List of Mac software
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The following is a list of Mac software – notable computer applications for current macOS operating systems.
For software designed for the Classic Mac OS, see List of Classic Mac OS software. Help me
Audio software
Digital audio workstations
Audio editing
- Audacity – digital audio editor
DJing
Notation software
- Dorico
- Impro-Visor – notation software with a particular orientation towards jazz solos
- LilyPond
- Overture
- MuseScore
Misc audio tools
- Audio Hijack – audio recorder
- baudline – signal analyzer
- BeaTunes - BPM analyzer and iTunes companion tool
- Cog – open source audio player, supports multiple formats
- fre:ac – open source audio converter and CD ripper
- ixi software – free improvisation and sketching tools
- Jaikoz – music file mass tagger
- Max – Cycling 74's visual programming language for MIDI, audio, video; with MSP, Jitter
- Music MiniPlayer - miniplayer for Apple Music
- ReBirth – virtual synth program simulates Roland TR-808, TB-303
- Recycle – music loop editor
Discontinued audio apps
- Adobe Soundbooth – music and soundtrack editing
- Audion – media player
- BIAS Peak – mastering
- Finale – proprietary music notation software
- iTunes – audio/video Jukebox by Apple
- Logic Express – prosumer music production by Apple
- Logic Studio – music writing studio package by Apple
- Apple Loops Utility – production and organisation of Apple Loops
- Apple Qmaster and Qadministrator
- Mainstage – program to play software synthesizers live
- QuickTime Pro – pro version of QuickTime
- Soundtrack Pro – post production audio editor
- WaveBurner – CD mastering and production software
- RiffWorks – guitar recording and online song collaboration software
Chat (text, voice, image, and video)
Active
- Adium – multi-protocol IM client
- Colloquy – freeware advanced IRC and SILC client
- Discord – IM and VoIP social platform
- FaceTime – videoconferencing between Mac, iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch
- iMessage – instant messaging between Mac, and iDevices
- Irssi – IrssiX and MacIrssi
- Kopete – free multi-protocol IM client
- LiveChat – online customer service software
- Microsoft Teams – team collaboration application
- Palringo
- Psi (instant messenger) – free IM client for the XMPP protocol
- Signal – open-source, encrypted messaging service for IM, voice calls and video calls
- Snak – IRC client (shareware)
- Ventrilo – audio chatroom application
- Telegram – cross-platform, encrypted IM client
Discontinued
- aMSN – free Windows Live Messenger clone
- AOL Instant Messenger – discontinued as of December 15, 2017[1]
- ChitChat – open-source IM client supporting the Yahoo! Messenger protocol
- HexChat – IRC client, discontinued as of February 9, 2024[2]
- Skype – telecommunications application supporting IM and VoIP-based videotelephony retired as of May 5, 2025[3]
- Ircle – IRC client (shareware)
- Microsoft Messenger for Mac – cross-platform IM client
- Yahoo! Messenger – IM client, also supporting VoIP, file transfers and webcam hosting
Children's software
- Kid Pix Deluxe 3X – bitmap drawing program
- Stagecast Creator – programming and internet authoring for kids
Developer tools and IDEs
- Apache Web Server – free and open-source web server software
- AppCode – an Objective-C IDE by JetBrains for macOS and iOS development
- Aptana – an open source integrated development environment (IDE) for building Ajax web applications
- Clozure CL – an open source integrated development environment (IDE) for building Common Lisp applications
- Code::Blocks – open source IDE for C++
- CodeWarrior – development environment, framework
- Coldstone game engine – game engine specializing in role-playing and adventure-style games
- Cursor – code editor integrating advanced artificial intelligence features
- Dylan – programming language
- Eclipse – open source Java-based IDE for developing rich-client applications, includes SWT library, replaces Swing by using underlying OS native windowing abilities
- Fink – Debian package manager for ported Unix software
- Free Pascal – Object Pascal compiler, XCode plugin available
- GNU Compiler Collection – collection of compilers for different programming languages, hardware architectures and operating systems
- Glasgow Haskell Compiler
- Helix – relational database IDE
- Homebrew - Package manager for installing many open source, mostly terminal based, utilities. Includes Apache, PHP, Python and many more.
- HotSpot – Sun's Java Virtual Machine
- IntelliJ IDEA – a JAVA IDE by JetBrains (free limited community edition)
- Komodo – commercial multi-language IDE from ActiveState
- Lazarus – cross-platform IDE to develop software with Free Pascal, specialized in graphical software
- LiveCode – high-level cross-platform IDE
- MacApp – application development framework for Pascal and C++
- Macintosh Programmer's Workshop (MPW)
- Macports – a package management system that simplifies the installation of free/open source software on the macOS.
