There is no shortage of free yet useful programs for Windows, but when it comes to macOS, most of the good macOS apps are always paid. So, for the past few months, I’ve been building a list of free productivity apps for macOS. And I finally have a solid list.
So, let’s check it out. Shall we?
- Jan 05, 2017.
- Oct 07, 2018.
Free macOS Apps to Boost Your Productivity
1. Itsycal
Looking for a Calendar in the Menu Bar?
Jun 11, 2020. AirMail ($1.99): The Apple Mail app is good, but you may want a bit more than it.
Unlike Windows, macOS doesn’t show you a calendar when you click on the clock icon in the menu bar, Yes, you can bring up the calendar app from the spotlight (press cmd + spacebar, type in ‘calendar’ and hit enter), but that takes too long.
Enter Itsycal, it’s a tiny calendar that sits at your menu bar and displays your monthly calendar. It also If you want, it will display your events as a companion to the Mac Calendar app. And to jump between different months and years, you can use the arrow keys on your keyboard.
2. ExternalDisplayBrightness
ExternalDisplayBrightness is a simple utility that allows you to change the brightness of external displays connected to your Mac using keyboard shortcuts. No need to use the keys on your external monition for controlling brightness and contrast.
3. Pearl
Every once in a while, when you want to check your hair, see if something is stuck in your teeth; you scrounge for a mirror to look into and there’s none around to your embarrassment.
Before discovering Pearl, I often used facetime to see how I look before you get ready for skype call. But the issue with that is, the preview is so big, that even people sitting beside you might spot your narcissism.
And that’s where Pearl comes in, it’s a tiny app that sits in your menu bar. Click it, make sure the lights and angles are good enough for your meeting.
4. Be Focused
No productivity app list can be completed without a Pomodoro timer app.
For those who are unfamiliar, the Pomodoro technique is pretty simple. Set a timer for 25 minutes, work for that duration of time, take a short break, then reset a timer and work again.
In Be focused, you can customize work timers like 25 mins or 45 mins, set different break times, and even change the alarm sounds.
You can add up to ten tasks to your to-do list, however, if you are a beginner, I would suggest taking it slow. The less you do Pomodoro, the effective it gets.
5. Timeout
So, here is a disturbing fact for you – if you sit in an office chair for more than six hours a day, then you just might be a risk of getting heart disease 64 percent more than usual.
Well, what can you do about it? I try to follow two systems.
- Drink a lot of water, which will not only keep you hydrated, but you’ll also have to periodically get up to go and pee.
- Use a 20-20-20 rule. I.e. every 20 minutes, walk 20 feet away for 20 seconds.
And guess what, this is where time out, comes in picture.
By default, it freezes your computer after the 20 minutes by showing an overlay, and won’t let you work for 20 sec, expecting you to walk towards your co-worker and start an awkward conversation for 20 sec.
Although, I’m if, in high productivity mood, I prefer to set up the intervals to about 25 mins so that it syncs well with Pomodoro timer.
6. Usage
One thing that rings true for every work environment is that really It’s easy to get distracted these days. And one way to solve this problem is time tracking.
If you know where you are spending your time, you’ll have a better idea on how to manage it.
Once you install it, the app will run in the background, it requires no input from your side. And after waiting for few days or weeks, the app will give you a bird’s-eye view of your work, about where you are spending most of your time and if you are being productive or not.
7. Quitter
Another way to fight distraction is by hiding or quitting the app, that you no longer use on your mac.
If you waste too much time checking for new messages on skype and slack, then Quitter is what you need. Simply put, if you don’t open an app for a select amount of time, Quitter will hide or quit that app so you don’t think about it. Overall, if you find yourself wasting time with certain apps just because they’re in front of your eyes, this might help you out.
8. Monosnap
macOS already offers a way of capturing screencast with QuickTime. And tbh, it’s decent. However, if you do if you often take screenshots and record your screen, then having a third-party app is a must.
For a long time, I was looking for a good screen recording app for my mac, and then I discovered monospace.
