Pearcleaner alternative: Peekaboo vs Pearcleaner
By Vishva Variya · Updated
Pearcleaner packs a lot into a free app: uninstalls with leftovers, an orphaned-file search, a Sentinel Monitor that cleans up when an app hits the Trash, a Finder extension, and managers for Homebrew, PKG receipts and plugins. It’s source-available under Apache 2.0 with the Commons Clause. Its author has also said development has basically stopped since the end of 2025, and its supported list ends at macOS 26. Peekaboo covers the core uninstall jobs inside a broader, paid file browser.
Looking for Pearcleaner itself? It’s at github.com.
- Pearcleaner price
- Free (source-available)
- Pearcleaner requires
- macOS 13 or later
- Peekaboo
- $24.99 one-time (launch price $9.99 until Nov 9), 14-day trial, macOS 14+
Pearcleaner figures from github.com/alienator88/Pearcleaner (README and releases), verified 2026-11-02.
Why pick Peekaboo over Pearcleaner?
The same core uninstall jobs
Peekaboo’s App Uninstaller removes an app with what it left in ~/Library, finds leftovers of apps already deleted, and can review them when an app goes to the Trash.
Fewer tools, by design
Pearcleaner also strips architectures from universal apps, prunes translations and manages services and plugins. If you use those, it does more than our uninstaller does.
The rest of the disk
App Caches explains each cache folder before anything moves, and Space Map, Disk Usage and Duplicates show what else is filling the Mac. Cleanups go to the Trash and can be put back in one click.
Peekaboo vs Pearcleaner, job by job
| Job | Pearcleaner | Peekaboo |
|---|---|---|
| Uninstall with leftovers | Yes, plus a right-click Finder extension | Yes, from the App Uninstaller (⇧⌘X) |
| Leftovers of deleted apps | Orphaned file search | Scans ~/Library for folders no installed app owns |
| When an app hits the Trash | Sentinel Monitor cleans up automatically | Optional review: leftovers wait for you to confirm |
| Homebrew | A full Homebrew manager | Removes Homebrew-installed apps with Homebrew, once permanent removal is allowed |
| Lipo, translations, PKG and plugins | Built in | Not offered |
| Price and status | Free; development on hold; macOS 13 to 26 | One-time per Mac after a 14-day trial; macOS 14 or later |
The honest verdict
Pearcleaner is the better choice if you want everything free and like its extra tools: architecture stripping, translation pruning and package managers have no counterpart in Peekaboo. The catch is its status, on hold with no support listed past macOS 26. If you want an uninstaller that keeps being updated, alongside cache cleanup and a map of the disk, Peekaboo is the paid route.
Pearcleaner vs Peekaboo: questions
Is Pearcleaner still being developed?
- Its GitHub page marks it On Hold: the author says development has basically stopped since the end of 2025, though the project isn’t abandoned. The latest release is 5.4.3, as of November 2, 2026.
Is Pearcleaner free?
- Yes. It’s source-available under Apache 2.0 with the Commons Clause, which forbids selling it. It installs from GitHub releases or with brew install --cask pearcleaner.
Which macOS does Pearcleaner support?
- macOS 13 Ventura through macOS 26 Tahoe, with beta releases unsupported, per its README. Peekaboo needs macOS 14 Sonoma or later.
Does Peekaboo clean up automatically when I trash an app?
- Not automatically. With “Review leftovers when an app is deleted” turned on, Peekaboo gathers the leftovers and waits for you to confirm, and what you remove goes to the Trash.