CleanMyMac alternatives: what macOS already does, and what fills the rest
CleanMyMac by MacPaw is the best-known Mac cleaner: one app with cleanup, malware protection, an uninstaller, an updater, a disk map and more, sold mostly as a subscription. Many people only use one or two of those tools. This page sorts out, job by job, what macOS already does on its own and which small apps cover the rest, so you can decide whether you need the whole bundle.
Disclosure: Qiffe makes Doff and SweepBar, two of the apps mentioned on this page. Facts about CleanMyMac come from MacPaw’s own pages, linked below, as of October 2026.
What CleanMyMac is today
- Name and version: now just “CleanMyMac” (the older CleanMyMac X is a previous version). Latest version 5.5.7, per MacPaw’s product page.
- What’s inside: Smart Care, Cleanup, Protection (malware removal), Performance (maintenance tasks, Login Items, Background Items), Applications (Uninstaller, Updater, Leftovers), My Clutter, Space Lens, Cloud Cleanup and a menu bar monitor (MacPaw: My Tools).
- Price: a free 7-day trial, then a monthly or yearly subscription for 1, 2 or 5 Macs, or a one-time license. MacPaw lists pricing as starting at $3.33 a month. A one-time license covers updates only within its major version (editions, purchase options).
- Editions: MacPaw Store, App Store and Setapp. MacPaw says some features are restricted in the App Store edition (missing features).
- Needs: macOS 11 or later.
If you use most of these tools regularly, one app for all of them can be the simpler choice. If you mainly open it to uninstall apps or to see what fills your disk, read on.
Job by job: the alternatives
| What you use CleanMyMac for | Built into macOS | Small app |
|---|---|---|
| Uninstalling apps with their leftovers | No; Trash removes only the app | Doff, AppCleaner (free) |
| Leftovers of apps you already deleted, background helpers | Partly: Login Items & Extensions | Doff |
| Seeing what takes up space | Yes: Storage settings | none needed |
| Free space at a glance, developer caches | No | SweepBar |
| Malware protection | Yes: XProtect, Gatekeeper | none needed for most people |
| Apps that open at login or run in the background | Yes: Login Items & Extensions | none needed |
Uninstalling apps: Doff, AppCleaner or by hand
Dragging an app to the Trash leaves its caches, settings, containers and helpers behind; on a test Mac we checked, everyday apps had files in up to 14 places each. CleanMyMac’s Uninstaller and Leftovers tools handle this, and so do smaller apps:
- Doff (ours). Only an uninstaller, nothing else. Drag an app to the Trash and Doff offers to remove its leftovers too. It finds leftovers of apps you already deleted, including launch daemons and privileged helpers that can keep running as root. It preselects only confident matches, never preselects shared or iCloud Drive data, and moves everything to the Trash, with History and Put Back. Free to scan, $12.99 once to remove. Needs macOS 15 or later.
- AppCleaner. Free, from FreeMacSoft: drop an app on its window and it lists the app’s files to delete together. More in AppCleaner alternatives.
- By hand. Everything an uninstaller does, you can do in Finder: how to completely uninstall apps on a Mac. For background services, see LaunchDaemons on Mac.
Seeing what takes up space: Storage settings
macOS has its own overview. Choose Apple menu > System Settings, click General, then Storage. You get a bar of what uses your disk, Recommendations (such as Store in iCloud and Optimize Storage) and a list of categories, such as Applications and Documents, where you can review and delete large items (Apple: Optimize storage space).
Free space at a glance: SweepBar
If you want free space visible all the time rather than when you go looking, SweepBar (ours) shows it in the menu bar and clears developer caches that are safe to delete. Free to scan, $5.99 once. How to do it without an app: show free disk space in the menu bar.
Malware: what macOS already does
macOS protects against malware in layers: the App Store, Gatekeeper and notarization keep malware from launching, and XProtect detects and removes known malware that has run (Apple Platform Security: Protecting against malware). Keep macOS updated and install apps from the App Store or from their developers’ own sites.
Login and background items: System Settings
System Settings > General > Login Items & Extensions lists apps that open at login (Open at Login), items that run in the background (Background App Activity) and installed Extensions. You can turn off what you don’t want there. Items left by apps you already removed are covered in LaunchDaemons on Mac.
CleanMyMac’s uninstaller and Doff side by side
| CleanMyMac | Doff | |
|---|---|---|
| Removes an app with its leftovers | Yes | Yes |
| Finds leftovers of already deleted apps | Yes (Leftovers) | Yes |
| Launch daemons and root helpers | Background Items lists what runs; MacPaw’s uninstaller page doesn’t name daemons | Finds and removes them, with a helper you approve once |
| Where removed files go | Not stated on MacPaw’s uninstaller page | Trash, with History and Put Back |
| Other tools | About a dozen (cleanup, malware, updater, disk map and more) | None; uninstalling only |
| Price | Subscription from $3.33 a month, or a one-time license per major version | Free to scan, $12.99 once |
| Needs | macOS 11 or later | macOS 15 or later, Full Disk Access |
Sources for the CleanMyMac column: Uninstaller, My Tools and product page, MacPaw, October 2026.
Which one to pick
- You use many of CleanMyMac’s tools every week: keep it, or try its 7-day trial first.
- You mostly uninstall apps: AppCleaner if you want free and simple; Doff if you also want leftovers of old apps, root helpers and an undo. Try Doff’s free scan and see what it finds before you pay.
- You want to know what fills your disk: start with Storage settings; add SweepBar if you want free space in the menu bar.
- You’re worried about malware: macOS already has XProtect; keep the system updated.
Questions
Is CleanMyMac free?
No. MacPaw offers a free 7-day trial with full functionality, then a monthly or yearly subscription, or a one-time license. Its site lists pricing as starting at $3.33 a month.
Can I buy CleanMyMac once instead of subscribing?
Yes, from the MacPaw Store or the App Store. According to MacPaw, a one-time license has no expiration date but covers updates only within its major version; subscriptions include future major upgrades. Setapp offers subscriptions only.
Does macOS have a built-in Mac cleaner?
Partly. System Settings > General > Storage shows what takes up space and recommends ways to free it, and macOS has built-in malware protection (XProtect). It has no tool that removes an app's leftovers when you delete it.
Is the App Store version of CleanMyMac the same as the direct download?
No. MacPaw says it had to restrict some features in the App Store edition, such as several system junk groups and the maintenance tasks. The uninstaller and leftovers tools are in every edition.