What CleanMyMac does, and what it costs
CleanMyMac, from MacPaw, is an all-in-one maintenance app. The current version is 5 (5.5.7 on MacPaw's site and 5.7.1 on the Mac App Store when we checked); it needs macOS 11 or later, and MacPaw says it's notarized by Apple (MacPaw, CleanMyMac). Its main parts:
- Smart Care: one button that runs several tasks together.
- Cleanup: caches, logs and other junk files.
- Protection: malware detection and removal, with real-time monitoring and background scans, powered by MacPaw's Moonlock engine.
- Performance: maintenance tasks.
- Applications: an uninstaller and an updater.
- My Clutter, Space Lens and Cloud Cleanup: finding files you may not need, a map of your disk, and cleaning up cloud storage.
| Where | Plan | Price |
|---|---|---|
| MacPaw Store | Essential Trio (Cleanup, Applications, My Clutter) | $19.95 a year, or $4.95 a month |
| MacPaw Store | All-in-One (everything) | $39.95 a year, $9.95 a month, or $119.95 once |
| Mac App Store | Free download with in-app purchases | From $9.99 a month or $39.99 a year; $89.99 one-time |
Every edition has a 7-day free trial, and the MacPaw Store offers a 30-day money-back guarantee (MacPaw, CleanMyMac editions). MacPaw says it had to adjust or restrict some features in the App Store edition, which leaves out system cache and log cleanup, the Performance maintenance tasks, and App Store and macOS updates in its updater (MacPaw).
Is CleanMyMac safe? Is it worth it?
Safe: yes, in the sense that matters most. It's established software from a known developer, distributed through the App Store and notarized for direct download, and it lets you review what it has selected before anything is removed. As with any cleaner, the risk is in what you tell it to remove, so read its lists rather than clicking through.
Worth it: it depends on how many of its jobs you'd actually use. Some of its cleanup targets, such as caches and logs, are things macOS already clears when it needs space, and they come back as you use your Mac. If you'd mostly use it to free space now and then, the free tools below cover that. If you want one polished app that also watches for malware in real time, keeps apps updated and scans in the background, the subscription buys real convenience.
What macOS already does for free
- Storage: System Settings › General › Storage shows what's using space, offers Store in iCloud, Optimize Storage and Empty Trash automatically, and lets you remove large files, apps and old device backups. macOS also clears safe caches, logs and other temporary files itself when space is needed (Apple). How to free up space, step by step.
- Malware: XProtect, Gatekeeper and notarization block and remove known Mac malware, with definitions that update in the background. What they cover.
- Startup items: System Settings › General › Login Items & Extensions lists what opens at login and runs in the background.
- Updates: Software Update and the App Store can update automatically.
- Maintenance: macOS runs its own housekeeping. On Apple silicon there's no maintenance script you need to run by hand.
Alternatives by job
| Job | Built in | Free tool | Paid tool |
|---|---|---|---|
| See what's big | Storage settings | GrandPerspective, OmniDiskSweeper | DaisyDisk ($9.99 once) |
| Uninstall completely | Drag to the Trash, then check your Library | AppCleaner, Pearcleaner | Part of most cleaner suites |
| Clear caches | Automatic when space is needed; browser settings | Rarely needed | Part of most cleaner suites |
| Maintenance | Automatic; safe mode | OnyX | — |
| Malware | XProtect, Gatekeeper | Malwarebytes Free (scan on demand) | Malwarebytes, from $59.99 a year |
| Startup items | Login Items & Extensions | — | — |
| App updates | Software Update, App Store | Homebrew, mas | — |
Seeing what's big
GrandPerspective is free from SourceForge, or $2.99 on the Mac App Store, which its author says is the same app; version 3.8.1 needs macOS 14. OmniDiskSweeper from The Omni Group is free. DaisyDisk is $9.99 once, with a free trial that can't delete files. They differ in how they draw your disk and in how they delete: GrandPerspective and OmniDiskSweeper move items to the Trash, while DaisyDisk deletes permanently. The three compared in detail.
Uninstalling
AppCleaner (FreeMacSoft) lists no price and takes donations; version 3.7 runs on macOS 15 and later. Pearcleaner is free and source-available, under Apache 2.0 with the Commons Clause, and supports macOS 13 to 26, but its developer says development has been on hold since the end of 2025. You can also do it by hand. How to uninstall apps completely.
