# Best productivity apps for Mac

> Task managers, calendars, launchers and the quiet tools that keep a day moving. 38 native apps, hand-picked by MacWorthy. Facts checked 2026-10-19.

Editor's picks: Things 3, Raycast.

## Compared

| App | Price | Mac App Store | Homebrew | Open source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [Things 3](https://macworthy.com/apps/things-3/) | One-time purchase | Yes | No | No |
| [Raycast](https://macworthy.com/apps/raycast/) | Free + Pro | No | `raycast` | No |
| [Fantastical](https://macworthy.com/apps/fantastical/) | Subscription | Yes | `fantastical` | No |
| [OmniFocus](https://macworthy.com/apps/omnifocus/) | Subscription | Yes | `omnifocus` | No |
| [Alfred](https://macworthy.com/apps/alfred/) | Free + Pro | No | `alfred` | No |
| [Cardhop](https://macworthy.com/apps/cardhop/) | Subscription | Yes | `cardhop` | No |
| [Timing](https://macworthy.com/apps/timing/) | Subscription | No | `timing` | No |
| [Session](https://macworthy.com/apps/session/) | Free + Pro | Yes | No | No |
| [Mela](https://macworthy.com/apps/mela/) | One-time purchase | Yes | No | No |
| [Dato](https://macworthy.com/apps/dato/) | One-time purchase | Yes | No | No |
| [Soulver 3](https://macworthy.com/apps/soulver-3/) | One-time purchase | No | `soulver` | No |
| [PCalc](https://macworthy.com/apps/pcalc/) | One-time purchase | Yes | No | No |
| [Reeder](https://macworthy.com/apps/reeder/) | Subscription | Yes | No | No |
| [NetNewsWire](https://macworthy.com/apps/netnewswire/) | Open source | No | `netnewswire` | MIT |
| [Mimestream](https://macworthy.com/apps/mimestream/) | Subscription | No | `mimestream` | No |
| [Paste](https://macworthy.com/apps/paste/) | Subscription | Yes | `paste` | No |
| [Maccy](https://macworthy.com/apps/maccy/) | Open source | No | `maccy` | MIT |
| [Dropover](https://macworthy.com/apps/dropover/) | Free + Pro | Yes | No | No |
| [Yoink](https://macworthy.com/apps/yoink/) | One-time purchase | No | `yoink` | No |
| [Due](https://macworthy.com/apps/due/) | One-time purchase | Yes | No | No |
| [Copse](https://macworthy.com/apps/copse/) | One-time purchase | No | No | No |
| [Final Call](https://macworthy.com/apps/final-call/) | One-time purchase | Yes | No | No |
| [Rank](https://macworthy.com/apps/rank/) | One-time purchase | No | No | No |
| [Cuewake](https://macworthy.com/apps/cuewake/) | One-time purchase | No | No | No |
| [Klipto](https://macworthy.com/apps/klipto/) | Free + Pro | No | No | No |
| [Tinycast](https://macworthy.com/apps/tinycast/) | Open source | No | No | Yes |
| [hora Calendar](https://macworthy.com/apps/hora-calendar/) | Subscription | Yes | No | No |
| [Dropshare](https://macworthy.com/apps/dropshare/) | One-time purchase | No | `dropshare` | No |
| [MindNode](https://macworthy.com/apps/mindnode/) | Free + Pro | Yes | No | No |
| [DeskMinder](https://macworthy.com/apps/deskminder/) | Free + Pro | Yes | No | No |
| [SuperCmd](https://macworthy.com/apps/supercmd/) | One-time purchase | No | No | No |
| [Deck](https://macworthy.com/apps/deck/) | Free | No | No | No |
| [Clocker](https://macworthy.com/apps/clocker/) | Free | Yes | `clocker` | No |
| [Just Copy](https://macworthy.com/apps/just-copy/) | One-time purchase | No | No | No |
| [BusyCal](https://macworthy.com/apps/busycal/) | One-time purchase | Yes | `busycal` | No |
| [Dot](https://macworthy.com/apps/dot/) | One-time purchase | No | `dot` | No |
| [Itsycal](https://macworthy.com/apps/itsycal/) | Open source | No | `itsycal` | MIT |
| [Pastebot](https://macworthy.com/apps/pastebot/) | One-time purchase | Yes | `pastebot` | No |

