We clean our rooms and clothes so why not our Macs? But who can waste the entire day digging through folders and files? There are so many places like music, videos, apps and email downloads, and countless more locations on your Mac where junk and clutter accumulates. In 2020 cleaning your Mac is easier than ever. Which is why millions of people download free and low-cost Mac cleaning software.

Jan 18, 2012  The Mac's native Disk Utility application can help determine whether a system's hard drive is encountering trouble. While Disk Utility doesn't fix physically failing disks, it can help speed. Mar 15, 2018  Rather than use a Mac-formatted drive, you should get the important files off of it and use exFAT-formatted drives for moving data between Macs and PCs. To format the drive in Windows, right-click it in the File Explorer window and select “Format.” Choose the. May 17, 2009  Diagnostic software. There are also freeware utilities available on the web that will let you know when your hard drive is about to fail. Use third-party software for hard drive diagnostics if: You have already run chkdsk, and are still experiencing serious problems that make you suspect disk surface errors or imminent hard drive failure.

To start off, we've made a quick comparison chart about best Mac cleaners for Mac.

A handy cleaner may prove that your Mac is still alive and can actually perform at its best. In this article we’ve brought together some of the best Mac cleaning solutions around to clean, optimize, and maintain Macs that are available in 2020.

Top 10 best cleaners for Mac: Free and premium versions

1. CleanMyMac X

CleanMyMac X takes the first place with good reason — this cleaner combines features of both cleaning software and antimalware tool. Its Smart Scan promises a “nice and thorough scan of your Mac.” It does what it says, detecting junk like user cache files and system logs, checking your Mac for malicious software, and speeding up your MacBook. Looks like, there is a threat in my system, that I need to get rid of:

Frankly speaking, CleanMyMac X is Tesla Roadster among other Mac cleaners. And it does a great job revealing your junk and other clutter, uninstalling unneeded apps and their leftovers, and keeping your Mac’s system clean and optimized. Another pro is that CleanMyMac X is Apple-notarized, which means it’s safe for your Mac. You can download its free version right here.

Best Mac Diagnostic Software

Price: $39.95
Free version: Available here

2. Disk Doctor

Disk Doctor is developed in the UK and was awarded the 'Mac Gem’ award by MacWorld in 2013. CNET and other tech journalists also praise functionality. As of 2020, it still looks like a useful tool for Mac cleaning that removes junk slowing down and reducing the computing power of your Mac.

Price: $2.99
Free version: N/A

3. MacBooster

MacBooster is a popular app that is developed at IObit. It cramps so many features under one interface it hardly fits into a “cleaner” niche. What makes it different is the duplicate file remover — an extra option to free up space on Mac. According to the developer, you can altogether delete 20 types of junk files with MacBooster.

MacBooster, in its version 8 rendition, offers real-time Mac protection, which makes it also an antivirus, although, quite a basic one. For example, you can remove malicious browser cookies to evade intrusive advertisements on your Mac. It doesn’t belong to free Mac cleaner apps per se, although a free trial is available. Unlike CleanMyMac, it doesn’t allow you to remove any junk for free in its trial version. To get the taste of MacBooster, you only have to rely on a free scan.

You should know that even when you uninstall MacBooster, some parts of the app may remain on your drive.

Price: $59.95 for Premium version
Free version: Available

4. Onyx

OnyX is a french Mac cleaning solution developed by Titanium software. It weighs only 5 MB but that doesn’t mean its capabilities are limited. OnyX is a tool that programmers will have a lot of fun with. With it, you can peek under the hood of your macOS and automate a whole list of jobs, like disk cleanup and cache removal. You can even tweak the color of folders on your Mac, and even make them invisible. Deservedly, it's among best free Mac cleaners.

OnyX is one of the best Mac cleaners because it cleans many specific under-the-surface files, like inner databases and logs. If you know what is XPC cache is, you’ll probably like this app. But for us, ordinary Mac users who came here for the design and glossy buttons, OnyX will require some learning time.
Those who use OnyX say it is stable and reliable. There is no dedicated customer service (because OnyX is free software), but you shouldn’t be worried. The only likely damage is you accidentally deleting files by yourself.
Price: Free cleaner

5. DaisyDisk

DaisyDisk gives you a visual representation of your Mac folders, making it easy to see what is taking up space and delete the folders you don't need. All you need to do is select a drive, DaisyDisk will scan it, then you can delete everything that is wasting valuable space. It comes with a free and premium version.

Price:$9.99
Free version: Trial version available

6. AppCleaner & Uninstaller

If you only need to uninstall apps on Mac, AppCleaner is a good pick. AppCleaner only removes applications, plugins, and widgets, which are again, small apps. AppCleaner works in a familiar drag & drop mode. Its interface is also clean and easy to understand for a newbie.

