
(Manages personal finances.)
eM Client (free/$50)
https://www.emclient.com/
(Extremely full featured e-mail client. Commercial Pro version adds features that the free version lacks.)
Encrypto (free)
https://macpaw.com/encrypto
(Instantly encrypt and password protect your files or folders. Decrypt them with a double-click and enter the password. Not even the FBI can break this encryption. There is also a free version of this product for Windows, so encrypted files can be shared across platforms!)
EnvelopeMagic (free)
https://www.envelopemagic.com
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/envelopemagic/id1516167860?mt=12
(App for printing envelopes. Requires macOS 11.5 or later.)
eqMac (free. Commercial Pro version has more features.)
https://eqmac.app/
(System Audio Equalizer. Make your music sound better by adjusting it for your speakers and environment.)
Espanso (free)
https://espanso.org/
(Text expander. Create snippets that when typed expand into often-used terms and boilerplate.)
EtreCheckPro (free)
(free; additional features available for a fee)
https://etrecheck.com/en/index.html
(Helps you track down the cause of serious problems on your Mac. Can also remove annoying adware.)
eul (free)
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/eul/id1537133867
(System status monitoring app.)
FaceTime (free)
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/facetime/id1110145091
(Make audio and video calls for free.)
FormulatePro (free)
http://code.google.com/p/formulatepro/
(Allows you to fill in PDF forms on-screen and print them. Even locked ones. The latest version of Preview can do most of what Formulate can do, and more, but Formulate is really good at what it does, and makes it easier. )
Note: This application is not 64-bit and can’t be run under Mac OS 10.15 Catalina and later.
Fotor (free/subscription)
https://www.fotor.com/mac/index.html
(Easy to use, but powerful photo editing app. Commercial version adds more features.)
4LightData Forms (free)
http://4lightdata.com
http://4lightdata.com/pdfs/4LightData_Forms.pdf
(A surprisingly competent free database. More powerful in some ways than Symphytum.)
FreeOffice (free)
https://www.freeoffice.com/en/
Comparison chart of the features and costs of each version of this product from Softmaker:
https://www.softmaker.com/en/comparison-freeoffice-softmaker-office
(Very similar to Microsoft Office; with a word processor, spreadsheet and presentation application included. Excellent compatibility with Microsoft format files! Softmaker makes two commercial versions of this office suite, but the free version is all that many people might need. Not a crippled or demo product. On a par with LibreOffice; each has their strong points and weak points.)
FreeTube (free)
https://github.com/FreeTubeApp/FreeTube?tab=readme-ov-file
(Download the “freetube-0.xx-x-mac-x64.dmg” file.)
(YouTube player that blocks advertisements, tracking, and which allows downloading!)
Fugit (free)
https://www.gorgeousity.com/fugit
(Beautiful digital desktop clock.)
Full Deck Solitaire (free)
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/full-deck-solitaire/id412980789?mt=12
(An awesome Solitaire game, offering a bunch of variations and nice game play.)
FunctionFlip (free)
https://kevingessner.com/software/functionflip/
(Controls your MacBook or MacBook Pro's function keys, turning special keys back to regular F-keys, or vice-versa.)
Garage Band (free)
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/garageband/id682658836?ls=1&mt=12
https://www.apple.com/mac/garageband/
("A fully equipped music creation studio right inside your Mac".)
Get Plain Text (free)
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/get-plain-text/id508368068?mt=12
(Will convert any bit of text you copy into plain text, no matter where you copied it from [a website, PDF document or elsewhere]. You can activate the feature manually, or check “Automatically remove formatting” to make the app take care of it every time you copy something.)
Gimp (free)
http://www.gimp.org/downloads/
http://www.gimp.org/
(A very advanced photo retouching, image composition and image authoring program, similar to Photoshop.)
Free tutorials:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8C0LJPpr64
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2EPIUyFJ4ag
Go64 (free)
https://www.stclairsoft.com/Go64/
(Scans your internal drive for 32-bit applications that won’t be compatible after upgrading to macOS Catalina or later.)
Growly Checkbook (free)
https://growlybird.com/checkbook/index.html
(Personal finance software.)
Growly Draw (free)
https://www.growlybird.com/draw/
(Does both vector graphics and bitmapped. A drawing program with a bit of painting ability.)