## The apps

- **[Things 3](https://macworthy.com/apps/things-3.md)** (editor's pick): The task manager that feels like paper, only smarter. Things turns projects, areas and a Today list into a calm daily plan. Every interaction is tuned for speed, from Quick Entry to Magic Plus, and it syncs across Mac, iPhone and iPad.
- **[Raycast](https://macworthy.com/apps/raycast.md)** (editor's pick): A faster way to do everything on your Mac. Raycast replaces Spotlight with a launcher you can extend. Window management, clipboard history, snippets, a calculator and a large extension store come together behind one shortcut.
- **[Fantastical](https://macworthy.com/apps/fantastical.md)**: A calendar that understands plain sentences. Type an event the way you would say it and Fantastical fills in the date, place and alerts. Its menu bar calendar, scheduling links and tidy multi-account views make it the calendar Apple never shipped.
- **[OmniFocus](https://macworthy.com/apps/omnifocus.md)**: Industrial-strength GTD for complex lives. Perspectives, defer dates, review cycles and deep automation make OmniFocus the task manager for people with many projects. It is opinionated, scriptable and built to last.
- **[Alfred](https://macworthy.com/apps/alfred.md)**: The launcher power users have trusted for a decade. Alfred finds files, apps and answers in a keystroke. Its Powerpack adds workflows, clipboard history and snippets that chain your tools together without leaving the keyboard.
- **[Cardhop](https://macworthy.com/apps/cardhop.md)**: Contacts, rebuilt around a single search field. Search, add or act on a contact by typing. Cardhop parses details from plain text, and puts calling, emailing and messaging one keystroke away.
- **[Timing](https://macworthy.com/apps/timing.md)**: Automatic time tracking that needs no timers. Timing records which apps, documents and sites you use, then helps you assign that time to projects. Reports are clear enough for invoices and honest enough for self-reflection.
- **[Session](https://macworthy.com/apps/session.md)**: A focus timer that blocks the noise. Session wraps the pomodoro method in a beautiful timer, blocks distracting apps and sites while you work, and shows where your focus actually goes.
- **[Mela](https://macworthy.com/apps/mela.md)**: Recipes, without the life story. Mela saves recipes from any website, strips the clutter and keeps the ingredients and steps. Cook mode keeps the screen awake and timers one tap away.
- **[Dato](https://macworthy.com/apps/dato.md)**: The menu bar clock macOS should have had. Dato puts the date, calendar events, world clocks and week numbers in your menu bar, with join buttons for upcoming meetings.
- **[Soulver 3](https://macworthy.com/apps/soulver-3.md)**: A notepad that does the math as you write. Write calculations in plain language and Soulver answers line by line. Units, currencies, dates and variables all just work.
- **[PCalc](https://macworthy.com/apps/pcalc.md)**: The calculator for engineers and scientists. RPN, a deep conversion library, programmer modes and a menu bar mode make PCalc the calculator serious users keep around for years.
- **[Reeder](https://macworthy.com/apps/reeder.md)**: One timeline for feeds, videos and social. Reeder gathers RSS, YouTube, Reddit and more into a single, gorgeous timeline that syncs over iCloud. Reading has rarely felt this calm.
- **[NetNewsWire](https://macworthy.com/apps/netnewswire.md)**: A free, open-source RSS reader done right. Fast, private and native, NetNewsWire reads your feeds without ads or tracking. It syncs with iCloud, Feedbin, Feedly and more.
- **[Mimestream](https://macworthy.com/apps/mimestream.md)**: A native Gmail client built on Gmail's own API. Labels, categories, filters and aliases behave exactly as they do in Gmail, inside a fast native app with multiple accounts and real keyboard shortcuts.
- **[Paste](https://macworthy.com/apps/paste.md)**: Clipboard history you can actually browse. Paste keeps everything you copy in a visual shelf with pinboards, search and iCloud sync, so the thing you copied yesterday is still there.
- **[Maccy](https://macworthy.com/apps/maccy.md)**: A tiny, keyboard-first clipboard manager. Maccy lives in the menu bar and keeps a searchable list of what you copied. It is free, open source and out of your way.
- **[Dropover](https://macworthy.com/apps/dropover.md)**: A floating shelf for drag and drop. Shake the cursor while dragging and Dropover opens a shelf to park files, images and links while you find their destination. It also uploads and shares in one step.
- **[Yoink](https://macworthy.com/apps/yoink.md)**: Park anything at the edge of the screen. Yoink appears when you start dragging, holds your files and snippets, and hands them back when you are ready. Small idea, daily habit.
- **[Due](https://macworthy.com/apps/due.md)**: Reminders that nag until you do the thing. Due repeats its alerts until a reminder is marked done. Natural-language entry and quick snooze make it ideal for the small stuff you forget.
- **[Copse](https://macworthy.com/apps/copse.md)**: A small, searchable clipboard history. Copse keeps everything you copy and brings it up with a shortcut for type-to-filter pasting. A paste stack queues several items to paste in order, and optional AI actions can rewrite, translate or extract text from a clip.
- **[Final Call](https://macworthy.com/apps/final-call.md)**: A full-screen countdown before every meeting. Final Call reads your calendar and, just before each meeting, covers the screen with a countdown, the meeting title and a Join button taken from the event's video link. The menu bar shows time to the next meeting and the day's agenda.
