Just like any day-to-day item, your Mac needs a good cleaning once in a while. Getting rid of all the unnecessary files will help your Mac return to its factory excellence and speed up to match your needs. However, you might find yourself clueless as to where to start your Mac clean up: what can be deleted and what should be left on drive? Don’t worry. You might be a little bit lost right now but, as usual, we have some bulletproof tips and tools to help you clean your Mac and speed it up.
A number of the tools on offer can be used to clean your Mac. Parallel's Toolbox costs £15.99 a year, and offers a collection of useful tools. You can read about Toolbox's various features. Clean for Mac solves the problem of messy desktops by providing an automated way to logically store all those cluttered files. Unfortunately, the program also opens other applications while it.
4 steps to Mac cleanup
The good news is that in four (or even less) steps you can get a cleaner Mac and boost your Mac’s performance.
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
This might seem like an obvious step to take, but you’d be surprised how many Mac users believe the Desktop is the perfect place to store files and docs, handy and always on tap. However, that’s a rookie mistake. Fortunately, you can fix it. That’s why you should clean your Mac starting from the Desktop before you go any deeper. Be honest, can you even see your desktop background clearly now or is it obscured because of the icon-riddled mess?
The fact is, that the Finder treats any folder or file on your desktop as a window. A couple of items on the desktop cause no problem, but if the clutter persists, your Finder will soon slow down and get on your nerves. So better sort it all out to separate folders and let us quickly take you to number two.
Free up your Mac’s hard drive
When it comes to storage, there are items you know about (like your photos and videos) and many hidden entities (like cache files, logs, and app junk). Microsoft office 2016 mac crack full download. These deep-seated junk files may start off small, but over time they will begin to weigh your Mac down.
Tip: According to one test conducted by MacWorld, nearly full hard drives perform 17.5% slower than the cleaner ones. That’s why it’s so important to refresh your hard drive every now and then. Your system will convert the newly-released free space into virtual memory to ensure your apps are running smoothly. Otherwise, if you’re low on space, your Mac will slow down.
One folder you should regularly clean up for a faster Mac is the Downloads folder. This is where junk piles up little by little, resulting in a total mess. For a complete Mac clean up, make sure to also ditch any unnecessary widgets or apps. Wait, but you think you might need them one day? Truth is, if you haven’t used them so far, you won’t use them in the future. So gather all your courage and hit Delete.
If your Mac is still running slow, then it could be due to old hardware. A new SSD or more RAM is the easiest way to boost your hardware performance without having to spend too much.
How do I know what to delete?
What’s really annoying is that some massive folders on your Mac remain invisible. Each app or website visit leaves behind its own archive of data, which keeps growing over time. To hack this, you can use CleanMyMac X app by MacPaw. It uncovers large redundant files you can delete. And this application is notarized by Apple.
You can delete:
- broken downloads
- remains of old apps
- outdated cache
It found 5.81 GB on our computer, but it may detect even more on your Mac.
Download Free VersionTake control of startup and login items
When your Mac boots up, the macOS will launch various startup items. Some you do need, but nearly half of them can be safely switched off. Otherwise, they’ll sit in the background using up your system resources and slowing your Mac down.
To remove startup and login items manually, go to System Preferences > Users & Groups and click on your username. Next up, click on “Login Items” and select all the apps you don’t need running at startup. Then click the “-” button below and you’re done. By disabling the startup programs, you’ll have a speedier Mac next time you boot up.
Repair disk permissions
Disk permissions act like doorkeepers preventing third-party apps from meddling with your system. But disk permissions can get broken, which limits your Mac ability to find the right files.
If you’re on El Capitan or older OS X versions, you can repair disk permissions using the following command in the Terminal window:
sudo /usr/libexec/repair_packages --verify --standard-pkgs /
It will now check the validity of your disk permissions. If you get anything saying “permissions differ”, then you can fix it with this command:
sudo /usr/libexec/repair_packages --repair --standard-pkgs -- volume /
If you are a mere mortal, uneasy with using Terminal, a Mac cleaning utility like CleanMyMac X, can do a better, risk-free job. A single click in Maintenance > Repair Disk Permissions solves it without fuss. With your disk permissions fixed and verified you can enjoy a smoother overall Mac experience.
The free version of this tool is available for download here.
Once you’ve finished to clean up your Mac, make sure to reboot your machine for a fresh start.
Delete System Junk and browser cache
System Junk can account for significant amount of disk space. It’s a broad term that describes temporary files created by your OS itself and all your apps. Since we mostly use our Macs to go online, the internet-related junk takes up the most space.
