CleanMyMac Alternatives for Mac: Free and One-Time
Short answer: CleanMyMac bundles several jobs (cleanup, uninstalling, a disk map, malware scanning, updates) into one subscription. Most people only need one or two of them, and there’s a free or one-time tool for each: AppCleaner or Pearcleaner to uninstall, Mole for open-source cleanup from Terminal, GrandPerspective or DaisyDisk to see what’s using space. If you’d rather understand your disk than let an app clean it, FavTray Space is a read-only map that never deletes a file.
TL;DR
- Uninstall apps and their leftovers: AppCleaner (free) or Pearcleaner (free).
- Open-source, all-round, Terminal first: Mole.
- See what’s using space: GrandPerspective (free) or DaisyDisk ($9.99).
- Read-only, developer-aware, sends you to the owning app: FavTray Space. It never cleans anything.
- Keep CleanMyMac if you like one app doing all of it, including malware scans.
How do the CleanMyMac alternatives compare?
Checked on 28 September 2026 from each app’s site or repository.
| App | Price | Runs on | Deletes? | Key features | Best at |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CleanMyMac | Subscription, about $39.95/yr for one Mac (third-party trackers); trial | macOS 11+ | Yes | Smart Care, uninstaller, duplicates, large files, malware scan, updates, Space Lens | One app for everything |
| AppCleaner | Free | v3.7: macOS 15+ (older builds for older macOS) | Yes, after review | Finds an app’s scattered files when you remove it | Clean uninstalls |
| Pearcleaner | Free, source-available | macOS (see repo) | Yes, after review | Uninstaller, leftover finder | A modern free uninstaller |
| Mole | Free, open source (GPL) | macOS, CLI plus a Mac app | Yes | Clean, uninstall, analyze, optimize, monitor | Open-source all-in-one |
| GrandPerspective | Free, or $2.99 on the App Store | macOS 14+ | Yes | Treemap of any drive | Seeing space, free |
| DaisyDisk | $9.99 once, 5 Macs | macOS 10.13+ | Yes | Sunburst map, collector | Seeing space, polished |
| FavTray Space | Pro, $4.99 once at launch | macOS 14+ | Never | Treemap, Worth a look, owner-app hand-offs, history | Knowing what’s safe to clear |
What does CleanMyMac do?
CleanMyMac from MacPaw is the best-known Mac cleaner. Its Smart Care scan runs cleanup, a malware scan, speed tweaks, app updates and clutter checks together. Beyond that it has a complete uninstaller, duplicate and large-file finders, cloud storage cleanup, and Space Lens, a bubble map of your disk that MacPaw rebuilt in CleanMyMac 5. It’s polished and it’s convenient to have everything in one place.
It needs macOS 11 or later and is sold mainly by subscription. Third-party trackers put it at about $39.95 a year for one Mac, and MacPaw lists monthly and one-time plans too (its store didn’t load for us, so check it for your region). There’s a free trial.
What people complain about, on sites like AlternativeTo: the subscription, that it’s hard to remove completely, and features they don’t need. A more general point: macOS manages its own caches, so routine “cleaning” often frees space that simply comes back.
What’s the best free uninstaller?
When you drag an app to the Trash, its preferences, caches and support files stay behind. Two free tools find them:
- AppCleaner from FreeMacSoft: drag an app onto its window, review the related files it found, confirm. Version 3.7 needs macOS 15; older versions cover older macOS.
- Pearcleaner: a free, source-available (fair-code licensed) cleaner with a modern interface, focused on uninstalling and finding leftovers.
Is there an open-source CleanMyMac?
The closest is Mole: “Clean, uninstall, analyze, optimize, and monitor your Mac.” It’s GPL-licensed, very popular on GitHub (about 68,000 stars), updated often (V1.56.0 on 25 September 2026), and works from the command line, with a native Mac app as well. If you’re comfortable in Terminal and want to see exactly what a cleaner removes, it’s a good fit.
How do I see what’s using space without a cleaner?
