The best CleanMyMac alternatives for Mac
By Vishva Variya · Updated
Short answer
CleanMyMac’s strength is breadth: junk cleanup, malware detection, an uninstaller, an app updater and duplicate photos in one app, from $39.99 a year or $89.99 once on the App Store. If you only need part of that, OnyX (free) handles caches and maintenance, AppCleaner (free) and Pearcleaner (free) remove apps with their leftovers, DaisyDisk ($9.99) and GrandPerspective (free) map the disk, and Peekaboo combines duplicates, app caches, an uninstaller and a disk map with one-click undo, paid once. None of these lists malware scanning.
How we picked. Prices, macOS requirements and features from each vendor’s site, App Store listing or GitHub page, checked November 2, 2026. Pearcleaner is listed with a caveat: its author has put development on hold. Each app is listed for the part of CleanMyMac’s job it covers. Peekaboo is our app; it’s listed with its gaps, like the others.
Before you buy anything: Storage settings (built in)
System Settings › General › Storage breaks usage down by category and offers recommendations such as emptying the Trash automatically. The ⓘ next to Applications lists apps by size, and Documents lists large files. It doesn’t look for app leftovers or caches, and its Delete button skips the Trash.
At a glance
| App | Best for | Price | Requires |
|---|---|---|---|
| OnyX | Free cache cleaning and system maintenance | Free (donations welcome) | A matching version per macOS release; OnyX 5.1.1 for macOS 27 needs Apple silicon or later |
| AppCleaner | Free drag-and-drop app removal | Free (donations welcome) | macOS 15 (3.7); 3.6.8 for macOS 10.14 to 15.6 or later |
| Pearcleaner | A free uninstaller with orphaned-file search | Free (source-available) | macOS 13 or later |
| DaisyDisk | Seeing what fills the disk, System Data included | $9.99 one-time (up to 5 personal Macs) | macOS 10.13 or later |
| GrandPerspective | A free treemap of the disk | Free (SourceForge) or $2.99 on the Mac App Store | macOS 14 (3.7.2 for macOS 11–13) or later |
| Peekaboo | Duplicates, app caches and uninstalls, all undoable | $24.99 one-time | macOS 14 Sonoma |
OnyX: Free cache cleaning and system maintenance
Free maintenance utility: cache and log cleaning, system checks, index rebuilds and hidden settings.
- Verifies the system file structure
- Cleans caches and runs maintenance tasks
- Rebuilds databases and indexes
- Exposes hidden Finder, Dock and Safari settings
Gaps: Each major macOS release needs its own OnyX version, and the one for macOS 27 runs only on Apple silicon Macs.
Free (donations welcome) · A matching version per macOS release; OnyX 5.1.1 for macOS 27 needs Apple silicon or later · source: titanium-software.fr/en/onyx.html, verified 2026-11-02
AppCleaner: Free drag-and-drop app removal
Small, free uninstaller: drop an app on it and it finds the app’s related files.
- Drag-and-drop uninstall
- Finds an app’s related support files
- Builds for macOS back to 10.10
Gaps: It does one job, uninstalling apps with their related files; disk maps, duplicates and cache cleanup are outside its scope.
Free (donations welcome) · macOS 15 (3.7); 3.6.8 for macOS 10.14 to 15.6 or later · source: freemacsoft.net/appcleaner, verified 2026-11-02
Pearcleaner: A free uninstaller with orphaned-file search
Free, source-available app cleaner with orphaned-file search and Homebrew management.
- Uninstalls apps with their leftovers
- Orphaned file search
- Homebrew, PKG and plugin managers
- Installs with Homebrew
Gaps: Its author has put development on hold indefinitely, and the supported list stops at macOS 26 Tahoe.
Free (source-available) · macOS 13 or later · source: github.com/alienator88/Pearcleaner, verified 2026-11-02
DaisyDisk: Seeing what fills the disk, System Data included
The classic sunburst disk map, with admin scans of System Data and APFS snapshots.
- Fast interactive sunburst map
- Breaks down System Data with an admin scan
- Finds and purges APFS snapshots
- Counts physical space, excluding clones
Gaps: Its feature list has no duplicate finder, and the licence includes minor updates and bug fixes only.
$9.99 one-time (up to 5 personal Macs) · macOS 10.13 or later · source: daisydiskapp.com, verified 2026-11-02
GrandPerspective: A free treemap of the disk
Free treemap of your disk with filters and scan-to-scan comparison.
- Treemap with rich colour coding
- Filters by name, path, size, type
- Compare scans before and after cleanup
Gaps: Its feature list has no duplicate finder or cleanup suggestions, and App Store updates lag the SourceForge releases by a few weeks.
Free (SourceForge) or $2.99 on the Mac App Store · macOS 14 (3.7.2 for macOS 11–13) or later · source: grandperspectiv.sourceforge.net, verified 2026-11-02
Peekaboo: Duplicates, app caches and uninstalls, all undoable
Card library of every file, plain-English search, text in screenshots, downloads by source, duplicates and Space Map, with cleanups you can undo.
- Plain-English search with editable chips
- On-device OCR of screenshots and PDFs
- Clean Up with one-click undo
Gaps: No dual pane, no network drives yet, no malware scan.
$24.99 one-time · macOS 14 Sonoma
Questions
Is CleanMyMac worth paying for?
- If you want malware detection, an app updater and cleanup in one place, it covers more than any single app here. Its App Store listing offers $9.99 a month, $39.99 a year or $89.99 one-time, as of November 2, 2026.
Is there a free CleanMyMac alternative?
- Not one app that does everything, but a free set covers most of it: OnyX for caches and maintenance, AppCleaner or Pearcleaner for uninstalling, and GrandPerspective for a disk map.
Do any of these alternatives scan for malware?
- None of them lists it. CleanMyMac’s malware detection is one of the things you give up by switching, so weigh that if you rely on it.