Had your MacBook or iMac for a while or just use it a lot? If so, you may have noticed a change in its performance. Even if you're doing most things right, junk files, background processes, and other things can easily stack up within your machine and potentially slow it down. If you've been searching 'clean up Mac' online, stay where you are. Here are our 4 top tips, including something that might surprise you.

Turn off 'FileVault'

If your Mac is out of storage space or starts running slow, you’re up for a cleaning game. And you don’t have to do it alone. We’ve prepared the smartest memory-boosting hacks and practices to speed of your Mac safely. Time for an easy Mac cleanup! Clean up your Mac’s Desktop. With CleanMyMac X installed on your system you will get a Heavy memory usage alert if your Mac is running out of free RAM. Just click on the Free Up button to release some of the RAM and speed.

'FileVault' is an in-built app for macOS that encrypts all the files stored on your Mac's hard drive. This also means that any new files you create or download onto your Mac are treated in the same way (protected by a password). This is good news if you worry about someone gaining access to your Mac's files or data. The downside is that 'FileVault' can easily sap power from your Mac's central-processing unit (CPU). Older Macs, especially ones not using SSDs, are the most likely to be hit by this problem. Turning off 'FileVault' can speed up your Mac. To do this, go to the Apple icon, 'System Preferences,' and then 'Privacy & Security'. After this, vTurn off 'FileVault'Turn off 'FileVault'isit the 'FileVault' tab. You can switch it on or off here. If you've had it on up to this point, please be aware that turning it off could trigger a lengthy process of decrypting your data. With this in mind, if you want a simpler, faster method of improving your Mac's privacy and performance, it's worth saying here that CCleaner for Mac can certainly help with your privacy and security. Our app is also purpose-made to clean up Macs and has many features.

Power users that really want to clean out their Mac’s storage may want to check out a third party app like DaisyDisk ($9.99). It’s a simple and clear way to see everything on your Mac, or any. No.5 Free Mac cleaner: Dr. Cleaner – Free memory, disk, system cleaner. Cleaner is one free Mac cleaning app to offer Memory Optimization, Disk Cleaning and System Monitoring to keep your Mac optimized for the best performance. Smart and accurate selection for duplicates scan and remove on Mac with OS X 10.6.6 or later. Clean My Mac X is a paid (but not too expensive) app. I think the paid version of Clean My Mac is totally worth it. But if you’re looking for a free Mac clean up app, try the Clean My Mac free version. The free Clean My Mac X has limited functionality but is still useful. If you’re looking for even more bang for your buck, check out Setapp.

Investigate your hard drive

Your Mac's hard drive needs about 10-20% of its free space available to help macOS work properly. Before you head off elsewhere typing in things like 'clean up Mac hard drive', there's an easy way to check for a problem. Go to 'About This Mac', 'Storage', and then 'Macintosh HD'. Once you've done this, visit 'Manage' and then 'Review Files'. You'll see three tabs for 'Large Files', 'Downloads', and 'File Browser'. Simply put, these tabs give you a summary of the files stored on your hard drive and how much space is being taken up. Click the tiny drop-down menu tab called 'Size' to sort these files and find the biggest offenders. It's possible to easily delete files that slow down your Mac. This in mind, it can require some investigation on your side and could end up being unnecessarily time-consuming. The good news is that CCleaner for Mac allows you to clean up a Mac from one app. To save you time and effort, you can use it to easily find and delete commonly overlooked temporary files and folders needlessly taking up hard drive space that could be put to better use.

Uninstall some apps

If you've installed multiple apps on your Mac since you've had it, this is something else that can also slow it down over time. Again, you can check how much space apps are using via the hard drive investigation method we went through earlier. Like how you might treat a smartphone, if there are apps on your Mac that aren't essential to macOS and you never use them (be honest), you should probably delete them. So, if you've been hitting up your favorite search engine with things like 'clean up Mac hard drive', then finding the courage to get rid of some apps is another good tip. You can easily drag apps into macOS's 'Trash' folder, but this doesn't fully get rid of them. In fact, even when macOS deletes files it still leaves traces of data behind. So, it's a good thing that CCleaner for Mac has a way of fully cleaning deleted files. Something else worth sharing is that our app makes the whole process of uninstalling stuff a lot easier for you. Rather than you having to jump between different folders to find apps, CCleaner for Mac allows you to view them in one place. Another great feature is that it can remove the configuration files normally left behind after an app's deleted, something that macOS usually doesn't touch.

Now it's time for our big reveal. Perhaps you can see what we've been building up to.

Download CCleaner for Mac

Here we are! Some of us simply don't have the time to amass the technical knowledge and confidence to manually clean up Macs ourselves. Although brilliant, macOS doesn't cover everything either. That's exactly why we created CCleaner for Mac to make your life easier. Apart from what we've already mentioned, our app can disable startup programs that slow down your machine and also repair permissions that can inadvertently sabotage your Mac's performance. Why not give our free version of CCleaner for Mac a try today?

