When you first get your MacBook, its speed is always crazy. You can boot, shut down, open apps, access the internet, and do much more with ease, but ten months in and your device suddenly starts lagging and going slowly.
At this point, more often than not, you need a Mac Cleaner. The main works of Mac Cleaners are to speed up your system, boost its performance, and clean out junk, malware, and unwanted files. With such features, it’s reasonable that every Mac owner should have a Mac Cleaner on their device.
These unwanted files and junk have been accumulated over time; they may be remnants of uninstalled apps, random websites, cache data, irrelevant picture data or attachments, and so much more.
With a good Mac Cleaner, you can get rid of this dirt, which will reward your computer with speed and free up space.
Is it safe to use Mac Cleaner?
From the reward you gain from using a Mac Cleaner, there shouldn’t be a question of “should I get it?” but “which should I get?” Nevertheless, if you check most forums, you’ll find people saying “No” to getting Mac Cleaners. With the defense, Apple has made provisions for that.
They may have a point here, but on closer look, you’ll notice that these users are often tech-savvy individuals who have both times on their hands and know their way around Mac computers. Some even go as far as calling them a Scam.
So, is it safe to use Mac Cleaners? Well, my answer is this, if you fall into the category above, I mean those who know their way around Mac and have enough time at hand, you may say ‘No’. But if you barely know in detail about your Mac, then you should get a Mac cleaner.
Mac Cleaners don’t magically add performance or speed to your computer; they help bring back that initial speed you had when you first got your computer. When they clean out your device, they take out unnecessary files that were consuming your Mac resources.
Most times, you won’t find these files on your own as they may be hidden or in deep directories. Even if you decide to go looking for them, they may consume time you’ll have used for other things.
Most Mac Cleaners don’t just clean out junk but give you a status report of your machine. Some also clean out duplicate files like photos. They often seek your approval before proceeding, so be rest assured you won’t lose your files – if you use an excellent Mac disk Cleaner.
7 Best Free Mac Cleaner In 2023
Yes, we need Mac Cleaners; we still have to make sure we have the best. Most programs aren’t worth the purchase or use. The big names are often reliable, but you should carry out extensive research if you want to try a new or underdog program.
Nevertheless, in this section, you’ll see the best free Mac cleaners available.
A ton of free Mac optimizers exist, so when choosing one, you should look out for the reviews, the price, the features it claims to offer, its efficiency, its user interface, its design, and the number of resources it consumes (they should run in the background without causing issues).
Without much ado, check out my list of the best free MacBook cleaners out there.
1. CleanMyMac

First on this list is CleanMyMac. Garnering over 4 million downloads, it is obvious why it should come first. This program was developed by the famous Ukrainian tech company MacPaw, which is a wide-known distributor of Mac PCs.
This free Mac cleaner is filled with nifty utilities that will breathe life into your Mac. It is renowned for cleaning junk, logs, temporary files, and trash and has an anti-malware feature.
CleanMyMac X will fast-scan and simplify all crap documents, viruses, unwanted data, etc. It will free your Mac of junk files, especially those lurking in your image records and sometimes your iTunes.
It offers features like a Full system clean, Safe Mac clean, Simple Scheduler, Large file scanner, Data shredder, and so much more. It is available in 12 languages such as French, Portuguese, Arabic, etc.
Pros
- It offers a step-by-step guide.
- Offers different cleaning modules
- Good customer care
- Customizable cleaning
Cons
- Many users might find its premium version over-priced.
- Offers too many features that may confuse users.
Pricing
They offer a free trial with limited features; these features might still get the job done. Its premium subscription ranges from $40 – $90, while its one-time subscription is between $90 – $200.
2. Ccleaner for Mac

Next, we have the famous Ccleaner. This program was developed in 2012 by Piriform, and since its day of birth, it has maintained its position as one of the best free mac cleaning software out there. One of its cool features is defining the crappy bugs before giving you the option to clean them.
If you frequently use the internet, you should get Ccleaner as it helps bolster your security. This program will remove your browser’s search history and cookies, and dig deep to remove the trackers left by sites you visited.
It also offers you a customizable way to keep your device clean with more extensive collections like optimizing your platform, deleting temporary files, and more.
Pros
- The free version is often more than enough
- Intuitive Interface
- It offers a customizable option to clean your system
- Offers real-time monitoring
Cons
- To get more cleaning features, you’ll need to upgrade
- Lacks advanced security and malware protection
Pricing
Its free version is often enough; nevertheless, you can jump on its professional version for as little as $25.
3. Smart Mac Care

You can’t have a comprehensive list of Mac Cleaners without including Smart Mac Care. It is one program you can’t ignore when you consider the features it is equipped with. Smart Mac Care is a perfect blend of advanced features that will tackle security threats, alongside junk and privacy issues.
This free mac cleaner will optimize your storage while tackling speed issues. It will get rid of adware, malware, spyware, and others. With such features, it belongs to the top best mac cleaners out there.
Concerning your privacy, Smart Mac Care offers a feature to hide your sensitive info safely while it scans your device. It provides different modules; therefore, if module one doesn’t give you what you want, its advanced module will bail you out.
One other feature you will love is its ability to locate and trash out redundant data such as outdated OS versions, backups, and data in iTunes.
Pros
- It optimizes disk space while boosting speed.
- Offers advanced security features
- High review scores amongst users.
- Will protect your computer from Malware, Spyware, Adware, etc.
Cons
- A few features could be sometimes confusing
Pricing
Its free version is cool, while its premium version could cost you $50.
4. MacBooster