Maintenance: OnyX
OnyX from Titanium Software is free (donations welcome) and has a separate version for each macOS: 5.1.1 for macOS 27 (Apple silicon only), and 5.0.6 for macOS 26 and 4.8.5 for macOS 15, which Titanium lists as older versions it no longer develops (Titanium Software, OnyX). Use only the version for your macOS. It's a toolbox of system settings and maintenance tasks, so it's for people who know which task they need; most Macs don't need any of them run by hand.
Malware
macOS's own protection is the baseline. If you want a second opinion, Malwarebytes Free scans on demand and quarantines what it finds; real-time protection is part of its paid plans, from $59.99 a year for three devices (Malwarebytes). When a separate scanner makes sense.
Where CleanMyMac is stronger
To be fair to it, a set of single-purpose tools doesn't add up to everything CleanMyMac does:
- One app, one routine. Smart Care runs several jobs with one click. With free tools, you remember each job yourself.
- Real-time malware monitoring and removal, in the same app. None of the free tools above do that.
- Updates for apps from outside the App Store, alongside uninstalling, in one place.
- Polish and support. It's a mature commercial product with documentation and a support team. Several of the free tools are one-person projects, and Pearcleaner is already on hold.
If those matter to you, the subscription is a reasonable price for them.
Where Tend fits
Tend is a battery and energy monitor first, with storage and maintenance tools alongside. Its storage view, Space Map, the Files scan (large and old files, duplicates, similar photos and cloud downloads), Startup Items, updates for macOS, App Store, Homebrew and other apps, and the Security check are free. Moving files to the Trash, the Uninstaller, browser data clearing and the Maintenance actions are part of Tend Pro, at $1.99 a month, $12.99 a year or $29.99 once (pricing). What you remove goes to the macOS Trash, apart from Shredder and snapshot removal, which are permanent and ask first. Where CleanMyMac does more: Tend has no malware scanning or removal, and its storage tools only work inside your home folder.
Questions
Is CleanMyMac safe?
Yes. It's made by MacPaw, an established developer, it's notarized by Apple and it's sold on the Mac App Store. As with any cleaner, review its lists: the risk is in removing something you meant to keep.
Is there a free alternative to CleanMyMac?
Not one app that does everything, but free tools cover each job: Storage settings, GrandPerspective or OmniDiskSweeper for finding big files, AppCleaner for uninstalling, OnyX for maintenance, and XProtect plus Malwarebytes Free for malware. macOS also clears caches itself when it needs space.
Do Macs need a cleaner app?
Not to stay healthy. macOS clears safe caches and logs when it needs space and runs its own maintenance. A cleaner app is a convenience for finding what's big, uninstalling apps completely and doing several jobs in one place.
Is CleanMyMac worth paying for?
If you'd use several of its features regularly, especially real-time malware monitoring and app updates, the subscription buys convenience. If you mainly want to free up space now and then, the built-in Storage settings and free disk analyzers do that.
How do I uninstall CleanMyMac?
MacPaw says the easiest way is to drag it to the Trash like any other app, and the most thorough is its own Applications module: open the Uninstaller there, select CleanMyMac and click Uninstall. Uninstalling doesn't cancel a subscription, so cancel that separately with MacPaw or in the App Store.
Related guides
How to free up space on your Mac, safely
The built-in way, in the order that's safest.
DaisyDisk vs OmniDiskSweeper vs GrandPerspective
Three disk analyzers, compared on display, deletion and price.
How to clear cache on a Mac
Which caches are safe to clear, and why it rarely speeds a Mac up.
What is XProtect?
What macOS's built-in malware protection covers.
Sources
- MacPaw, CleanMyMac (version, requirements, notarization) and MacPaw Store (plans and prices), checked 13 October 2026
- MacPaw, CleanMyMac editions, App Store edition differences, Moonlock Engine and How to uninstall CleanMyMac
- Apple, CleanMyMac on the Mac App Store (in-app purchase prices), checked 13 October 2026
- Apple, Optimize storage space on your Mac
- Erwin Bonsma, GrandPerspective; The Omni Group, OmniDiskSweeper; Software Ambience, DaisyDisk, checked 13 October 2026
- FreeMacSoft, AppCleaner; alienator88, Pearcleaner, checked 13 October 2026
- Titanium Software, OnyX, checked 13 October 2026
- Malwarebytes, Malwarebytes for Mac, checked 13 October 2026
See what's using your Mac's storage, for free
Tend is free to download. Pro is $1.99 a month, $12.99 a year with a 7-day free trial, or $29.99 once.