11 Best Free Mac Apps in 2024: For All Purposes

By Tani Adams 4 days ago, Apps and Software

Those owning Apple devices are always searching for the best free Mac apps to bring their media consumption experience and everyday productivity to the notch. The interest in such applications grows even more since most of them have been ported with macOS Mojave and macOS 10.15 Catalina.

With such an abundance of apps, your Mac acquires immense power for handling regular tasks and more creative operations.

Top 11 Free Mac Apps

  1. Slack - For working remotely with others
  2. DropBox - Centralization of team content
  3. Duet - For using iPhone as a second display
  4. Atom - Text and code editor for the Mac
  5. Logic Pro X - For professional music production
  6. Microsoft To Do - Perfect daily planner
  7. GIMP - Image editing app
  8. OneCast - For X Box games streaming
  9. Franz - Managing of the messaging apps
  10. Fantastical 3.0 - More than a calendar
  11. Spark - Email client for fast and easy work

I have thoroughly studied the apps available in the Mac App Store and googled for other helpful tools you can find on the net. This article is the result of my survey and if you are determined to facilitate your workflow, make sure to read it till the end.

I have described applications that we use on a regular basis, as well as less popular tools that are also worth considering.

1. Slack

For working remotely with others
  • Categorize discussions by channels
  • Long list of apps to connect
  • Fast, powerful mobile app
  • Clumsy for large projects

Verdict: Slack is one of the biggest selling products in the online application space. This simple video conferencing software has gained over one million downloads in the first two months of its existence on the iTunes Store and has thousands of users. The slick and attractive free Mac app is a highly efficient sales tool that allows companies to solicit new clients from across the world by simply setting up a custom channel and sending broadcasted messages.

To make this feature even more lucrative to the average business owner, many businesses have purchased Slack Pro, an advanced version of the free app that allows users to integrate various marketing tools into their marketing campaigns.

slack interface

2. DropBox

Centralization of team content
  • Automatic file backup
  • Multiple people can use it
  • Finding files through search
  • Lack of elite-level security

Verdict: DropBox is one of the many free and open-source apps that have been a big success in terms of popularity. This is an internet based storage facility where users can store all their important documents and other files online. With the help of this feature, one does not need to invest in any external storage device for his or her documents.

DropBox helps in saving huge amounts of data, and thus makes life easier for the people, who are constantly on the move. This feature also helps in protecting your privacy and confidentiality of files, hence you do not need to worry about such things at all.

dropbox interface

3. Duet

For using iPhone as a second display
  • Adds touch-screen capability
  • Free, no subscription required
  • Easy setup for casual users
  • Not many in-app display options
  • Limited gestures

Verdict: Duet is a popular and versatile free downloadable Mac app, can be used with both iOS and Mac devices to offer users access to millions of songs from the popular music channels including iTunes, Rhapsody, and Apple's own App Store.

Duet can be downloaded from the Mac App Store via the Mac website. Users may also visit the developer's site, click through the free demo version, and download the software for a fee.

duet free mac apps interface

4. Atom

Text and code editor for the Mac
  • Built-in package management
  • Plugin ecosystem
  • C++ development
  • Performance needs some attention

Verdict: Atom features a quick look at what the program can do and whether or not it's something you'd want to use on your Mac. It allows you to use Google Docs-like spreadsheets right on your Mac, while also allowing you to quickly export spreadsheets to the clipboard.

You do, however, have to make sure that you have a compatible version of the free Office suite in order to export to the clipboard from the Atom.

atom free mac apps interface

5. Logic Pro X

For professional music production
  • Integration with all Apple products
  • Faster update schedule
  • Stunning array of bundled instruments
  • Tutorials could be better

Verdict: One of the most feature packed software applications for the Apple product line is Logic Pro, which includes everything you need to create professional looking legal documents. This software provides users with a great feature rich toolbox for crafting legal briefs and argumentative articles, as well as a variety of document creation and manipulation features.

