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AppCleaner vs Tidy My Mac
AppCleaner is a free app cleaner for the Mac: drop an app on it and it finds the files the app spread across your Library. Here is what it does well, what it can miss, and how it compares with Tidy My Mac's Uninstaller.
macOS 26 Tahoe or later · No credit card · Everything runs on your Mac
The short answer: AppCleaner is free, small and does one job: it removes an app together with the preferences, caches and support files it left behind. For most apps that is all you need. Tidy My Mac's Uninstaller does the same, and also stops an app's launch agents and helpers before removing them, finds the leftovers of apps you deleted long ago, and comes with cleanup and protection tools in the same app. If uninstalling is all you want, AppCleaner is hard to beat for the price.
| Feature | Tidy My MacCleanup + security | AppCleanerUninstaller |
|---|---|---|
| Price and trial | ||
| First year | $19.99 | Freedonations welcome |
| Years after | $59.99a year | Free |
| Covers | 1 Mac | Any number of Macs |
| Free trial | 7 daysno card | Not neededfree app |
| Runs on | macOS 26 Tahoe or later | macOS 15 or laterolder versions for older macOS |
| Clean up | ||
| One scan for the whole Mac | YesCleanup and security score | No |
| Junk and cache cleaner | YesIncludes developer junk | No |
| Large and old files | Yes | No |
| Visual disk map | YesTreemap | No |
| Duplicate files | YesMatched byte for byte | No |
| Similar photos | Yes | No |
| Applications | ||
| Uninstaller that removes leftovers | Yes | YesDrag an app onto its window |
| App updates | YesSecurity fixes first | No |
| Startup items and launch agents | YesWith boot time | No |
| Protection | ||
| Real-time antivirus | YesNew files in Downloads and Desktop | No |
| Malware scan on demand | YesQuick, Normal and Deep | No |
| Ransomware protection | YesBy behavior and decoy files | No |
| Adware and browser hijackers | YesProfiles, policies and proxies | No |
| Per-app outgoing firewall | Yes | No |
| Blocks phishing and malware sites | YesEvery browser and app | No |
| Blocks ads and trackers | YesEvery browser and app | No |
| Scam message checker | YesOn-device, Apple Intelligence | No |
| VPN | No | No |
| Security and privacy checks | ||
| macOS security settings, scored | YesSIP, Gatekeeper, FileVault and more | No |
| Alerts for apps with known vulnerabilities | Yes | No |
| Camera and microphone access | YesGrants and live alerts | No |
| Browser history and cookies cleanup | Yes | No |
| Browser extensions check | YesRated by access, 7 browsers | No |
| Wi-Fi security check | Yes | No |
| System | ||
| CPU and memory monitor | YesPlus battery and SSD health | No |
| Maintenance tasks | YesDNS, Spotlight, font caches | No |
Each vendor's own pricing and feature pages, checked November 3, 2026. Prices change often and many apps sell at a discount; check the vendor's site before you buy. Tell us about anything out of date at info@tidymymac.com and we will fix it. Product names are trademarks of their owners, who do not endorse this page.
What AppCleaner does
AppCleaner is made by FreeMacSoft and is free, with donations welcome. Drop an app onto its window, or pick it from its list of installed apps, and it searches your Library for files that belong to the app: preferences, caches, application support folders, containers and saved state. Untick anything you want to keep, then click Remove, and everything goes to the Trash.
Version 3.7 is for macOS 15 and later; older versions for older macOS releases are on its website. Download it only from freemacsoft.net: copies on download sites sometimes come bundled with adware.
Is AppCleaner safe?
Yes, from its own website. It moves what it finds to the Trash rather than deleting it outright, so you can put a file back if you removed too much. Look at the list before you click Remove: matching files by name can now and then include something shared with another app from the same developer.
Is AppCleaner free?
Yes, with no paid version, ads or limits, on any number of Macs.
Where AppCleaner does more
- Free, and it runs on macOS versions far older than Tidy My Mac, which needs macOS 26 Tahoe.
- Nothing else to learn: one window, one job.
- Trash first: what it removes goes to the Trash. Tidy My Mac's Uninstaller deletes the app and its leftovers permanently once you confirm, and checks the disk afterwards.
Where Tidy My Mac does more
- Background parts: the Uninstaller quits the app and its helpers, stops its launch agents and daemons, and removes privileged helpers and installer receipts, so nothing keeps trying to run after the app is gone.
- Old leftovers: it finds the files of apps you dragged to the Trash long ago, which an uninstaller you drop an app onto can't see.
- Narrow matching: it matches files by the app's bundle ID and those of its extensions and helpers, and never takes a folder shared by a developer's other apps.
- The rest of the Mac: app updates, startup items, a junk cleaner, a disk map, antivirus and a firewall.
Uninstalling without any app
You can remove an app and its leftovers by hand: drag the app to the Trash, then look for folders named after it or its developer in ~/Library/Application Support, ~/Library/Caches, ~/Library/Preferences and ~/Library/Containers, and for launch agents in the LaunchAgents folders. See how to uninstall apps on Mac completely for every step.
AppCleaner's details were checked on FreeMacSoft's website on November 3, 2026. We make Tidy My Mac, so read this page with that in mind. See the full comparison for CleanMyMac, MacKeeper and the other apps.
Questions about AppCleaner
Yes, when you download it from freemacsoft.net. It moves files to the Trash, so you can restore anything it removed by mistake. Check its list before you click Remove.
For removing an app now and then, the free AppCleaner. If you also want launch agents stopped, leftovers of old apps found and the rest of the Mac cleaned up, an uninstaller inside a full cleanup app, such as Tidy My Mac's, saves the extra steps.
It removes the app, but not its settings, caches, containers or launch agents. They are usually small, but launch agents can keep trying to run something that no longer exists.
No. Tidy My Mac's Uninstaller removes apps with their leftovers and also finds files left by apps you deleted earlier.
Do it with Tidy My Mac
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