How to clean up your browser cache:
- For Safari, click Develop in the top menu
- Then, click Empty caches
- For Chrome, click the “hamburger” icon in the top right corner
- Then click More tools > Clear browsing data
Find hidden files on your drive
You probably know that a lot of files are purposely made invisible on your Mac. Not necessarily with bad intentions. Such files could be crucial system components and thus protected from accidental deletion. Quite often, however, you’ll encounter remains of old apps, invisible adware, and extensions.
There is a shortcut key combination to reveal the unseen files.
- Go to your Documents, or any other directory
- Click Shift +Command + Period key
Do you see any grayed out files? Check what these files are and delete them if they look suspicious.
Remove old backups (and Time Machine backups)
There are several layers of backups built in your macOS. Local Time Machine snapshots, iOS, and iCloud backups, etc. If we’re talking about a clean Mac, that’s free from old baggage, you should look into removing them too.
Here is how to remove local Time Machine backups (a.k.a snapshots)
Click Launchpad and type in Time Machine
Your backups will be broken by locations, like Desktop. You can use arrows to the right to navigate between past states of that location.
Now, click on the gear icon in the menu above.
Select “Delete All Backups” in the menu.
Delete the iCloud backups stored on your Mac
Open System Preferences > iCloud.
Click Manage.. at the bottom the pane.
Look through the list of iCloud backups in the sidebar.
iCloud photos will probably occupy the most space. If you’re ready to say goodbye to them, click Delete.Build the map of your storage
Any computer is ultimately a tree of folders. What if you could draw the map of all folders you have on your Mac and see how large these folders are?
Apparently, there is an ultra simple way to do it. Some applications like Daisy Disk or CleanMyMac will build such “folder tree” for you and it’s really fascinating to look at.
For example, this is the Space Lens tool from CleanMyMac X:
Download Free VersionThe blue bubbles stand represent my folders big and small. You can dive into each folder exploring your drive in a completely new way, much more informative than using the Finder. You can find your long lost folders and locate your biggest space wasters.
- To use this tool, download the app (see the button above)
- Click the Space Lens tab in the sidebar
Clean your Mac the smart way, all the way
If you’ve been following the steps above (and read some extra tips), you are fully equipped to clean up your Mac. Because you don’t need to be a bearded IT guy to do it. Let alone spend extra cash to improve your Mac’s performance. Simply cleaning your system as steps above suggest or using a dedicated app like CleanMyMac will help you out. By the way. CleanMyMac is free to download, so give it a try. And see your Mac’s capabilities now, when it it’s not weighed down by junk.
Your Mac can be storing up to 62 GB in the junk. Scary, isn’t it?
There might be a lot of unwanted and duplicate files in your Mac system, which might be the reason for your Mac running slow. Therefore, one needs to clean their system and get rid of these pests.
How To Clean Mac?
Many people have the question, ‘How to clean my Mac?’, and the plain answer to it is not cleaning it manually but installing the best free Mac cleaning software.
Our 3 Top Choices
Easy Mac Care
| Best choice (Recommended) |
CCleaner Framer x crack.
| Best choice |
Disk Drill
| Best choice |
List of Best Mac Cleaner Apps in 2020
While shortlisting the best free mac cleaner, it is important that you pay close attention to the performance-boosting features that it claims to provide. Our curated list of Mac cleanup tools below will help you compare all the renowned cleaners available in the current marketplace.
1. Easy Mac Care
You can’t talk about the best Mac cleaners without including Easy Mac Care. The tool comes with a plethora of powerful cleaning & optimization features which makes it a clear winner for the top spot.
With the wide range of modules offered by this application, users can easily clean their Mac devices by deleting duplicate and junk files, cached data, program leftovers, and other browsing tracking items. The application constantly checks for potential issues before they become a major problem.
Why Choose Easy Mac Care?
Easy Mac Care is undoubtedly the best app to clean Mac devices from every aspect. The intuitive interface, smart and comprehensive cleaning options make it an ideal cleaner for Mac. Let’s take a look at some of its unique qualities:
- Excellent Cleaning: It does an in-depth cleaning of your Mac to make it free from all kinds of junk and unnecessarily large files.
- Startup Optimization: Terminates unwanted apps or processes from automatically loading each time the system starts.
- Reclaim Storage Space: It restores a huge amount of lost hard drive space by clearing out old & duplicate data cluttered on your Mac.
- Total Protection: Protects your online identity by allowing you to delete browser history, cookies, and cache.