Growly Notes (free)
http://growlybird.com/notes/index.html
(Notebook program. A really nice program for keeping notes, snippets from Web sites, etc. If you work on big projects and need to keep all of your research/thoughts/citations in one place, this is it. It has a garish default interface, but in Prefs there is an option to change to a very Mac-like interface. Some prefer Evernote, but this program isn't Web-based, so it's more private. In very recent versions of the Mac OS, Apple's Notes has evolved to do much of the same things; try Apple’s Notes first and see if it meets your needs.)
GrowlyWrite (free)
http://growlybird.com/write/index.html
(If you want a word processor that is less complex than FreeOffice, above, and which is definately easier to use than Microsoft Word, this one might be what you are looking for.)
GNUCash (free)
http://www.gnucash.org/
(Quicken substitute. GnuCash is personal and small-business financial-accounting software. Designed to be easy to use, yet powerful and flexible, GnuCash allows you to track bank accounts, stocks, income and expenses. As quick and intuitive to use as a checkbook register, it is based on professional accounting principles to ensure balanced books and accurate reports. )
How to install:
http://wiki.gnucash.org/wiki/MacOSXInstallation
Handbrake (free)
https://handbrake.fr/downloads.php
(HandBrake takes videos you already have and makes new ones that work on your mobile phone, tablet, TV media player, game console, computer, or web browser.)
Hidden Bar (free)
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/hidden-bar/id1452453066?mt=12
https://github.com/dwarvesf/hidden
(Lets you hide menu bar items in their own menu to give your Mac a cleaner look.)
HitFilm Express (free)
https://fxhome.com/express
Review:
https://www.techradar.com/reviews/hitfilm-express
(Very powerful video editing and video effects software.)
IINA (free)
https://iina.io/
(Video file player that works with many different formats. While VLC is very popular, IINA may be better.)
ImageOptim (free)
https://imageoptim.com/mac
(Saves disk space and bandwidth by compressing images without losing quality. Combines several different compression techniques. Allows choice of lossless or lossy compression.)
iMovie (free)
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/imovie/id408981434
(Apple's own movie editing and organizing software.)
Inkscape (free)
https://inkscape.org
(A professional-level vector graphics application with layers and many other useful features.)
Itsycal (free)
https://www.mowglii.com/itsycal/
(A superb little menubar calendar.)
Invoices (free)
http://4lightdata.com
(Customer Sales Orders with Invoicing, Inventory and Purchase Order.)
Ivinci Express (free)
http://phyar.cn
(Vector drawing program reminiscent of the long-departed MacDraw.)
JumpCut (free)
https://snark.github.io/jumpcut/
(Clipboard manager. Copy, save, and paste as many things as you like in any order that you like.)
Junkyard (free, nag screen for donations)
https://zebcode.com/
(Mind mapping, outlining, and note keeping application.)
Karabiner-Elements (free)
https://karabiner-elements.pqrs.org
(A powerful keyboard customizer for macOS. Change keys to other keys, or have a key-press perform a rule.)
Keka (free)
https://www.keka.io/en/
(A file archiving and unarchiving utility. Compresses files to save disk space, splits and compresses files for e-mailing, and/or encrypts files for security. Though the Mac OS has the built-in ability to create compressed Zip archives, it doesn't include the ability to password protect or encrypt a compressed zip archive. Keka adds this ability. Easy drag and drop. Free from the developer's website, or can be purchased via the Mac App Store if you want to support the developer. No difference in functionality.)
Keynote (free)
https://www.apple.com/keynote/
(Apple’s own presentation program. Previously available only with a new Mac or commercially; now totally free. A joy to use!)
KoalaCalc (free)
http://www.macropodsoftware.com/koalacalc/
(A really nice calculator. Much more advanced than the one that comes with your Mac. Includes tape and lots of conversions.)
Krita (free)
https://krita.org/
https://krita.org/en/download/krita-desktop/
(A professional painting program. Photoshop replacement.)
LazPaint (free)
https://lazpaint.github.io/
(Cross-platform image editor with raster and vector layers.)
Free tutorial:
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=LazPaint
Libre Office (free)
http://www.libreoffice.org
(A Microsoft Office clone; though more like the Windows version of Office than the Macintosh version. Compatible with Office files and file formats. Also can open and edit WordPerfect files. Includes very advanced word processor, spreadsheet, database, drawing, charting, and presentation capabilities.)