After feeding the apps to AppCleaner, you should visit the Leftovers section of the app to erase their remains. Why we place AppCleaner & Uninstaller among free Mac cleaner tools? Because it is 100% free. Whether you will fully clean your Mac using it, is a different question.
AppCleaner & Uninstaller is created by FreeMacSoft, also the makers of LiteIcon, an icon customizer for Mac.
Price: Voluntary donation

7. Smart Mac Care

If you launch Smart Mac Care, it will look hauntingly familiar to other free Mac cleaner apps. Not only features will be called the same, everything up to the fonts, will be identical to some other app you’ve just used. That’s not a minus, though. You can still free up a lot of space with Smart Mac Care.

Smart Mac Care operates by a logic of “scans.” There is a Junk Scan, Malware Scan, Privacy Scan, etc. Just like Mac Booster, Smart Mac Care removes duplicates scattered in various locations on your Mac. There’s also a Memory Optimizer feature that promises to free up RAM on your Mac. In a word, Smart Mac Care resembles every other generic product whose only difference is in packaging. This is supported by the fact that we couldn’t find any credible third-party reviews for this app.

On another skeptical note: to uninstall Smart Mac Care you have to enter your admin password. This is not the case with other Mac cleaners we’ve used.
Price: $56.62 per year
Free version: Demo available

8. Drive Genius

Drive Genius is labeled a “Mac monitoring software.” It’s a whole suite of tools that provide powerful disk diagnostics. It’s hard to list a thing that this software doesn’t do. You can scan for malware, secure-erase files, customize icons — it’s dozens of apps in one body. What makes Drive Genius unique is, probably, its search for corrupted files and inconsistencies on your drive. If your Mac is an old one, keeping it in good health will be easier with Drive Genius.

In a free version, you can use just a fraction of tools, notably a DiskPulse utility. This is an automatic Mac health checker that notifies you before your hard drive fails. Unlike Mac cleaners that merely scan, it is able to repair damage on your disks, which makes it a real deal. Be prepared that hard drive scan may take some time, but the results are worth it. Also note that Drive Genius is not available for macOS Catalina (as of the beginning of 2020).

Price: $299 for Professional edition
Free version: Limited Lite edition is available

9. CCleaner

Originally created in 2004 by Piriform, CCleaner comes with a free and professional version, focusing on businesses and business customers. CCleaner is a cross-platform tool, for PCs, Macs, Android, and it has a Cloud, Network and Technician tool, depending on what you need and the platform/software you use.

The premium version comes with a lot more features, including real-time alerts, free updates, and dedicated support. Although created for PCs in the early days, CCleaner does well to identify unwanted files on a Mac, so that users can select and delete the files and folders they don't need to free up space. As a cleaner for Mac, customers are pretty happy with the results of CCleaner.
Price: $19.95
Free version: Available

10. Sensei

The Sensei app is a relatively new app on the market, but it can be another useful tool for your Mac. The Sensei software developers call the app “Pro Mac Cleaner” on their website. I would call it a performance controlling tool.

Sensei presents a detailed picture of how your Mac performs. In the Dashboard, you can find out information about your MacBook, check your CPU’s current temperature, and see how much of your RAM is used. Cooling gives you exact information on your Mac’s fans' speed.

Its Clean option helps to get rid of user cache, logs, large files, etc. The Uninstaller feature allows you to delete apps from your Mac and remove their traces. It doesn’t list pre-installed apps from Apple, such as Safari or Calendar, but it shows every app you have installed on your Mac.

Surely, you can clean up your Mac manually, but using dedicated software will save you tons of time.

Price: $29 per year
Free version: Available

Frequently Asked Questions

Can’t my Mac clean itself?

Your macOS also has a built-in Mac cleaner, which Apple called Optimized Storage. Though its capabilities are limited, it gives you basic directions on where to start the cleanup. But for a thorough system cleanup and removing malware, you’ll need a dedicated Mac cleaner app.

Can Mac cleaner apps delete my important files?

Typically, best Mac cleaner apps have a protection built-in. They will usually select only those files that are safe for deletion.

Will Mac cleaners slow down my Mac?

Some cleaners try to get into your Login items, thus creating an extra burden on processor. On a flip side, the reliable Mac cleaner apps might even speed up your Mac. They remove all the outdated junk files giving your Mac an extra boost.

Mac cleaning apps you should avoid

Above we've touched the trusted Mac cleanup solutions but there are many that work on the dark side. Malwarebytes lists Advanced Mac Cleaner Pro and similar tools as unwanted applications. Here are some signs that should warn you against using scam Mac cleaners.
Signs of Mac cleaner scam:

• 'Your Mac is infected' intrusive message
• An app is installed as part of different app
• An app finds 2323 (the number is an example) threats on your Mac
• Mac cleaner redirects your search page

Be safe and happy cleaning.

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Drive errors, corruptions, or bad sectors can be caused by improper shutdowns, harmful software, virus attack, etc. Finally, these errors result in Windows 10/8/7 system crash, hard drive failure, data loss disaster, and some other accidents.

