Free Mac apps are easier to find but harder to choose
The process of choosing apps for Thriftmac has changed a lot over the past 20 years. Sometimes for the better, sometimes for worse.
A curated selection of 464 free Mac apps — no trials, no ads, no betas, no limitations
Browse dozens of categories
- AI
- Animation
- Audio
- Automation
- Awake
- Backup
- Calculator
- Calendar
- Clipboard
- Clock
- Code Editor
- Code Snippets
- Compression
- Converter
- Database
- Deletion
- Dictation
- Display
- Dock
- Drawing
- Education
- File Sharing
- Finance
- Finder
- FTP
- Functionality
- Graphics Tool
- Health
- Image Manager
- Journal
- Launcher
- Maintenance
- Markdown
- Media Hub
- Media Player
- Menu Bar
- Menu Bar Manager
- Messaging
- Miscellaneous
- Music
- News
- Notes
- Outliner
- Painting
- Photo Editing
- Playful
- Pomodoro
- Presentation
- Screen Capture
- Search
- Security
- Social Media
- Sync
- System Monitor
- Terminal
- Text Editor
- Text Tool
- Three Dimensional
- Timer
- To-Do
- Utilities Misc
- Video
- Wallpaper
- Weather
- Web Browsing
- Window Management
- Word Processor
- Workflow
- Writing
Scrimpy’s Latest
Updated as we find apps we like or stuff we want to talk about.
Abendrot
An app that aims to do better than the built-in Night Shift by warming your screen so that your body clock is convinced that it is night time, which is good for your circadian rhythm and sleep health. Can be customized if you have multiple screens.
FluidVoice
Polish your messy speech into text ready for any app. Runs locally and exposes nothing. System-wide input uses one shortcut for any text field. Prompts can be customized for each app.
YTAudioBar
Play music, podcasts, lectures and interviews from YouTube from the convenience of your menu bar, all ad free. Build playlists, go offline, create a queue.
Helium
Minimal interface has four customizable layouts. Blocks ads, trackers, cookie banners, third-party cookies and tampers with finger-printing — all by default. Thousands of search !bangs to choose from. Light and efficient, based on de-Googled Chromium.
Notcho Libre
Go notch free. If the app detects you are using a resolution where the notch cuts into your work space, it shifts the display mode so that it matches a resolution where the notch no longer shows.
Before thriftmac, there was a simple little site called free for X
Does anyone remember the predecessor to thriftmac? It was called free for X. I barely remember and I’m the one who built it.
Iconchanger
Change the icon for any Mac app. Browse from macosicons.com, use your own .icns files or drop in a .png. Change your mind with one click. My VS Code icon is now dark, the way it should always have been.
Super Easy Timer
A timer that always stays on top. Choose the size, colour and transparency. Also has repeat timers, stop watch and alarms. Set it by typing.
Stacks
Run HyperCard stacks from the Internet Archive’s HyperCard collection on your modern Mac without an emulator. Features period-accurate typography, sound, instruments, and MacinTalk speech synthesis, plus cross-stack navigation.
Tenacity
Three forks of Audacity are now united in Tenacity. Features include recording from audio devices (real or virtual), export and import of a wide range of audio formats, up to 32-bit float audio support, support for VST, LV2, and AU plugins, scripting, and more.
Vorssaint
A menu bar item that packs so many features you might not need anything else. Includes: keep awake, volume mixer, system monitor, metrics, window switcher, cut-and-paste in Finder, quit when last window closes, app uninstaller, floating shelf, cleaning mode, fan control, and probably more by now.
EasyDMG
Installing an app from a DMG is a bit of a rigamarole. After installing your downloaded app, EasyDMG can move the DMG to the trash, reveal the app in Finder, and open the app. It can also remove pesky warnings about unidentified developers.