Apart from Mac optimizer and cleaner tools, it also comes with an interesting uninstaller feature that allows you to strike down unnecessary bulky apps for a much faster and cleaner Mac experience. To get this best Mac cleaner free, click the button below!
When it comes to cleaning, CCleaner is a great addition in the list of best Mac cleaner software. It identifies and removes all kinds of junk files, bugs and even duplicate photos to help users’ clean space on Mac computers. It is very easy to navigate, serves as a piggyback for malware, and has a simple user interface. It even offers its users a customizable cleaning tool.
It defines all of its features clearly, making the deleting and removing tasks effortlessly. It also has a long list of functions and features, like securing web browsing, optimizing system, and many others. With most of the software, it is a give and takes a process. But CCleaner doesn’t ask anything in return. It offers more than it should.
Key Features:
- Quick to install and set up.
- Manages start-up items to speed up your Mac’s boot time.
- Clears out cookies and browsing history for a safer web surfing experience.
- Finds and removes unwanted junk and temporary files, folders, and more.
3. Disk Drill
Disk Drill is a prominent professional recovery tool for Mac and comes with useful disk cleaning functions. It analyzes storage space and locates different kinds of files, making it the best memory cleaner for Mac devices. It also monitors the health of the storage device and delivers timely alerts in case of any malfunctions.
Even though its Mac cleanup tools are quite comprehensive, its primary focus is data recovery. Whatever the cause of data loss may be, data corruption or accidental deletion, Disk Drill helps you get it back. It comes in both a free and a paid pro version.
Key Features:
![Screen Screen](https://cdn.cleanmymac.com/images/poster.png?id=d64026a3aeab16c83697)
- Fast, reliable, and easy-to-use cleaner for Mac.
- Frees up lost storage space effortlessly.
- Finds and deletes duplicate files present on your drive.
- Enables you to recover every type of file or folder on your Mac.
4. CleanMyMac X
Are you looking to speed up and optimize Mac performance? CleanMyMac X is one such nifty tool that comprises all the essential optimization and malware removal tools that you search for in an ideal Mac cleaner program.
This best Mac cleaning software quickly scans and deletes all the junk and other privacy exposing items to give you an experience of a stable, faster, and optimized Mac. It effortlessly scans your entire Mac machine and clears out tons of clutter lurking in photo albums, Mails and even iTunes.
What’s great about CleanMyMac compared to other best Mac cleaner apps on this list is that it has an intuitive interface that is available in more than 12 languages including French, Arabic, and Portuguese.
Also See: Best Duplicate Photo Remover Apps for Mac
5. Daisy Disk
Daisy Disk is another beautifully-designed program to clean up Mac machines. Even though it offers only single-functionality and is not an all in one solution like many of its counterparts, its multi-faceted features make up for the gap. Daisy Disk scans and analyzes multiple disks at once to provide a visual representation of all the files in the system in the form of a daisy wheel (hence the name).
This shows the space that the blocks are taking up. This feature helps you to keep mining into the device content and preview the files before deleting them. By using this one of the best Mac optimizer and cleaning software, running full disk scans, removing unwanted files and the optimizing system will all be a child’s play.
Due to its excellent Mac optimizing qualities, it is also known as the ‘Best RAM cleaner for Mac’ of the town.
6. AVG Cleaner
AVG Cleaner is one of the best Mac cleaner apps that one can rely on any day of the month. It has a clean interface with two crucial features. The first one is ‘Disk Cleaner’ which scans the hard drive for junk files and then removes them. Any hidden cache and leftover files will be detected and cleaned out of the system.
The second one is ‘Duplicate Finder.’ It does what its name claims, it finds all the duplicate files and asks the user to delete the ones they want to. This free Mac cleaner software is not at all average in any terms.
Also See: Best Antivirus Software For Mac
7. OnyX
Hands down, one of the best Mac cleaner out there. It’s not only a free Mac cleaner for your computer, but it also acts as a general maintenance tool. It is better suited to professionals because of its complex user interface and brings with it an extensive selection of features to uproot all the junk from the device.
This multi-function Mac cleanup utility does almost everything and anything, from rebuilding indexes and databases to cleaning and maintaining disk to configuring parameters in the Apple applications, to structuring system files, to removing caches, apps and securing erased trash.
Anyone who wants to optimize Mac for gaming and unlock its full potential should definitely check out this best free mac cleaning software.
And you can do all the tasks without having to learn any command. Now, who wouldn’t want that? It’s available in several different versions as one need’s to choose a version-specific with its Mac operating system.