- Macromedia Authorware – application (CBT, eLearning) development, no Mac development environment since version 4, though can still package applications with the 'Mac Packager' for OS 8 through 10 playback
- Mono – open source implementation of Microsoft .NET Framework with a C# compiler
- NetBeans – modular, open source, multi-language platform and IDE for Java written in pure Java
- Omnis Studio – cross-platform development environment for creating enterprise and web applications for macOS, Windows, Linux, Solaris
- Panorama – database engine
- Perl – programming language
- PHP – programming language
- Python – programming language
- Qt Creator – an IDE for C++ GUI applications, by Trolltech
- Real Studio – cross-platform compiled REALbasic BASIC programming language IDE
- ResEdit – resource editor
- Script Debugger – an AppleScript and Open Scripting Architecture IDE
- SuperCard – high-level IDE
- Tcl/tk – scripting shell & GUI utility that allows cross platform development. Included with macOS.
- TextMate – multipurpose text editor that supports Ruby, PHP, and Python
- Torque (game engine) – game creation software
- Visual Studio Code – code editor and IDE with debugging features
- WebKit – open source application framework for Safari (web browser)
- WebObjects – Java web application server and a server-based web application framework
- wxPython – API merging Python and wxWidgets
- Xcode – IDE made by Apple, which comes as a part of macOS and is available as a downloadon, was called Project Builders of Florida tech
Email clients
- Apple Mail – the bundled email client
- Claris Emailer – classic Mac OS only, no longer available
- Entourage – email client by Microsoft; analogous to Microsoft Outlook
- Eudora
- Foxmail
- Lotus Notes
- Mailbird
- Mailplane – a WebKit-based client for Gmail
- Microsoft Outlook
- Mozilla Thunderbird
- Mulberry – open-source software for e-mail, calendars and contacts
- Outlook Express
- Postbox
- Proton Mail
- Sparrow – as well as Sparrow Lite
Other email software
FTP clients
Games
- Steam – digital distribution software for video games and related media
Graphics, layout, and desktop publishing
CAD, 3D graphics
Distributed document authoring
- Adobe Acrobat – software to view, create, manipulate, print and manage PDF files
- Preview – built-in image viewer and PDF viewer of the macOS operating system
Icon editors, viewers
- Icon Composer – part of Apple Developer Tools
- IconBuilder – plugin for Adobe Photoshop and Macromedia Fireworks for the editing and creation of icons
- Microsoft Office
File conversion and management
Active
- Adobe Bridge – digital asset management app
- BibDesk – free bibliographic database app that organizes linked files
- Font Book – font management tool
- GraphicConverter – graphics editor, opens/converts a wide range of file formats
- Photos – photo management application
Discontinued
- iPhoto – discontinued photo management application
Layout and desktop publishing
Active
- Adobe InDesign – page layout
- iCalamus – page layout
- iStudio Publisher – page layout
- Pages – part of iWork
- QuarkXPress – page layout
- Ready, Set, Go! – page layout
- Scribus – page layout
- TeX – publishing
- MacTeX – TeX redistribution of TeX Live for Mac
- Comparison of TeX Editors
- The Print Shop – page layout
Discontinued
- iBooks Author – created interactive books for Apple Books
Raster and vector graphics
This section lists bitmap graphics editors and vector graphics editors.