LULU (free)
https://objective-see.com/products/lulu.html
(Reverse firewall. Keeps software, including malware, from calling home. Little Snitch Alternative. macOS 10.15 and later only.)
Mac Mouse Fix (free)
https://mousefix.org/
(Smooth mouse scrolling and re-map mouse buttons.)
Maccy (free)
https://github.com/p0deje/Maccy
https://github.com/p0deje/Maccy/releases/tag/0.29.3
(Some consider this to be the best of the free clipboard managers!)
MacFanControl (free)
https://crystalidea.com/macs-fan-control
(Real-time monitoring of fan speeds and temperatures. Allows you to adjust fan speed and when they come on. Solves overheating problems like those found on older MacBook Pros.)
MachineProfile (free)
https://www.micromat.com/products/machineprofile/
(Collects key, technical hardware information about your Mac that's not easily found elsewhere or by clicking through the tabs in "About this Mac...".
MachineProfile displays the technical profile of a Mac within a single window, which can then be saved as text or PDF or emailed to others. Using MachineProfile, easily find your Mac's serial number, processor speed, if you're running in 64-bit or 32-bit mode, whether you can run the next version of the Mac OS, and more.)
Mactracker (free)
https://mactracker.com/
(Awesome resource that allows you to quickly reference the specs of your Mac…or any Mac!)
MailTrackerBlocker for Mail on macOS (free)
https://apparition47.github.io/MailTrackerBlocker/
(Blocks e-mail trackers, read receipts, and spy pixels. Plugin for macOS Apple Mail program.)
Maintenance (free)
https://www.titanium-software.fr/en/maintenance.html
(Most of the routine maintenance that you need to do on your Macintosh, all in one app. Unlike other similar utilities, this one is easy to use and it doesn’t include a bunch of confusing and possibly dangerous options that you don't need.)
Manager (free)
https://www.manager.io
(Business accounting software.)
Meteorologist (free)
https://heat-meteo.sourceforge.io
(Show the weather in the menu bar, with more detail in a pop-up menu.)
Mints (free)
https://eclecticlightdotcom.files.wordpress.com/2023/04/mints112.zip
About:
https://eclecticlight.co/mints-a-multifunction-utility/
(A collection of tools for investigating problems with the Macintosh OS. Aimed primarily at the advanced user, system administrator, support folk, and developers. Although its tools are simple to use.)
MonitorControl (free)
https://github.com/MonitorControl/MonitorControl
(Controls your external display brightness and volume from your Mac.)
NetNewsWire (free)
https://netnewswire.com/
(RSS reader. Shows you articles from your favorite blogs and news sites and keeps track of what you’ve read.)
NetSpot (free)
https://www.netspotapp.com/
(Lets you scan an area for Wi-Fi signal strength, and create floor plans for best wireless connections.)
Noteaway (free. There is a commercial Pro version with more features.)
https://noteaway.com/
(Note taking app that resides in the menubar.)
Numbers (free)
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/numbers/id409203825
(Apple’s own spreadsheet program. Previously available only with a new Mac or commercially; now totally free.)
Office-Reset (free)
https://office-reset.com/
(Office-Reset is a free downloadable utility that you can use to fix problems and errors encountered with Microsoft Office for Mac apps. This includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneNote, OneDrive, Teams and AutoUpdate. The tool can help fix app launch errors, freezes, hangs, crashes, bad plug-ins, corrupt templates, performance issues, and confusing error messages. Does not delete your documents and workbooks.)
OmniDiskSweeper (free)
http://www.omnigroup.com/products/omnidisksweeper/
(A utility program that allows you to quickly and easily find all of the large files on your hard drive that are taking up a lot of your hard drive’s space, so that you can review them and trash them to reclaim space.)
OpenMTP (free)
https://openmtp.ganeshrvel.com/
(Utility that allows you to easily transfer files between a Macintosh and an Android device.)
Openshot Video Editor (free)
https://www.openshot.org
(Easy to use, quick to learn, and surprisingly powerful video editor.)
Outlook (free version)
https://aka.ms/OutlookMacDirectDownload
https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/outlook-blog/outlook-mac-for-all/ba-p/3757787
https://www.cultofmac.com/808214/microsoft-outlook-for-mac-free-for-everyone/
(Outlook is a high-end e-mail, contacts, and calendar program. The free version will ask for your registration number on setup. When you don't give it one it will continue to work perfectly, but it will display ads.)
