CleanMyMac 5.7.0 for macOS

You've just wrapped a project and your Mac's drive is a mess of forgotten render files and large attachments you'll never open again. The basics are fine, but you want to see exactly what's eating your space and get rid of it for good.

Permanently shred sensitive files

Dragging something to the Trash doesn't make it disappear. The shredder tool overwrites data so old bank statements or contracts can't be recovered by someone poking around.

See everything with File Scope

Most cleanup tools just scan common junk folders. The File Scope gives you a zoomable, visual map of your entire drive, making it simple to spot a single 40-gigabyte video project hiding from three months ago.

Check for malware quietly

It's not a full antivirus suite, but the built-in protection module runs in the background to catch known malware and adware threats that sometimes hitch a ride with a download.

Comfortable digging through Library folders by hand

Not everyone needs an all-in-one cleaner, and that's fine. If you're comfortable digging through Library folders by hand, you might only use a couple of these modules. The people who get the most mileage tend to fall into a few camps.

Mac users with 256GB or 512GB drives feel the squeeze fast. System junk, old iOS backups, and mail attachments pile up without you noticing until a "disk almost full" warning appears. The large file scanner and the visual File Scope map become weekly habits, not one-off experiments.

Freelancers and small studio folks who handle client files appreciate the shredder more than most. A contract, a spreadsheet with personal data, or a raw photo batch you promised to delete after delivery — dragging them to the Trash isn't enough. The permanent erase option gives you a clean conscience.

If you install and test a lot of software, the app removal module earns its keep. Uninstalling by dragging an app to the Trash leaves behind preference files, caches, and launch agents. The uninstaller hunts down those leftovers and clears them out in one go.

Stray clips and proxy files after a client delivery

Here's how a typical post-project session might go. You've just delivered a client video, and your Mac feels sluggish. The media drive has stray clips, proxy files, and exports you don't need anymore.

Start with the large file scan. Tell it to look at the drive where your project lived and sort by size. You'll probably spot a few ProRes transcodes or a test export that slipped past your manual cleanup. Select the obvious ones and remove them right there.

Next, open File Scope and zoom into your Documents folder. The map shows a bloated cache directory from your editing app — something a standard system junk scan might miss. Right-click to reveal it in Finder, confirm you don't need it, and delete it.

Now run the system cleanup. It picks up user log files, temp render data, and language packs you never use. On a machine that hasn't been maintained in months, this often reclaims several gigabytes.

Finally, if any of the project files contain sensitive footage or contracts, select them in Finder and choose the shredder. The tool overwrites the data so it can't be recovered, which matters if the drive ever leaves your hands.

The whole process takes under ten minutes, and the machine breathes easier afterward.

Onyx rebuilds indexes; this app does not

The Mac cleaning space has a few familiar names, and they don't all take the same approach.

Onyx is a veteran free tool that does deep system maintenance. It can rebuild Spotlight indexes, verify disk structures, and clear caches aggressively. What it doesn't do is hold your hand. The interface assumes you know what a "kernel cache" is. CleanMyMac wraps similar tasks in plain language and adds the visual file browser, malware scanning, and shredder that Onyx simply doesn't include. If you want maximum control and don't mind reading technical labels, Onyx is capable. If you want to glance at a drive map and act fast, the MacPaw app fits better.

DaisyDisk is a focused disk analyzer with a gorgeous sunburst map. It does one thing — shows what uses your space — and does it beautifully. But it stops at the visualization. There's no malware scan, no shredder, no app uninstaller. You spot the problem in DaisyDisk, then switch to another tool to fix it. File Scope gives you a similar map view inside the same app that can also delete, shred, and scan for threats.

App Cleaner & Uninstaller comes from MacPaw itself, and it's laser-focused on removing applications and their leftovers. It's lighter and faster if app removal is all you want. CleanMyMac includes that same removal engine as one module among several, so you're getting the uninstaller plus the full maintenance toolkit. If you only ever need to strip out old software, the standalone uninstaller may be enough. If you also want system cleanup, large file hunting, and the occasional malware check, the bigger suite consolidates those jobs.

The real difference isn't better or worse — it's about how many separate tools you want to juggle. Some people like a drawer full of single-purpose utensils. Others prefer the Swiss Army knife. CleanMyMac sits firmly in the second camp, but with enough polish that each tool actually works when you need it.

The latest update brings a pair of tools for tidying up a messy Gmail account right from the desktop. It can find and remove bulky old attachments and help you clean out mailing list subscriptions you stopped reading years ago.

• Requires macOS 11 or later
• Works on Intel and Apple Silicon Macs
• Available in English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Japanese, Simplified Chinese, Korean, Dutch, Polish, Ukrainian, and Russian