With a disk map. GrandPerspective (free, open source) draws a treemap of any drive; DaisyDisk ($9.99) draws a sunburst you click through. Both let you delete from the map. We compared them in DaisyDisk alternatives and DiskBuddy alternatives.
macOS also has System Settings › General › Storage, with recommendations such as emptying the Trash automatically, though it lumps a lot into “System Data”.
Where does FavTray Space fit?
Full disclosure: FavTray is our app, and it isn’t a cleaner. Space never deletes, moves or changes a file, and FavTray’s build fails if the Space code contains a delete, trash, move or process-launch call. If you want an app to clean for you, this isn’t it.
What it’s for is the step before cleaning: knowing what’s there and what’s safe.
- A treemap of every folder, coloured by category.
- Worth a look: up to six items ranked by size and by how easily they come back. Rules name about 115 kinds of folder, from Xcode DerivedData and simulators to
node_modules, package caches, Docker and OrbStack, local AI models, creative-app caches and games. Things you can’t replace, like Xcode Archives or a virtual machine, are never offered. - Where to clear it: opens the app that owns the data (Xcode, Docker Desktop, Steam, Photos, Messages, System Settings › Storage and others) and shows the menu path. You clear it there, the way that app expects.
- History, showing what grew this week and when the disk will fill, plus duplicates over 50 MB.
Price: Space is part of FavTray Pro, $4.99 once during launch ($9.99 after 8 October 2026), with no subscription and 7 days of Pro free on every install. Free shows your capacity, the recoverable total and a blurred map. It arrives in FavTray 2.0.2. The manual version is in what’s eating your Mac’s disk.
Which CleanMyMac alternative should you pick?
| If you want | Pick |
|---|---|
| One app for cleanup, uninstalls, malware and updates | Keep CleanMyMac |
| To uninstall apps completely, free | AppCleaner or Pearcleaner |
| Open-source cleanup you can read | Mole |
| A free map of what’s using space | GrandPerspective |
| A polished map, one-time | DaisyDisk |
| To know what’s safe to clear, and clear it in the right app | FavTray Space |
The honest summary: if you pay for CleanMyMac mainly for Space Lens and the uninstaller, a free uninstaller and a disk map cover that. If it’s the peace of mind of one-click Smart Care, that’s what the subscription is for. And paying for fewer subscriptions is a reasonable goal in itself.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best free alternative to CleanMyMac?
It depends on the job. For uninstalling apps with their leftovers, AppCleaner (free) or Pearcleaner (free, source-available). For cleanup, uninstall and disk analysis from Terminal, Mole (free, GPL, with a Mac app too). To see what's using space, GrandPerspective (free treemap). macOS's own Storage settings cover the basics.
Do I need a Mac cleaner at all?
Usually not as a daily or weekly routine. macOS manages its own caches and purgeable space. A cleaner helps when your disk is actually full, or when you remove an app and want its leftovers gone. For those moments, a disk map and an uninstaller cover most of it.
How much does CleanMyMac cost?
CleanMyMac is sold mainly as a subscription, from about $39.95 a year for one Mac according to third-party price trackers, with monthly and one-time plans also listed by MacPaw. There's a free trial. Check MacPaw's store for current prices in your region.
Is there an open-source CleanMyMac alternative?
Yes. Mole (github.com/tw93/Mole) is a GPL-licensed tool that cleans, uninstalls, analyzes disk use, optimizes and monitors a Mac from the command line, with a native Mac app as well. Pearcleaner is a free, source-available uninstaller under a fair-code licence.
Does FavTray clean my Mac?
No. FavTray Space is deliberately read-only: it never deletes, moves or changes a file. It maps the disk, ranks what's worth clearing by size and by how easily it comes back, and opens the app that owns the data, such as Xcode, Docker Desktop, Steam or System Settings › Storage, so you clear it there. It arrives in FavTray 2.0.2 as part of Pro.
Is it safe to delete caches on a Mac?
Most caches rebuild themselves, so deleting them is usually safe but often pointless: they come back, and apps are slower until they do. Build caches like Xcode DerivedData are safe to clear. Don't delete things you can't get back, like Xcode Archives, Docker's disk image or virtual machines, and clear app data from inside the app when it offers a way.