Just like any recorder, you can record a part of the screen or the complete area, and it also has a built-in editor. But the best thing I like about it is, say, I found an image, which I want to quickly edit, you can just simply copy the image to your clipboard, go to Monosnap and open it from the clipboard, and you can edit it right then and there.
In a nutshell, Monosnap is the best screen recording and screenshot app you can find for free.
9. Space launch
To open an app on macOS, what we usually do is, bring up the spotlight with cmd + space and type in the first few letters of the app, like ch for google chrome. But what If I told you, there is an easier way to launch an app on macOS with a simple keyboard shortcut. For instance, to open chrome you can press spacebar + c. Or press space + s to launch the slack app.
You can also set child keys, like Space + F then D (while you are holding the space button) to open the Downloads folder and Space + F then c to open iCloud directory.
10. Cleaner for Memory
Newer Macs come with plenty of RAM, so you won’t see your macOS slowing down or app crashes. but older Macs can get really slow, especially while running apps like FCP or photoshop.
And this the problem Cleaner for Memory tries to solve. It’s a small app that lives in your menu bar, and show you memory statistics when you click on it.
But the cool thing here is, — if your system is a bit sluggish, you can click on optimize button, and it’ll free up some of your RAM.
But how does that work? Where does it get extra ram from?
Well, your Mac likes to cache things in your “free” RAM so that it can load apps quickly. This might be nice sometimes, but if you need to free up a lot of memory for a particular app, let’s say running FCP on old MacBook, then you’d delete your cache files. And get some extra ram from there.
Best productivity apps guarantee best working environment! Have you ever thought how much time do you waste on typing and clicking, organizing files, and trying to find the date? It’s time to put your laptop to work with this list of 15 best productivity apps for Mac.
Best Mac Productivity Apps
Sometimes you don’t need full-screen apps with lots of features to improve your productivity. Instead, have a look at these small tools that do one-two things and make your life easier.
1. Krisp
One of the biggest enemies of every good conference call is background noise. However, there’s a solution for that too.
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Krisp is an easy-to-use but powerful app that recognizes your voice and separates it from extraneous noise next to you, leaving only your clean voice. It’s one of the best productivity apps for Mac that can help you to have better conference calls. You can work from any place that’s convenient for you and don’t worry about the crying baby or airport announcement in the background. Krisp also launched on Appsumo Deals.
2. Magnet
To be productive means having an organized workplace. Magnet app does exactly that – organizes the space on your desktop. This small app allows you to drag windows to show two, three, or four apps side-by-side.
Having multiple windows side by side eliminates the neebad for app switching and enhances your multitasking. Organize your workspace and seamlessly copy the text from one window and paste it into the second one. You can also customize the shortcuts for the app for maximum efficiency.
Price: $1.19
3. Itsycal
Have you ever wondered why your Mac doesn’t show full date on menubar? We have. While we don’t know the exact reason why Mac doesn’t support this function natively, we’ve found a good solution with this nice productivity app.
Itsycal adds a small calendar on your menubar. With it you can always have a brief glance at the whole month, week, your day and even appointments. It integrates with your macOS calendar and reminders, and you can modify the appearance if you wish too.
Price: Free
4. Flux
Sometimes you have to work during night or in place with bad lighting. For these situations use Flux – productivity app for Mac that changes the brightness and color temperature of your display. It matches them with the time of the day, so you call work better and feel less tired.
Price: Free
5. SelfControl
If you can’t resist the urge to check your Facebook, Twitter or any other website you stick for hours – this tool is for you. SelfControl app helps us to save us from meaningless waste of time of these websites.
Simply add the websites which distract you from your work, set the timer and turn it on. The app will block the mentioned sites for the specified time.
The best part is that even if you reboot your Mac, you can’t turn off the application until the timer’s up. So if your “selfcontrol” is not enough, use this small tool to be more productive with your time.
Price: Free
Best Mac Productivity Apps – Useful Tools
1. OmniFocus 3
This productivity app is all about managing your tasks. OmniFocus has a clean interface and every feature you need to get stuff done. And its sleek design is simply a perfect match for your Mac.
Add all your projects, to-do lists into OmniFocus and track all details like dates, notes, files attachments. Also you can easily synchronize between your iPhone or iPad. Free up your mind from storing all your tasks and enemies of every good conference call.