Overlap (free)
https://moleskinestudio.com/support/overlap/introduction/overlap-overview/
(A smart world clock that makes it simple to see the time in multiple places at once.)
Pages (free)
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/pages/id409201541?mt=12
(Apple’s own word processing program. Previously available only with a new Mac or commercially; now totally free. Polarizing; some love it, some hate it. Not as powerful as LibreOffice, more powerful than GrowlyWrite.)
PaintBrush (free)
http://paintbrush.sourceforge.net/
(Basic painting program. Reminiscent of MacPaint or Microsoft Paint. There are free painting programs for the Mac that are far more sophisticated. But this one won't overwhelm anyone. Recent versions of Preview have similar functionality, though it is well hidden.)
Pathways Into Darkness (free)
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/pathways-into-darkness/id617234634
(One of the first first-person-shooter games, lovingly recreated. Part virtual reality, part combat, part puzzle, this game will give you hours of engrossing playtime.)
Permissions Reset (free)
https://ohanaware.com/permissionsreset/
(If you have files, folders or apps that cannot be opened, or files that refuse to have changes saved to them, if the problem is due to incorrectly set permissions, Permissions Reset can fix things in an instant.)
Pester (free)
https://sabi.net/nriley/software/
review:
https://www.macworld.com/article/1152579/pester.html
(Makes it easy and convenient to create simple alarms.)
Phonix (free)
https://phonix.nl.eu.org/
(Full featured music player.)
PhotoscapeX (free)
http://x.photoscape.org
(Photo retouching application. Very easy to use but very powerful. Lots of great effects.)
Pixea (free)
https://www.imagetasks.com/pixea/
(Pixea is an image viewer for macOS with a nice minimal modern user interface. Pixea works great with JPEG, HEIC, PSD, RAW, WEBP, PNG, GIF, and many other formats. Provides basic image processing, including flip and rotate, shows a color histogram, EXIF, and other information. Supports keyboard shortcuts and trackpad gestures. Shows images inside archives, without extracting them.)
Pixelmator Classic (free)
https://www.pixelmator.com/mac/
(Lets you enhance and touch up photos, sketch, draw and paint, add text and shapes, apply dazzling effects, and more. Reminiscent of the much-loved, long departed, SuperPaint.)
QuickGPT (free, donation requested)
https://sindresorhus.gumroad.com/l/quickgpt
(Artificial intelligence [AI] access from the Finder. Easily access ChatGPT from the menu bar, Dock, or using a keyboard shortcut.)
QuickSilver (free)
https://qsapp.com/
(With only a few keystrokes, lets you quickly get to your applications, files, contacts, bookmarks, music, etc.)
RansomWhere? (free)
https://objective-see.com/products/ransomwhere.html
(Protects you from ransomware! Continually monitors your Mac’s file-system for calls to the process to create encrypted files. When the program detects such a call, it stops the process from running, alerts you, and asks for permission before allowing the process to continue to run. If your data can't be encrypted against your will, it can't be held for ransom. The one downside to this program is that there are things that the Mac OS legitimately encrypts, so RansomWhere? will occasionally throw up alerts with regard to innocuous processes that you may not be savvy enough to identify. NOTE: If the later will scare you and make you paranoid, you may want to pass on this product. For now, the chances of encountering ransomware on your Macintosh are just about nil.)
Raycast (free for personal use)
https://www.raycast.com/
(Launcher program. Extensible.)
Rectangle (free)
https://rectangleapp.com/
(Window manager that will quickly arrange all of your open windows in a way that makes them easiest to work with.)
Rember (free)
https://www.kelleycomputing.net/rember
(Invaluable RAM testing utility. Probably the best of its type. If your Mac is exhibiting flaky behavior, especially odd quits and crashes, this tool can quickly tell you if it is due to defective RAM.)
RWTS-PDFwriter (free)
https://github.com/rodyager/RWTS-PDFwriter
(Printer driver that allows you to save files directly to PDF without the usual multiple steps.)
Scribus (free)
https://www.scribus.net/
(Page layout program.)