We clean our rooms and clothes so why not our Macs? But who can waste the entire day digging through folders and files? There are so many places like music, videos, apps and email downloads, and countless more locations on your Mac where junk and clutter accumulates. In 2021 cleaning your Mac is easier than ever. Which is why millions of people download free and low-cost Mac cleaning software.

To start off, we've made a quick comparison chart about the best Mac cleaners for Mac.

A handy cleaner may prove that your Mac is still alive and can actually perform at its best. In this article we’ve brought together some of the best Mac cleaning solutions around to clean, optimize, and maintain Macs that are available in 2021.

Top 12 best cleaners for Mac: Free and premium versions

1. CleanMyMac X

CleanMyMac X takes the first place with good reason — this cleaner combines features of both cleaning software and antimalware tool. Its Smart Scan promises a “nice and thorough scan of your Mac.” It does what it says, detecting junk like user cache files and system logs, checking your Mac for malicious software, and speeding up your MacBook. Looks like, there is a threat in my system, that I need to get rid of:

Frankly speaking, CleanMyMac X is Tesla Roadster among other Mac cleaners. And it does a great job revealing your junk and other clutter, uninstalling unneeded apps and their leftovers, and keeping your Mac’s system clean and optimized. Another pro is that CleanMyMac X is Apple-notarized, which means it’s safe for your Mac. You can download its free version right here.

Price: $39.95
Free version: Available here

2. Disk Doctor

Disk Doctor is developed in the UK and was awarded the 'Mac Gem’ award by MacWorld in 2013. CNET and other tech journalists also praise functionality. As of 2021, it still looks like a useful tool for Mac cleaning that removes junk slowing down and reducing the computing power of your Mac.

Price: $2.99
Free version: N/A

3. Gemini 2

Gemini 2 is the duplicate finder that allows you to free up gigabytes of storage and organize your files. In just a few minutes.

It quickly scans every corner of your Mac and weeds out useless copies. No matter what type of file it is: a photo, music track, or a doc… Gemini will definitely find it. And once the scan is done, you can remove the duplicates in a click. Or review results to make sure nothing important gets deleted.

If you remove something by accident, it takes just a click to put it back. And to make sure things like that never happen again, you can exclude specific files and folders from scan. Try out the free version right here.

The app has seen a major update in 2021 which included a real-time duplicate monitor. This new tool notifies you of duplicates the moment they are created on your Mac.

Price: $19.96
Free version: Available here

4. DaisyDisk

DaisyDisk gives you a visual representation of your Mac folders, making it easy to see what is taking up space and delete the folders you don't need. All you need to do is select a drive, DaisyDisk will scan it, then you can delete everything that is wasting valuable space. It comes with a free and premium version.

Price:$9.99
Free version: Trial version available

5. AppCleaner & Uninstaller

If you only need to uninstall apps on Mac, AppCleaner is a good pick. AppCleaner only removes applications, plugins, and widgets, which are again, small apps. AppCleaner works in a familiar drag & drop mode. Its interface is also clean and easy to understand for a newbie.

After feeding the apps to AppCleaner, you should visit the Leftovers section of the app to erase their remains. Why we place AppCleaner & Uninstaller among free Mac cleaner tools? Because it is 100% free. Whether you will fully clean your Mac using it, is a different question.
AppCleaner & Uninstaller is created by FreeMacSoft, also the makers of LiteIcon, an icon customizer for Mac.
Price: Voluntary donation

6. Smart Mac Care

If you launch Smart Mac Care, it will look hauntingly familiar to other free Mac cleaner apps. Not only features will be called the same, everything up to the fonts, will be identical to some other app you’ve just used. That’s not a minus, though. You can still free up a lot of space with Smart Mac Care.

Smart Mac Care operates by a logic of “scans.” There is a Junk Scan, Malware Scan, Privacy Scan, etc. Just like Mac Booster, Smart Mac Care removes duplicates scattered in various locations on your Mac. There’s also a Memory Optimizer feature that promises to free up RAM on your Mac. In a word, Smart Mac Care resembles every other generic product whose only difference is in packaging. This is supported by the fact that we couldn’t find any credible third-party reviews for this app.

On another skeptical note: to uninstall Smart Mac Care you have to enter your admin password. This is not the case with other Mac cleaners we’ve used.
Price: $56.62 per year
Free version: Demo available

7. Drive Genius

Drive Genius is labeled a “Mac monitoring software.” It’s a whole suite of tools that provide powerful disk diagnostics. It’s hard to list a thing that this software doesn’t do. You can scan for malware, secure-erase files, customize icons — it’s dozens of apps in one body. What makes Drive Genius unique is, probably, its search for corrupted files and inconsistencies on your drive. If your Mac is an old one, keeping it in good health will be easier with Drive Genius.

In a free version, you can use just a fraction of tools, notably a DiskPulse utility. This is an automatic Mac health checker that notifies you before your hard drive fails. Unlike Mac cleaners that merely scan, it is able to repair damage on your disks, which makes it a real deal. Be prepared that hard drive scan may take some time, but the results are worth it. The latest version of Drive Genius released in 2020 adds long-awaited support for macOS Big Sur.