2. Bear
One of mac productivity apps in this list is called Bear. It’s a beautiful and flexible note-taking app. It has all functions that you’ve wished the pre-installed Notes on Mac would had.
With Bear it’s super easy to jot down your notes on the go. Write prose and outlines, create to-do lists and reminders for yourself, and many more. The best part is that many functions of Bear are free and you can enjoy all the perks without spending much.
Price: Free ($1.49 monthly)
3. CleanMyMac X
CleanMyMac is a lifesaver for your Mac. It combines many optimization tools in single app. Monitor the performance, remove malware and clean up your macOS.
This is a must-have app for any Mac user if you want your device to be healthy. And you want it, right?
Best Windows 10 Productivity Apps
Price: One year subscription costs $49.95
4. Alfred
Alfred brings productivity to your fingerprints! This app for macOS boosts your efficiency by helping you search your computer and web with great speed.
You can use Alfred for multiple things. It allows you to open things, search for things, define and time them, easily calculate things and expand tests, contact people and manage clipboard and so much more. Definitely give Alfred a try and experience its possibilities.
Price: Free
5. 1Password
Have you ever forgotten your password? Now you really forget your passwords as 1Password will remember all of them for you. Using 1Password is super simple: just save your passwords and login to websites with a single click.
Besides, if you often have a hard time thinking of new and unique passwords – worry no more. 1Passwords has your back and it will create a strong password instead of you and sync between your devices.
Price: $2.99 monthly
Best Mac productivity apps – Utilities
Free Productivity Apps
1. Bartender 3
Have you ever wanted to organize the apps on menu bar? Now you can!
With Bartender 2 you can easily rearrange apps on your menu bar, hide them and even move to separate Bartender Bar. Give it a try and find out multiple variations of your menu bar.
Price: $15
2. AppCleaner
This small productivity app allows you to safely uninstall unwanted apps from your computer. As you know any time you install an application dozens of files are distributed throughout your System. Besides taking up much space, they leave traces which are hard to find with custom tools.
That’s why you need AppCleaner to clean up the mess and delete all traces of unwanted apps from your device.
Price: Free
3. Things
You definitely have a lot of things, right? Add one more “thing” to your list – Things app. This is a small and easy-to-use task manager which makes you truly productive.
If you’re tired of all big apps with dozens of features (most of which you don’t need), then Things is your choice. Give it a try!
Price: $49.99
4. MalwareBytes
Don’t believe people who say that you don’t need a anti-malware program on your Mac. While, there might not be a need for heavy-weight and cumbersome applications, Malware Bytes is all you need.
Malwarebytes Anti-Malware scans your computer, finds and removes code that lowers system performance or destroys your system. If your Mac is running slow and annoying adware and pop-ups keep coming, definitely install this app and revive your Mac.
Best Productivity Apps For Mac
Price: Free
5. Gemini 2
Sometimes you can’t find the exact file you need, but often times it turns out you have multiples of the same file. Finding and removing every duplicate file seems like a redundant task. That’s what Gemini is for!
Forget about the problem of duplicate files with Gemini. It spots duplicates and similar files, sees how they’re different and deletes the ones you don’t need. Gemini is smart and it learns all the time to improve the process. Sounds amazing, right? Get yourself mac productivity apps like Gemini and free up tons of space on your Mac.
Best Productivity Apps Iphone
Price: Free
Best Mac Productivity Software
Mac Productivity Apps Bonus: Email Analytics
This app is one of those mac productivity apps that will help you keep in track of and visualize your team’s email activity. It is private and secure and will let you to monitor and measure the email productivity of your team and other employees.
Email Analytics provides an opportunity to segment the teams which you need to monitor, and compare their analytics data to rule out the top performing members. You can see the analytics in real-time and the reports are updated frequently to ensure you get the most precise results.
This is great for boosting your and your team’s productivity in the long run, so give it a try on your Mac. There’s a 14 day trial after which you will have to pay $15 per mailbox a month.
By now you should already have your Mac ready to took off and allow you to be your most productive self. Let us know in the comments which Mac app is your favorite!