Sejda (free but limited jobs, commercial version sold only on a subscription basis has unlimited use)
https://www.sejda.com/desktop
(Advanced PDF editor. Edit & Sign PDF files. Fill out PDF forms. Change PDF text. Add text to PDF. Edit existing PDF text. Add images to PDFs. Create and edit hyperlinks in PDF. Annotate PDF. OCR PDF's that originated as scans.)
Shotcut (free)
https://shotcut.org/
(Video editing software. Includes many nice audio and video effects.)
SilentKnight (free)
https://eclecticlight.co/lockrattler-systhist/
(The Mac OS includes several anti-malware features. These features are regularly updated by Apple. SilentKnight checks to see if these features are up to date on your Mac, and if they aren't, you can update them right within the program.)
Silicon (free)
https://imazing.com/downloads
https://downloads.imazing.com/mac/Silicon.app.zip
Info:
https://9to5mac.com/2020/11/24/check-m1-compatibility-for-mac-apps/
(Scan your Mac's apps and displays their supported CPU architecture. Especially made to detect apps which offer native Apple Silicon [M1 and M2] support.)
Simple Comic (free)
http://dancingtortoise.com/simplecomic/
(Excellent on-screen comic book reading utility.)
Skim (free)
https://skim-app.sourceforge.io/
(PDF Reader. Apple’s Preview includes a lot of nice PDF reading and annotating features. Some may prefer Skim’s ability to allow you to comfortably read and review any PDF.)
Skype (free)
https://www.skype.com/en/
(Make free phone calls, or send text messages, or have free video chats with anyone over the Internet who also has Skype.)
SmartReporter (free)
https://www.corecode.io/smartreporter/
(Warns you of some internal hard disk drive failures [especially rotating disk hard drives] before they actually happen by periodically polling the status of your hard disk drives! See "SSDreporter" for SSD's.)
SomaFM Radio Player (free)
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/somafm-radio-player/id449155338?mt=12
https://somafm.com/listen/
(Over 30 channels of commercial-free, underground/alternative music.)
Spark (free)
https://sparkmailapp.com/
https://itunes.apple.com/app/id1176895641?mt=12
(E-mail client. Apple’s Mail is a really good e-mail client that gets way too little respect. But Spark tries to be even better. The free version of Spark is for individuals. There are commercial versions for business users who need collaboration features.)
Spotify (free/pay)
http://www.spotify.com/se/
(Find just about any music and play it on your Mac, legally. Doesn't download songs; it's more like a radio by-request. The free version has ads that are easily ignored.)
SSDreporter (free)
https://www.corecode.io/ssdreporter/index.html
(SSDReporter is an application that checks the health of your internal Solid State Disks ["SSD"] and warns of impending failure before it happens.)
Stats (free)
https://github.com/exelban/stats
(Allows you to very comprehensively monitor your macOS system. CPU utilization, GPU utilization, Memory usage, Disk utilization etc.)
Storyboarder (free)
https://wonderunit.com/storyboarder/
(Storyboard ideas. Useful for anyone working in video / animation / advertising, etc.)
StudentTime (free)
http://4lightdata.com
http://4lightdata.com/html/StudentTime.html
(Track student attendance.)
SuperDuper! (free/$28)
http://www.shirt-pocket.com/SuperDuper/SuperDuperDescription.html
(This program creates a backup of your main hard drive onto another hard drive; a perfect, bootable clone. SuperDuper! is dead reliable and super-easy to use. And it's fast too! Some folks prefer Carbon Copy Cloner, but SuperDuper! is easier. The commercial version of SuperDuper! allows you do to smart updates of your backup, and is totally worth the price for the time that it saves. SuperDuper!, combined with an inexpensive external hard drive, can, and probably will, seriously save your bacon when your hard drive inevitably fails.)
SubEthaEdit (free)
https://subethaedit.net/
(Collaborative writing app. Write articles, code, notes or meeting minutes with colleagues, wherever they are.)
Suspicious Package (free)
https://www.mothersruin.com/software/SuspiciousPackage/
(Enables you to open macOS Installer packages and see what's inside, without installing their contents first, so you can determine if it is legitimate and safe.)
Sweet Home 3D (free)
http://www.sweethome3d.com
http://sourceforge.net/projects/sweethome3d/
https://sourceforge.net/software/product/Sweet-Home-3D/
(Interior design application that helps you draw the plan of your house, arrange furniture in it, and visualize the results in 3D.)
