10 Mac Utilities I Love (And Actually Use)
There’s no shortage of Mac apps promising to change your life. Most of them don’t.
But a few have stuck with me — simple utilities that quietly improve my day without getting in the way. These aren’t big, flashy apps. They’re practical. Useful. And worth it.
1. Moom
Moom lets you move and resize windows with ease. Drag to the edges, use keyboard shortcuts, or snap windows exactly how you like. It’s fast, customizable, and one of the first things I install on any new Mac. It also solves one of my biggest annoyances: switching between a single-display setup and a multi-monitor desk. Moom remembers where you want things, so you’re not constantly rearranging windows.
2. CleanShot X
The best screenshot and screen recording tool for Mac. Period. CleanShot X adds markup tools, scrolling capture, screen recording with webcam overlay, and a beautiful built-in cloud service if you want it. You can customize keyboard shortcuts, hide desktop icons during capture, and even create simple GIFs. It feels native to macOS — just better. (Screenshots in this post taken with CleanShotX.)
3. Hidden Bar
A free utility that cleans up your menu bar by hiding rarely-used icons. Simple and effective. My menu bar stays minimal, but all my tools are still a click away. It’s a fantastic free alternative to Bartender, especially now that Bartender’s future is murky and tied to a new owner. Hidden Bar keeps things clean without trying to be too clever.
4. Stats
A free, open-source system monitor for your menu bar. Stats shows CPU usage, memory, fan speeds, temperature, battery health, network speeds — all the nerdy stuff — in a clean, customizable design. It’s my go-to replacement for iStat Menus, which is great but paid. Stats gives you 90% of the same functionality, looks good, and doesn’t cost a dime.
5. Maccy
A lightweight clipboard manager that remembers everything you copy. Hit a shortcut, search your history, and paste like a pro. No clutter. No bloat. It does require installation via the terminal (or Homebrew), but once it’s running, it just works — fast and out of the way.
6. MonitorControl
Control the brightness, contrast, and volume of your external monitors right from your keyboard. Works like native Mac controls — even on displays that normally don’t support it. It doesn’t try to do anything fancy. It just does what it’s supposed to — perfectly.
7. PopClip
PopClip gives iOS-style text selection on Mac. Highlight text and get instant options like copy, paste, search, translate, or run custom actions. It’s surprisingly useful once you get used to it. There’s also a large library of plugins, so you can tailor it for your own workflows — from Markdown tools to clipboard history.
8. ColorPicker
A tiny, free app for grabbing colors from anywhere on your screen. Outputs in any format — hex, rgb, hsl — and stays out of your way until you need it. It’s especially great for front-end dev work or theme design — I use it constantly when tweaking CSS.
Bonus App: Want to put screenshots in a device? Use Framous
9. ScreenPal
Formerly Screencast-O-Matic, ScreenPal is my favorite Loom alternative — mostly because of the better pricing for individuals. Record your screen, webcam, or both. Fast uploads, easy sharing, and no subscription overload (great free tier). If you’ve ever felt like Loom is overpriced or too bloated, give ScreenPal a try. It’s simple, clear, and does the job well.
10. StopTheMadness Pro
This is Safari the way it should be. StopTheMadness removes annoying website behaviors — like disabling copy/paste, forcing new tabs, blocking context menus, etc. It’s worth every penny. It’s also available on iOS.
Final Thoughts
None of these apps are trying to reinvent the wheel. That’s why I like them. They do small things. Really well. Quietly. Without being annoying. And that’s exactly the kind of software I want on my Mac. Do you suggest something not in the list? Let me know.