We have on our number four a free Mac cleaning software to help you get rid of over 20 different junk files. Its cleaning features will help remove duplicate files and large files, free up tons of space, and boost your computer’s general performance.
Aside from those prominent features, the MacBooster can also carry out a virus & malware scan, which in turn protects your device from malicious security breaches. Its producer, Iobit, included a RAM optimization feature, which in turn boosts your Mac.
If you’ve been using iTunes for a while, you should know that iTunes stores many cache files in the background. These files are sometimes hard to locate, but with MacBooster at hand, you can get rid of these cache files.
This software offers a feature called Turbo Boost, which aggressively fixes several disk permission and then optimizes disk space to stay true to its name.
Pros
- Offers Turbo Boost
- It improves your Mac’s security against malware.
- It optimizes RAM to boost performance.
- Carries out deep system cleanup
Cons
- Its free version is too limited
- Few users have reported a security issue with it
Pricing
It does offer a 14-day free trial, which gives you hindsight of what it contains. At the same time, its full purchase ranges from $30 – $179.
5. TuneupMyMac

We have TuneupMyMac taking spot 5. It is one program you can’t leave out when putting up a list of the best free Mac cleaner available out there, and they are excellent reasons for that. This software helps boost your Mac speed, get rid of malware, optimize your device, and completely tuning-it-up.
It has a very user-friendly interface with easy navigation features such as a one-click to remove unwanted obsolete files. This program clears temp logs and cache while freeing up your device’s RAM. It will clean duplicate and large files and also delete unwanted apps.
Pros
- You can manage startups or log-in items
- Offers deep scanning
- Easy to navigate
- It works on a good number of Mac versions
- Deletes duplicate files and large files
Cons
- Isn’t time effective when running its intense cleaning feature
- It doesn’t offer customized cleaning options
Pricing
It also offers a free version, while its premium version goes for $50.
6. Onyx

Number 6 spot goes to Onyx. This is a versatile free MacBook cleaner that doesn’t only clean your device, but repairs common disk issues, verifies your file system structure on startup, empty system trash, font cache, main indexes, and so much more.
Professionals often term Onyx an overall care software. It is a “Jack of all trades – and master of all” like fixing and rebuilding databases, keeping up disc info, configuring parameters in Finder, Dock, Safari, etc., partitioning system documents, software, and procuring erased cluster,s and a few others.
Onyx offers some more features like an advanced storage manager, screen sharing, network diagnosis, removes certain problematic folders. Although it has just so many features, this program is one reliable application that provides a more straightforward solution to complex commands that would usually need you to enter commands in the command line.
Pros
- It acts as an in-depth cleaning and maintenance tool
- Offers a ton of advanced features
- It is a very accurate tool
- It has hidden features
- It is free
Cons
- It may be bulky for some users
- Customer care is somewhat poor
7. Drive Genius

Drive Genius is last on our list. Being number 7 doesn’t make it any less perfect. It is a Mac disk cleaner that is available for Mac OS 10 and above. Prosoft Engineering Inc. developed it. It has a feature called DrivePulse that helps monitor your drive’s health.
This program comes equipped with features to look for and clean malware on your device while rewarding it with speed after it removes the cache clutter. With Drive Genius, you can create separate partition bootup.
If you are big on security, you can take advantage of its safety attributes, which take care of its antivirus application. At the same time, its Bootwell equipment and malware test software will give you more security advantages. Everything about Drive Genius is top-notch.
Pros
- Easily clean your device with its single-click feature.
- It offers a data shredder tool.
- No data loss.
- It is perfect for detecting and removing malware
Cons
- Its free version is quite limited.
Pricing
Aside from its free version, you can grab a yearly subscription from $80 – $100.
What Mac Cleaner Does Apple Recommend?
Every application I recommended here is perfect for your MacBook as Apple hasn’t reported or tried to kick them out. However, CleanMyMac is top of the list. It was created by the Ukrainian tech company MacPaw which is renowned as a trusted maker of iOS products.
MacPaw is a legit company with software that is Apple verified and Safe to Install. Apple has scanned the CleanMyMac application’s codes and has reported no malicious content.
Conclusion
They are so many options available out there, but this guide has given you the best free Mac cleaner available that is available in 2023. I first explained why you should use a Mac Cleaner; then I gave you reasons why Mac Cleaners are safe to use.
Furthermore, I listed the best seven free mac optimizers, like CleanMyMac, TuneupMyMac, Smart Mac care, Ccleaner, and much more. I also included their pros and cons and gave subscription details for each. Please make a choice and share with us your experience with Mac Cleaners. Thank you for stopping by.