Syncthing (free)
https://syncthing.net/
(Continuous file synchronization program. It synchronizes files between two or more computers over a LAN or over the Internet. Synchronize as many folders as you like. Works cross-platform.)
Symphytum (free)
http://giowck.github.io/symphytum/
(Personal database software. Design custom input forms. Use text, numbers, images, files and other control fields. Put your data into the cloud for automatic synchronization between all of your computers. Not a replacement for heavy duty database software, but excellent for keeping track of collections, recipes, members, daily logs, etc.)
TailScale (free for individuals or small teams)
https://tailscale.com/
(Allows access to remote devices. e.g. access your home computer from your MacBook!) (free for individuals or small teams)
Task Till Dawn (free)
https://www.oliver-matuschin.de/en/projects/task-till-dawn
(Automate your recurring and tedious tasks. Create workflows from a variety of ready-made actions. You can then have these executed on a schedule. Many ready-made actions to choose from to create workflows.)
Thunderbird (free)
https://www.thunderbird.net/en-US/
(A full featured, easy to use, open source e-mail program that offers speed, privacy and the latest technologies.)
Tiles (free)
https://freemacsoft.net/tiles/
(A window manager which allows you to easily reorganize windows by either dragging them to the edges of the screen, using keyboard shortcuts, or using the menu bar.)
Time Machine Mechanic "T2M2" (free)
https://eclecticlight.co/consolation-t2m2-and-log-utilities/
(A quick but thorough check of how well Time Machine is performing backups.)
TimeTally (free)
http://4lightdata.com
(Timeclock app.)
TinkerTool (free)
https://www.bresink.com/osx/TinkerTool.html
https://www.bresink.com/osx/TinkerToolOverview.html
(Gives you a way to make some very popular tweaks to macOS that normally aren't easily accessible.
Be sure to download the correct version for the version of the Mac OS you are running.)
TNEF's Enough (free)
http://www.joshjacob.com/mac-development/tnef.php
https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/tnefs-enough/id986621173?mt=12
(When a sender uses Outlook as their mail client on a Windows PC, and Outlook is set to send messages in Rich Text format (RTF) or HTML format, it creates an archive for attachments called "winmail.dat" that can't be decoded by any other e-mail program. This program will let you open and read those archives.)
ToDo X (free)
https://www.nomicro.com/Products/ToDo/
(Simple to-do lists with a clean interface. Color-coded priorities and unlimited attached notes. Drag & drop to copy, link or move items among lists.)
TrashRecover (free)
https://www.corecode.io/trashrecover/index.html
(Automatically makes backups of your 'Trash' so that you can restore accidentially deleted files.)
ueli (free)
https://ueli.app/#/
(An application finder and launcher via the keyboard.)
UTM (free from GitHub, $10 from Mac App Store)
https://mac.getutm.app/
https://github.com/utmapp/UTM
https://github.com/utmapp/UTM/releases/latest/download/UTM.dmg
Instructions:
https://eshop.macsales.com/blog/76602-microsoft-windows-11-on-an-m1-mac/
(Allows you to run Windows on your Macintosh! It even works on Apple Silicon-based Macs!)
VideoLAN Client - VLC (free)
http://www.videolan.org/vlc/download-macosx.html
(Video player. A Swiss Army Knife for playing any and every video format file, especially those that QuickTime can’t handle.)
VirtualBox (free)
https://www.virtualbox.org/
(Allows you to run Windows on your Macintosh. Unlike Apple’s own Bootcamp, which only allows you to run EITHER Windows OR the Mac OS with a re-start, VirtualBox allows you to run Windows and the Mac OS at the same time.) NOTE: Does not run on Macs with Apple Silicon processors (i.e. M1 or M2-based Macs.)
VirusBarrier Free Edition (free)
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/VirusBarrier-Scanner/id1200445649
(This is a full version of Intego's commercial ANTI-VIRUS PROGRAM VirusBarrier [usually $40/year] minus some [but not all] of the automated scanning features in the commercial version. For those who don't know, Intego's VirusBarrier comes from a company that specializes in software for the Macintosh, and it consistently wins all the believable comparison tests [there are lots of shill sites on the Web].