One of the more popular features in the free version of Logic Pro X is the ability to import videos from video sharing sites and convert them to PDF format. If you want to edit video content in the format that is accepted by the majority of computers Logic Pro X will import and save that content in the appropriate file type for your computer.

logic pro x free mac apps interface

6. Microsoft To Do

Perfect daily planner
  • To-do list organization
  • Some solid, basic to-do list features
  • Managing projects and tasks
  • Free
  • Device updating is buggy

Verdict: Microsoft To Do is a popular app for the Mac operating system. The software was created by Microsoft to help the Mac user with their office needs. With the help of Microsoft To Do, you can organize your appointments, reminders and tasks with just a few clicks of the mouse.

The software also helps in tracking your expenses and track your productivity, and since it is a free download from the Microsoft website, this is one feature that is being used by many Mac users.

microsoft to do free mac apps interface

7. GIMP

Image editing app
  • Architectural projects
  • Friendly interface
  • Compatibility with other softwares
  • No option to export in CMYK forma

Verdict: GIMP for Mac is similar to other photo editing apps for Mac. GIMP gives you access to thousands of digital pictures and photos from any location in the world and edit them with ease.

This application also offers basic editing features like crop, resize, and restore but it also has a few extra features that are worth noting.

gimp free mac apps interface

8. OneCast

For X Box games streaming
  • Supports MFi controllers
  • Works as local Xbox console endpoint
  • Has great on-screen controls
  • Requires a fast 5 Ghz wireless

Verdict: OneCast is a web-based application that allows its users to stream Xbox One games and other high quality content from any location. With this software, you don't have to worry about paying expensive downloads or cable bill each month to enjoy your favorite media at home.

This free Mac app and other related applications can help you get the most out of your device and let you experience the best entertainment at any time of the day.

onecast free mac apps interface

9. Franz

Managing of the messaging apps
  • Free with unlimited Services
  • Cloud syncing
  • Ability to add several accounts
  • Easily accessible
  • Doesn’t support audio in some apps

Verdict: Franz from App Store is a powerful tool that enables you to manage all your messages from any of your Mac devices. You can access your emails on iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad or use the web browser for browsing the Internet without any restrictions. You can get real-time updates on your Gmail, Facebook and Twitter by using this powerful free version messaging apps.

You can even manage your address book from the convenience of your Mac computer. It comes with a variety of features which include: message management, contacts manager, email client, contacts search, export to clipboard, keyboard shortcuts and much more. This useful software is free from any charges.

franz free mac apps interface

10. Fantastical 3.0

More than a calendar
  • Gorgeous user interface overhaul
  • Automated scheduling
  • 2 users retain existing features
  • Requires free Flexibits account

Verdict: A new version of Fantastical 3.0 for Mac operating system has been released with several new features and enhancements. I've been using the latest free version for a while now, and I'm glad that the new interface and simplified use for the Mac user have kept it from becoming obsolete as many feared it would with the huge App Store that it soon will have.

Features such as the Mail Extension allow you to send emails directly from your desktop, and the Calendar extension feature lets you see all of your upcoming events in a sidebar calendar view, so you can keep track of many different things at once.

fantastical 3.0 free mac apps interface

11. Spark

Email client for fast and easy work
  • Quick initial setup using iCloud
  • Free to download
  • Several team-focused features
  • Lacks some iOS features

Verdict: Spark is a simple to use, attractive and totally free email client and email marketing software for Mac OS. It is very similar to the Mail application on the iPhone and iPod Touch, but also allows you to send files, edit text, manage folders & labels, set up calendars & tasks, perform instant recall, sort email, and much more.

When I first looked at the free version of the application, I really couldn't tell whether it was just another email client or if there were other features to the software that I would benefit from. However, after having used it for some time, I can say that Spark is a great addition to any professional business's toolkit.

spark free mac apps interface
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