8. Disk InventoryX
One of the best Mac cleaning software, Disk InventoryX, acts as a one-stop disk usage utility that lets you optimize your Mac computer in no time. The users can know where their disk space has gone and clean it properly. This free Mac Cleaner shows the sizes of the folders and files in a unique graphical way and marks different files with different colors to aid users in deleting them.
The graphical presentation provides detailed information about the apps. And the user gets to know which ones to remove. This brilliant Mac cleaning tool is highly recommended and is easy to install.
9. Drive Genius
Drive Genius is one of the best Mac cleanup software available for geniuses and others alike. It gets rid of unwanted files, locates duplicate/clone files, and repartitions the device to make it efficient. It comes adorned with more than just Mac cleanup tools.
Its built-in security feature takes care of the antivirus software, Bootwell tools help to boot up the system, with the inclusion of malware check tools, and quite a few others. Its features are top-notch and incomparable to other best free mac cleaners in the market.
10. Dr. Cleaner
One of the best Mac cleaner apps, Dr. Cleaner heals your processing system by cleaning out and removing cache files, trash files, and junk left behind by uninstalled apps.
It is an apt choice to speed up Mac as it offers Disk Cleaning, System Monitoring, and Memory Optimization for a smooth performance. You can also view CPU usage and network usage in the Menu bar.
Read Also: How To Clear or Reduce System Storage On Mac?
11. Disk Doctor
One of the best Mac cache cleaners, Disk Doctor, is one doctor that your Mac hard disk really needs. It checks for errors and junk files that are in the system. Further, it optimizes the performance of the computer to increase the speed and make the processing a lot better.
It scans six areas that include language files, caches, application, logs, downloads, mail downloads, and trash can. The interface of Disk Doctor is something to rave about. It is sleek, easy to use and even supports Retina display.
A window on the interface informs about the capacity of the hard drive as well as the used and free space availability. To clean up Mac, and create more disk space, this best free Mac cleaning software is an ideal choice.
12. Omni DiskSweeper
Omni DiskSweeper is another best Mac optimizer tool that helps users sweep away the big files that take up huge storage in the computer. It helps you identify and sort every file as well as recover lost disk space. You can arrange all your files by size and can also recalculate the remaining folders and space.
It comes in a powerful little package and makes the tiring job of locating large and unused files easier and faster. It offers a perfect solution to everyone who wants more free space on their Mac.
So the next time someone says, “I have to clean my Mac, how should I do that?” show them this article and let them take their pick out of the best free Mac cleaners in the market.
13. MacBooster 8
IObit official Mac app, MacBooster 8 is a powerful yet easy to use cleaner for Mac. The presence of a plethora of cleaning and optimizing features to boost the speed and performance of your computer makes it the best Mac cleaning software.
It helps you restore a large amount of lost disk space by clearing out all kinds of junk files present on your Mac. It also straight away puts an end to all viruses and malware-related infections to give you a safer online experience.
It is an excellent Mac cleaning utility for both professional & home users seeking to optimize their Mac machine to its peak performance.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about Mac Cleaning Software
Q1. What is the best Mac cleaner?
Easy Mac Care is undoubtedly the best free Mac cleaning software in 2020. It’s loaded with some powerful cleaning and optimizing tools such as cache manager, Miscellaneous cleaner, logs manager, performance booster, virus protection, and many others. If you want to reclaim lost storage space and keep your Mac computer clutter-free entirely, then Easy Mac Care is your best bet.
Q2. Which is the best Mac Cleaner app?
Here are our top preferences for the best apps to clean Mac computer:
- Easy Mac Care
- CCleaner
- Disk Drill
Q3. Why do we need a Mac cleaner app?
Cached data, junk and duplicate files tend to get piled up over time and eats up a significant amount of disk space in your Mac system. That’s why it is extremely important to have the best free mac cleaner program installed on your system. It automatically finds and removes all kinds of junk and unwanted duplicate items present in your Mac computer, and gives you a fast and a clutter-free Mac.
Final Verdict: What’s the Best Mac Cleaner Software in 2020?
These are some of the best Mac cleaner apps of 2020 on the basis of ease of use, popularity, and cleaning and optimizing features.
Clean Machine
Taking all the qualities of an ideal Mac cleaner into consideration, we suggest using Easy Mac Care & CCleaner when it comes to in-depth cleaning and optimizing Mac effortlessly.
Clean Macbook
Though, you may download any one of these to speed up your Mac at the comfort of your home and without paying a dime for it.
Clean Machine Car Wash
Do let us know about your experience with any of the aforementioned Mac maintenance tools in the comment section below!