More info:
https://www.intego.com/mac-security-blog/intego-launches-virusbarrier-scanner-free-mac-antivirus/
Do you need anti-virus software? No, the Mac has it's own built-in. Plus there is very little malware for the Macintosh in the wild to be concerned about. The value in having this free anti-virus program is that if you are the paranoid type, you can now use the best third-party program available to satisfy yourself that you aren't infected with something. Also, this free version is sandboxed and it isn't deeply embedded in your system, like other anti-virus programs, so it shouldn't impact your Mac's overall performance as just about all the other anti-virus programs do.)
Wake Up Time (free)
https://rockysandstudio.com/index.html#index
(A really nice desktop alarm clock.)
Window Collage (free)
https://www.minicreo.com/window-collage/
(Window manager.)
WordPress (free)
https://wordpress.org/
(For people who want to create their own professional website. There are a large number of free templates available.)
WordService (free)
https://www.devontechnologies.com/apps/freeware
(Allows you to instantly do a number of text clean up chores without having to switch applications. Reformat text paragraphs, clean up tabs, quotes, line endings, change case. etc. Also allows you to highlight a Web address in a text document and instantly go to it in your browser.)
XLD (free)
https://tmkk.undo.jp/xld/index_e.html
(A tool for converting and playing audio files, including FLAC, AIFF, ALAC, WAV, WavPack, MP3 and others.)
XMenu (free)
https://www.devontechnologies.com/apps/freeware
(Add one or more out of six menus to the right side of your menu bar to give you access to your applications, folders, documents, files, and text snippets. Launch any app with a single menu choice or insert text snippets into your documents.)
XnConvert (free)
https://www.xnview.com/en/xnconvert/
(Image converter. Allows you to automate conversion and editing of your photo collections: you can rotate, convert and compress your images, photos and pictures easily, and apply over 80 actions [like resize, crop, color adjustments, filter, etc.])
YACReader (free)
https://www.yacreader.com
(Supreme comic book reading utility. Also excellent for reading PDF's.)
Why Is The Software Listed On This Page Free?
I've been asked "Why are these applications free? Are they not professional quality? Are they unstable? Do they contain malware?"
Well, first, they are all of professional quality, they are stable and they are safe. The reasons that these programs are free are various.
Some were simply written by Macintosh enthusiasts who want to strengthen the Macintosh platform and give back to the Macintosh community. Others were previously commercial and the developer decided that they didn't want to be in the business of selling software anymore, so they made the program available for free, or they made the code open source to let the community continue to update it. Some programs were written by people who just like to code and they wanted to see if they could create a really good app. Others are free to attract you to the Web site of the developer to see his or her commercial offerings. Some are essentially unlimited demos, to get you hooked on the program, in the hope that you will want to purchase a more full-featured version of the program in the future. And some very few of the above include ads, and the developer makes their money via the ads rather than via sales of the program. In any case, all of the programs on this page are really and truly free and safe, and worth quite a bit more than they cost you to buy.
Other Web pages by Randy B. Singer that might be of interest to Macintosh users:
Macintosh Routine Maintenance
http://www.macattorney.com/ts.html
Macintosh Accounting Software
http://www.macattorney.com/accounting.html
Macintosh Slowdown Solutions
http://www.macattorney.com/sd.html
Macintosh Email Software
http://www.macattorney.com/mail.html
Macintosh Beachballs!
http://www.macattorney.com/rbb.html
Macintosh Word Processors
http://www.macattorney.com/wp.html
Upgrading To The Latest Macintosh OS
http://www.macattorney.com/upos.html
Macintosh Law Office Software
http://www.macattorney.com
If you have any additions to this Web site to suggest
I would very much appreciate hearing your suggestions.
Send them to:
Randy B.
Singer
randy@macattorney.com
randy@macattorney.com
About The Author Of This Web Site:
Randy B. Singer is:
- The head of the MacAttorney User Group
http://www.macattorney.com
with, at this writing, close to 10,000 members!
- A co-author of The Macintosh Bible (4th, 5th and 6th editions);
- Author of the ABA publication:
The Macintosh Software Guide for the Law Office
If you are a Macintosh-using attorney or legal professional (including law students)
for a FREE e-mail subscription to
The MacAttorney Newsletter
send an e-mail to: randy@macattorney.com
with the word "subscribe" in the Subject line of the message.