Active
- Adobe Illustrator – vector graphics editor
- Adobe Photoshop – also offers some vector graphics features
- Affinity Designer – vector graphics editor for Apple macOS and Microsoft Windows
- Anime Studio – 2D based vector animation
- Collabora Online – enterprise-ready edition of LibreOffice
- Corel Painter
- Fontographer
- GIMP – free bitmap graphics editor
- GraphicConverter – displays and edits raster graphics files
- Inkscape – free vector graphics editor
- Luminar
- Paintbrush – free simple bitmap graphics program
- Photos – official photo management and editing application developed by Apple
- Photo Booth – photo camera, video recorder
- Pixelmator – hardware-accelerated integrated photo editor
- Polarr – photo editing app
- Retouch4me Arams – AI-based photo editor[5]
- Seashore – open source, based around the GIMP's technology, but with native macOS (Cocoa) UI
Discontinued
- Adobe Fireworks – supports GIF animation
- Adobe FreeHand – vector graphics editor
Integrated software technologies
Language and reference tools
- Cram (software)
- Dictionary (software)
- Encyclopædia Britannica
- Rosetta Stone (software) – proprietary language learning software
- Ultralingua – proprietary electronic dictionaries and language tools
- World Book Encyclopedia – multimedia
Mathematics software
- Fityk
- Grapher
- Maple (software)
- Mathematica
- MATLAB
- MathMagic
- Octave (software) – open source
- R (programming language)
- Sysquake
- SciLab – open source
Media center
Multimedia authoring
- Adobe Director – animation/application development
- Adobe Flash – vector animation
- Adobe LiveMotion – a discontinued competitor to Flash, until Adobe bought Macromedia
- Apple Media Tool – a discontinued multimedia authoring tool published by Apple
- Dragonframe - stop motion animation and time-lapse
- iBooks Author – created interactive books for Apple Books (discontinued)
- iLife – media suite by Apple
- Unity – 3D authoring
Networking and telecommunications
- Apple Remote Desktop
- Google Earth
- iStumbler – find wireless networks and devices
- Karelia Watson (defunct)
- KisMAC
- Little Snitch – network monitor and outgoing connection firewall
- NetSpot – software tool for wireless network assessment, scanning, and surveys, analyzing Wi-Fi coverage and performance
- Timbuktu – remote control
- WiFi Explorer – a wireless network scanner tool
News aggregators
- Feedly – news aggregator, and news aggregator reading application
- NetNewsWire – news aggregator reading application
- NewsFire – news aggregator reading application
- RSSOwl – news aggregator reading application
- Safari (web browser) - news aggregation via built-in RSS support
- Apple Mail – news aggregation via (discontinued) built-in RSS support
Office and productivity
- AbiWord
- Adobe Acrobat – PDF viewer and editor
- Address Book – bundled with macOS
- AppleWorks – word processor, spreadsheet, and presentation applications (discontinued)
- Banktivity – personal finance, budgeting, investments
- Bean (word processor) – free TXT/RTF/DOC word processor
- Bear – markdown note-taking application
- Celtx
- Collabora Online enterprise-ready edition of LibreOffice
- CricketGraph – graphmaker
- Delicious Library
- FileMaker
- FlowVella
- Fortora Fresh Finance
- Helix (database)
- iBank – personal finance application
- iCal – calendar management, bundled with macOS
- iWork – suite:
- Journler – diary and personal information manager with personal wiki features
- KOffice
- LibreOffice
- MacLinkPlus Deluxe – file format translation tool for PowerPC-era Mac OS X, converting and opening files created in other operating systems
- Mellel
- Microsoft Office – office suite:
- Microsoft Word – word processor application
- Microsoft Excel – spreadsheet application
- Microsoft PowerPoint – presentation application
- Microsoft Entourage – email application (replaced by Microsoft Outlook)
- Microsoft Outlook – email application
- Microsoft OneNote – note-taking application
- Microsoft Publisher – desktop publishing application
- MoneyWiz – personal finance application
- Montage – screenwriting software
- NeoOffice - discontinued
- Nisus Writer
- OmniFocus
- OpenOffice.org - discontinued
- WriteNow
- Taste – word processor (discontinued)
Operating systems
- Darwin – the BSD-licensed core of macOS
- macOS – originally named "Mac OS X" until 2012 and then "OS X" until 2016
- macOS Server – the server computing variant of macOS
Outliners and mind-mapping
Peer-to-peer file sharing
- aMule
- BitTorrent client
- FrostWire
- LimeWire
- Poisoned
- rTorrent
- Transmission (BitTorrent)
- μTorrent
- Vuze – Bittorrent client, was Azureus
Sciences
- Celestia – 3D astronomy program
- SimThyr – Simulation system for thyroid homeostasis
- Stellarium – 3D astronomy program
Text editors
Utilities
- Activity Monitor – default system monitor for hardware and software
- After Dark – computer screensaver software
- AppZapper – uninstaller (shareware)
- Automator – built-in, utility to automate repetitive tasks
- Butler – free, launcher and utility to automate repetitive tasks
- CandyBar – system customization software (commercial)
- CDFinder – disk cataloging software (commercial)
- CleanMyMac – maintenance and optimisation utility
- DaisyDisk – disk visualization tool
- Dashboard – built-in macOS widgets
- Grab – built-in macOS screenshot utility
- Growl – global notifications system, free
- iSync – syncing software, bundled with Mac OS X up to 10.6
- LaunchBar – provides instant access to local data, search engines and more by entering abbreviations of search item names, commercial
- MacKeeper – cleanup utility
- Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing – proprietary, typing tutor
- OnyX – a freeware system maintenance and optimization tool for macOS
- Path Finder – replacement for Apple's Finder
- Quicksilver – a framework for accessing and manipulating many forms of data
- Sherlock – file searching (version 2), web services (version 3)
- Stickies – put Post-It Note-like notes on the desktop
- System Settings – default Mac system option application
- UUTool – uuencoded/uudecode and other transcoding
- Xsan – storage network utility
- Yahoo! Widget Engine – JavaScript-based widget system
Anti-malware software
macOS includes the built-in XProtect antimalware as part of GateKeeper. The software listed in this section is antivirus software and malware removal software.