- **[Rank](https://macworthy.com/apps/rank.md)**: Search Console data turned into one SEO fix at a time. Rank pulls Google Search Console data onto the Mac, picks out pages that are seen often but rarely clicked, lets you review and publish a title or description change, and checks the result at 7, 14 and 28 days. Aimed at solo site owners and small teams.
- **[Cuewake](https://macworthy.com/apps/cuewake.md)**: Notes that wait for you inside the app they belong to. Cuewake attaches notes, checklists, links and files to a specific app or page, then shows them again when you return to it. A library lets you search and filter cues, and everything stays offline on the Mac.
- **[Klipto](https://macworthy.com/apps/klipto.md)**: A private clipboard manager with ordered pasting. Klipto keeps a searchable clipboard history filtered by type and app, and its Stack pastes a set of items in sequence. Text capture from the screen, translation and custom AI transforms all run on the Mac; Pro is a one-time purchase.
- **[Tinycast](https://macworthy.com/apps/tinycast.md)**: A small open-source launcher that stays light. Tinycast opens apps, searches clipboard history, expands snippets, does math and unit conversions and moves windows from one palette. Features stay off until you enable them, and AI actions work with Apple Intelligence or your own keys. It needs macOS 26.
- **[hora Calendar](https://macworthy.com/apps/hora-calendar.md)**: A native Mac app for Google Calendar. hora talks to Google Calendar through its official API, so multiple accounts, meeting links and focus time behave as they do on the web, without a browser tab. Plans are monthly or yearly, with a lifetime option.
- **[Dropshare](https://macworthy.com/apps/dropshare.md)**: Upload a file, get a link, using storage you choose. Dropshare sends screenshots, recordings and files from the menu bar to your own destinations, from S3-compatible buckets and cloud drives to SFTP and WebDAV, and copies a share link. It works by drag and drop, shortcuts and the share menu, and is also on Setapp.
- **[MindNode](https://macworthy.com/apps/mindnode.md)**: Mind maps that grow into outlines and plans. MindNode lays out a map automatically as you add ideas, and switches to an outline view once the structure settles. Mapping is free; the Plus subscription adds outlining, themes and collaboration, and it runs on Mac, iPhone and iPad.
- **[DeskMinder](https://macworthy.com/apps/deskminder.md)**: Quick timers and reminders that sit on your desktop. DeskMinder sets a short reminder in a click and shows it as a desktop widget or in the menu bar, with optional full-screen alerts that are hard to miss. Reminders can sync to Apple Reminders so they reach your iPhone and Watch.
- **[SuperCmd](https://macworthy.com/apps/supercmd.md)**: A Swift launcher with AI, dictation and screenshots built in. SuperCmd v2 combines an app launcher, clipboard history, snippets, window switching, screenshot markup, local dictation and AI chat with several providers, and can import Raycast extensions. It is a one-time licence for three Macs and needs macOS 26.
- **[Deck](https://macworthy.com/apps/deck.md)**: A clipboard history that stays on your Mac. Deck keeps everything you copy and finds it again with keyword, regex or semantic search. Queue mode pastes several clips in order, Touch ID guards sensitive items, and an encrypted LAN mode shares clips between nearby Macs.
- **[Clocker](https://macworthy.com/apps/clocker.md)**: World clocks and meetings in the menu bar. Clocker shows the time in every city you add, with a scrubber that moves all clocks forward to find an hour that suits everyone. It also lists today's events from Apple Calendar with one-click joins for Zoom, Meet and Teams.
- **[Just Copy](https://macworthy.com/apps/just-copy.md)**: Clipboard history that drops from the notch. Just Copy shows everything you copy as cards in a tray at the top of the screen, with previews for links, colours, dates and code. It reads text inside screenshots for search, fills smart folders, pastes in sequence and exposes your history to AI tools over MCP.
- **[BusyCal](https://macworthy.com/apps/busycal.md)**: A deeply configurable calendar for busy schedules. BusyCal combines iCloud, Google, Exchange and CalDAV calendars with tasks, and lets you switch between saved calendar sets and smart filters. Day, week, month, list and year views can each be tuned, and a booking page is in beta.
- **[Dot](https://macworthy.com/apps/dot.md)**: Your day's events and reminders in the menu bar. Dot puts your calendar and Apple Reminders in a menu bar panel, alerts you before meetings with a one-click join and a camera check, and adds a command bar for creating events in plain language. Menu bar text can be composed from date, next event and countdown pieces.
- **[Itsycal](https://macworthy.com/apps/itsycal.md)**: A tiny calendar that lives in the menu bar. Itsycal shows a small month view and your Calendar events from the menu bar, and can create events or join meetings. It supports ISO week numbers, a custom clock format, keyboard navigation with Vim motions and a URL scheme.
- **[Pastebot](https://macworthy.com/apps/pastebot.md)**: Clipboard history with filters and saved pastebins. Pastebot keeps a searchable history of what you copy, stores reusable clippings in custom and rule-based pastebins, and runs stackable text filters before pasting. A stack pastes clippings in sequence, and iCloud keeps several Macs in step.

HTML version: https://macworthy.com/categories/productivity/