Mac Hard Drive Diagnostic Software Pc

Top 4 Methods to Windows 10 Hard Drive Test/Diagnostic

In this case, a regular hard drive diagnostic in Windows 10 is always a good idea if you don't want to be caught by any of these unpleasant problems. There are four ways to perform a free hard drive test in Windows 10/8/7. Follow any one of the methods to solve your problems with ease.

Method 1. Perform Hard Drive Error Diagnostic with Software

Applies to Windows 10, 8, 7, Vista, XP

If your Windows 10 computer is throwing up errors, crashing, or otherwise misbehaving, the easiest way to solve it is by turning to an error-checking software. And my suggestion is EaseUS disk error checking software - EaseUS Partition Master Free. Even you don't have much technical know-how, you can quickly check and repair disk errors with this freeware. This free software can not only test and fix disk errors, but also have many other disk management skills.

Mac Hard Drive Diagnostic Software Windows 10

Highlights:

• Resize or move the partition to adjust the partition size
• Clone disk with simple clicks
• Format a hard drive, USB, SD card or SSD for free
• Delete or wipe a partition quickly

You can use this software to test and repair your hard disk health for errors, corruption, and bad sectors and get better performance.

Perform disk check on Windows 10:

Step 1: Open EaseUS Partition Master on your computer. Then locate the disk, right-click the partition you want to check, and choose 'Check File System'.

Step 2: In the Check File System window, keep the 'Try to fix errors if found' option selected and click 'Start'.

Step 3: The software will begin checking your partition file system on your disk. When it has completed, click 'Finish'.

It is simple and easy to test a hard drive in Windows 10/8/7 with EaseUS partition magic software.

Method 2. Perform Hard Drive Error Check with Windows Properties

Windows has a built-in tool that can scan your disk to find system errors and bad sectors and show if there are any problems with your hard drive. This function can scan and fix problems. Here is the way to check hard disk health and repair bad sectors and errors, if possible.

Step 1. Open 'This PC', right-click the HDD/SSD you want to scan and choose 'Properties'.

Step 2. Under the 'Tools' tab, click the 'Check' button under the Error checking section.

Step 3. Next, you can choose to Scan or Repair the drive if errors were found.

Step 4. When the scanning finishes, click on the Show Details link to see the CHDSK log in Event Viewer.

Method 3. Use Command Prompt to Perform Hard Drive Diagnostic

Another way to perform a disk diagnostic in Windows 10 is by using CMD. Whenever you find your hard drive performs poorly, you can run CHKDSK to do the job. Here's how to run CHKDSK to repair disk errors in Windows 10.

Step 1. Press the Windows key and type cmd.

Step 2. Right-click 'Command Prompt' and choose 'Run as administrator'.

Step 3. Enter the following command:

'E' is the drive letter of the partition you want to check and repair errors. Found errors will be fixed automatically with this command.

Step 4. In case of possible system file corruption, you are recommended to run the System File Checker tool to repair missing or corrupted system files after running CHKDSK. In the Command Prompt, type the following command and hit 'Enter'.

Also read: CHKDSK cannot continue in read-only mode

Method 4. Check and Repair Disk Using CHKDSK Alternative (Also Free)

If you don't have any technical know-how and want to minimize data risks, using third-party software could be a better choice. The Command line is suitable for computer professionals since wrong commands can cause severe problems. Therefore, we strongly recommend you try an automatic command line alternative.

EaseUS Tools M is a practical computer fixing tool that is safe and light-weighted. It's a perfect alternative to CHKDSK command. Use this one-click tool to solve your computer issues.

To fix file system error or disk error:

Step 1: DOWNLOAD EaseUS Tools M for Free and install it.

Step 2: Open the software and select the 'File showing' option.

Step 3: Choose the drive and wait for repairing. After the operation completes, click the 'View' button to check the drive.

Conclusion

If you are looking for hard drive diagnostics (SD card, Flash USB and SSD drives), turn to this content for help. The four ways above can always make hard drive error checking easy and fast.

Disk Doctor Windows 10 Related Questions

If you want to get some further help or additional information, read these questions and answers below.

1. How to run CHKDSK?

To run CHKDSK:

Step 1. Press the Windows key and type cmd.

Step 2. Right-click 'Command Prompt' and choose 'Run as administrator'.

Step 3. Enter the following command:

chkdsk E: /f /r /x

2. How to check the disk for free?

Mac Diagnostics Tool

EaseUS partition tool makes it effortless check disk:

Step 1. Open EaseUS Partition Master on your computer. Locate the disk, right-click the partition, and choose 'Check File System'.

Step 2. In the Check File System window, keep the 'Try to fix errors if found' option selected and click 'Start'.

Step 3. When it has completed, click 'Finish'.

Mac Hard Drive Diagnostic Software Mac

3. Is it free to perform disk error checking?

Yes, it is. There are four ways to test your hard drive:

Mac Hard Drive Diagnostic Software Windows 7

• Perform Hard Drive Error Diagnostic with Software
• Make use of Windows Properties.
• Use Command Prompt
• Try CHKDSK Alternative