The best Mac cleaner for 2026, free and paid

Start with what macOS already does

Before you install anything, look at the tool Apple ships:

Apple menu, then System Settings, then General, then Storage

The bar at the top shows what's using space by category. Below it are recommendations: Store in iCloud; Optimize Storage, which removes Apple TV movies and shows you've already watched and keeps only recent email attachments when space is needed; and Empty Trash automatically, which erases items that have been in the Trash for more than 30 days. Apple's Optimize storage space page adds something that changes how you should judge any cleaner: when space is needed, macOS clears caches and logs that are safe to delete by itself, including temporary database files, interrupted downloads, staged updates and Safari website data.

Apple's Free up storage space on Mac covers the rest by hand: move big files to an external drive, delete media you can download again, review Downloads, uninstall apps you don't use, remove old iPhone backups and empty the Trash. If that's enough, you don't need a cleaner. Our guide to freeing up space on a Mac walks through each step, and what's taking up space shows how to find the big folders.

What to look for in a Mac cleaner

Every app below can show you something useful. The differences that matter are in what happens next.

• Where removed files go. The Trash gives you a way back until you empty it. Permanent deletion frees space at once but has no undo.
• Whether you see the list first. Some apps clean in one click. Others show every item and let you uncheck things.
• Undo. A few apps keep a history you can restore from. Most rely on the Finder's Trash, or on your backup.
• What's checked by default. Several cleaners check caches for you, and caches grow back as you use your apps. Space that comes straight back isn't much of a win.
• Price model and data. One-time or subscription, account or no account, and what the app sends home.

The options at a glance

Prices checked October 2026, for one Mac unless noted. We make MacClearings; every other row comes from that app's own site or documentation, linked in the sections below.

Free Mac cleaners

GrandPerspective draws a treemap of a folder or a whole disk, where each file is a rectangle sized by how much space it uses. It's open source under the GPL, free from SourceForge or $2.99 on the Mac App Store, and was updated in September 2026 (3.8.1 needs macOS 14; 3.7.2 is offered for macOS 11 to 13). It has no cleanup suggestions. Deleting is an option in its Preferences, and deleted folders go to the Trash.

OmniDiskSweeper from The Omni Group lists everything on a drive from largest to smallest in a Finder-like column view. It's free, runs on macOS 11 and later, and has moved items to the Trash by default since version 1.10; holding Option deletes immediately instead.

AppCleaner does one job: drop an app on its window, review the related files it found, and remove them together. Version 3.7 came out in September 2026 and needs macOS 15. A Macworld walkthrough from 2015 says removed files go to the Trash.

Pearcleaner is a free uninstaller that grew into a toolbox, with leftover search, a cleaner for 26 developer environments (Xcode, npm, pip, Cargo, Gradle and more) and a Homebrew manager. Its source shows removals going to the Trash with Cmd-Z undo and a history. Two caveats: its license is Apache 2.0 with the Commons Clause, so it's source-available, not open source, and its README says the project has been on hold since the end of 2025. The last release, 5.4.3, is from November 2025. Download it only from GitHub or the developer's own site, which the README names.

OnyX is free maintenance software: cache and log cleaning, rebuilding system databases, an uninstaller and hidden settings for Finder, Dock and Safari. There's one build per macOS version (4.8.5 for macOS 15, 5.0.6 for macOS 26), so download the one that matches your Mac. It has no disk map, and the developer doesn't say whether removed items go to the Trash.

Paid Mac cleaners

CleanMyMac from MacPaw is the broadest: cleanup, malware scanning, an uninstaller and updater, duplicate and similar-photo finders, monitors and cloud cleanup. It's notarized, on the Mac App Store and Setapp, with a 7-day trial. MacPaw's help pages say its Duplicates and Large & Old Files tools delete permanently, and its store is subscription-first. Our guide Is CleanMyMac safe? goes through what to watch for.

DaisyDisk is an interactive sunburst map of your disk for $9.99 once, covering up to five Macs. It deliberately has no automatic cleanup: you drag items to its Collector and delete them. Its guide says files are removed permanently rather than moved to the Trash, and that it can't undelete them. Its direct edition also breaks hidden space down into purgeable space, other volumes and local snapshots.

Mole for Mac costs $19 once for two Macs and bundles cleanup, an uninstaller, maintenance, a treemap and a system monitor, with deep developer and AI-tool cleanup. Per its documentation, cache cleanup is permanent by default with a setting to use the Trash, while uninstalls and its analyzer use the Trash. Its free command-line tool is open source; note that mo clean empties the Trash by default.

DiskBuddy is a whole-disk analyzer and cleaner with many chart styles, duplicates, an uninstaller and a monitor, and the same license covers Windows. It goes to the Trash by default with Undo, and offers permanent deletion as a separate choice. On October 22, 2026 it was $19 for a limited number of launch copies, then $49.

MacClearings is ours. It explains what's filling the disk, including System Data, suggests what can go, and moves only what you've reviewed to the Trash, with Undo. More below.

Which one to pick

• You only want to know what's big: GrandPerspective or OmniDiskSweeper, both free.
• You want to remove one app properly: AppCleaner, or follow our guide to uninstalling apps completely.
• You want malware scanning, monitors and cleanup in one app: CleanMyMac, and read the Duplicates warning first.
• You want a map and are comfortable deleting for good: DaisyDisk.
• You're a developer with Xcode, simulators and package caches: Mole for Mac, Pearcleaner (on hold), or MacClearings. Our developer page lists what MacClearings covers.
• You want a review list, the Trash and a way back later: MacClearings, DiskBuddy (Trash by default) or Pearcleaner all show the list first and offer some form of undo.

What's safe to clean, and what isn't

Whatever app you use, the same rules hold.

• Safe, and stays gone for a while: old logs and crash reports, Xcode DerivedData, package manager downloads (npm, pip, Homebrew), installers you've already used.
• Safe, but comes back: app and browser caches. Nothing is lost, but apps rebuild them within days.
• Check first: large old files, Downloads, duplicates inside Photos or project folders, and Application Support for apps you still use.
• Leave alone: iPhone and iPad backups unless you have a newer one, Mail and Messages data, and anything in iCloud Drive, where removing a file removes it everywhere.

How MacClearings does it

We make MacClearings, so weigh this accordingly. It's $25 once, needs macOS 15 or later, has no account and no analytics. It doesn't scan for malware or monitor the system.

Suggestions come from 28 rules, each with a plain explanation. A rule only checks items for you when they're safe to lose and don't come straight back, such as Xcode DerivedData and package manager caches. App and browser caches are listed but start unchecked:

Suggestions rule · App caches

App caches

Temporary files apps keep to work faster. Apps recreate them as you use them, so moving them frees space only for a while, and the first launch afterwards may take a moment longer. They start unchecked.

• ~/Library/Caches/*

Listed, but you decide whether to check it.

Everything you check waits in a tray. Review & Clean Up lists every item with its size, and only Move to Trash in that list moves anything. Each item is checked again right before it moves, History keeps Undo and Put Back, and MacClearings measures each cleaned place again after a day, a week and a month to show how much space stayed free. It never empties the Trash, so the space comes back when you empty it yourself.