Price: $299 for Professional edition
Free version: Limited Lite edition is available

8. CCleaner

Originally created in 2004 by Piriform, CCleaner comes with a free and professional version, focusing on businesses and business customers. CCleaner is a cross-platform tool, for PCs, Macs, Android, and it has a Cloud, Network and Technician tool, depending on what you need and the platform/software you use.

The premium version comes with a lot more features, including real-time alerts, free updates, and dedicated support. Although created for PCs in the early days, CCleaner does well to identify unwanted files on a Mac, so that users can select and delete the files and folders they don't need to free up space. As a cleaner for Mac, customers are pretty happy with the results of CCleaner.
Price: $19.95
Free version: Available

9. Sensei

The Sensei app is a relatively new app on the market, but it can be another useful tool for your Mac. The Sensei software developers call the app “Pro Mac Cleaner” on their website. I would call it a performance controlling tool.

Sensei presents a detailed picture of how your Mac performs. In the Dashboard, you can find out information about your MacBook, check your CPU’s current temperature, and see how much of your RAM is used. Cooling gives you exact information on your Mac’s fans' speed.

Its Clean option helps to get rid of user cache, logs, large files, etc. The Uninstaller feature allows you to delete apps from your Mac and remove their traces. It doesn’t list pre-installed apps from Apple, such as Safari or Calendar, but it shows every app you have installed on your Mac.

Surely, you can clean up your Mac manually, but using dedicated software will save you tons of time.

Price: $29 per year
Free version: Available

Free Mac cleaners review

The following Mac cleaning apps are either completely free or donation-based. You won’t find any trial limitations here. If you’re looking for a no thrill basic cleanup, these free Mac cleaners might help you.

10. Onyx

OnyX is a french Mac cleaning solution developed by Titanium software. It weighs only 5 MB but that doesn’t mean its capabilities are limited. OnyX is a tool that programmers will have a lot of fun with. With it, you can peek under the hood of your macOS and automate a whole list of jobs, like disk cleanup and cache removal. You can even tweak the color of folders on your Mac, and even make them invisible. Deservedly, it's among the best free Mac cleaners.

OnyX is one of the best Mac cleaners because it cleans many specific under-the-surface files, like inner databases and logs. If you know what is XPC cache is, you’ll probably like this app. But for us, ordinary Mac users who came here for the design and glossy buttons, OnyX will require some learning time.
Those who use OnyX say it is stable and reliable. There is no dedicated customer service (because OnyX is free software), but you shouldn’t be worried. The only likely damage is you accidentally deleting files by yourself.
Price: Free cleaner

11. Clean me

This open-source app that only exists in the form of GitHub download is good enough for cleaning caches and logs. It’s so small its ZIP file weighs only 1.3 MB.
Clean me shows the size of each category of cache files. It analyzes such junk as Application Cache, User Cache, and more temporary files

The developer recommends that you start your cleanup with auto-selected options. Otherwise, you may delete something valuable by accident. So treat it as an analyzer and you’ll be safe.
Price: Free cleaner

12. Native macOS cleaner (Optimize Storage)

Your macOS has its own cleaner of sorts. You’ve probably come across it when checking your occupied disk space.
Go to Apple menu.
Now, click About this Mac > Storage > Manage.

In the sidebar you’ll see the main categories of files on your Mac. Going through Documents is likely to be the most fruitful option. Check the Size and click on Last Accessed. Now you’ve found all those movies gathering dust in your Downloads.
In the same way you can delete some old apps. This feature could be an alternative to a free Mac cleaner; the only problem is it works largely on the surface. You won’t be able to remove System Junk or analyze the grey areas occupied by “Other.”

Frequently Asked Questions

Can’t my Mac clean itself?

Clean My Macbook Pro Free

Your macOS also has a built-in Mac cleaner, which Apple called Optimized Storage. Though its capabilities are limited, it gives you basic directions on where to start the cleanup. But for a thorough system cleanup and removing malware, you’ll need a dedicated Mac cleaner app.

Can Mac cleaner apps delete my important files?

Typically, best Mac cleaner apps have a protection built-in. They will usually select only those files that are safe for deletion.

Will Mac cleaners slow down my Mac?

Some cleaners try to get into your Login items, thus creating an extra burden on the processor. On a flip side, the reliable Mac cleaner apps might even speed up your Mac. They remove all the outdated junk files giving your Mac an extra boost.

Mac cleaning apps you should avoid

How To Clean Out Your Mac For Free Download

Above we've touched the trusted Mac cleanup solutions but there are many that work on the dark side. Malwarebytes lists Advanced Mac Cleaner Pro and similar tools as unwanted applications. Here are some signs that should warn you against using scam Mac cleaners.
Signs of Mac cleaner scam:

Best Cleaner For Macbook Pro

• 'Your Mac is infected' intrusive message
• An app is installed as part of different app
• An app finds 2323 (the number is an example) threats on your Mac
• Mac cleaner redirects your search engine page

How To Clean Up Your Mac Hard Drive For Free

Be safe and happy cleaning.