- BitDefender Antivirus for Mac – antivirus
- Intego VirusBarrier – antivirus
- MacScan – malware removal
- Malwarebytes — malware removal
- McAffee VirusScan – antivirus
- Norton Antivirus for Mac – antivirus
- Sophos – antivirus
Archiving, backup, restore, recovery
This section lists software for file archiving, backup and restore, data compression and data recovery.
- Archive Utility – built-in archive file handler
- Archiver – paid, file archiving
- BetterZip – file archiver and compressor
- Compact Pro – data compression
- Disk Drill – data recovery
- Stellar Data Recovery – data recovery
- The Unarchiver — file archiving
- Time Machine (macOS) – built-in backup software
- WinZip – file archiver and compressor utility
Discontinued archiving apps
Disc burning apps
- Roxio Toast – DVD authoring application
Discontinued disc burning apps
- Adobe Encore
- Disco – disc burning
- DVD Studio Pro – DVD authoring application
- iDVD – a basic DVD-authoring application
Video
- Adobe After Effects – digital visual effects, motion graphics and compositing application
- Adobe Premiere Pro – timeline-based video editing software
- Adobe Presenter Video Express – screencasting and video editing software
- ArKaos – VJ software
- Avid
- DaVinci Resolve – video editing suite
- DivX
- DivX Player
- DVD Player (Apple) – DVD player software built into macOS
- FFmpeg – audio/video converter
- Final Cut Express
- Final Cut Studio – audio-video editing suite:
- HandBrake – DVD to MPEG-4 and other formats converter
- iMovie – basic video editing application
- Miro Media Player
- MPlayer
- Perian
- QuickTime – including its Player and QuickTime Pro
- RealPlayer
- Shotcut – open source rich video editor
- Shake
- Windows Media Player
- VLC media player – free and open-source media player
Virtualization, emulation, and dual-booting
- Bochs
- Boot Camp – a multi-boot utility built into macOS from 10.5 on Intel Macs only
- CrossOver – commercial implementation of Wine
- DOSBox – DOS emulator
- Hercules emulator
- pcAnywhere – VNC-style remote control
- Parallels Workstation – commercial full virtualization software for desktop and server
- Q – emulates an IBM-compatible PC on a Mac, allows running PC operating systems
- VMware Fusion – virtualization software
- Wine – Windows API reimplementation
- Virtual PC – full virtualization software allows running other operating systems, such as Windows and Linux, on PowerPC Macs (discontinued in 2007)
- VirtualBox
- vMac – emulates a Macintosh Plus and can run Apple Macintosh System versions 1.1 to 7.5.5.
Web browsers
- Amaya – free
- Brave – free and open-source, Chromium-based
- Camino – open source
- Flock – free, Mozilla Firefox based
- Google Chrome – free, proprietary, Chromium-based
- iCab – free
- Konqueror – open source
- Lynx – free
- Mozilla – open source, combines browser, email client, WYSIWYG editor
- Mozilla Firefox – open source
- Microsoft Edge – free, proprietary, Chromium-based
- Netscape Navigator – free, proprietary
- OmniWeb – free, proprietary
- Opera – free, proprietary, Chromium-based
- Safari (web browser) – built-in from Mac OS X 10.3, available as a separate download for Mac OS X 10.2
- SeaMonkey – open source Internet application suite
- Shiira – open source
- Sleipnir – free, by Fenrir Inc
- Tor (anonymity network) – free, open source
- Torch (web browser) – free, by Torch Media Inc.
- Vivaldi – free, proprietary, Chromium-based
- Internet Explorer for Mac – free, by Microsoft
- WebKit – Safari application framework, also in the form of an application
Web design and content management
- Adobe Contribute
- Adobe Dreamweaver
- Adobe GoLive
- Claris Homepage
- Coda
- Freeway
- iWeb
- NVu
- RapidWeaver – a template-based website editor