Native Mac apps by the numbers
What the 188 apps we recommend charge, where you can get them and how often they're updated, counted straight from the listings.
Facts checked · Updated with every listing change
188 apps, seven numbers
- 55% of the 188 native Mac apps on MacWorthy are free to start: open source, free, or free with paid upgrades.
- 14% are sold only as a subscription, and 31% are paid up front.
- 27% (51 apps) are open source, with a median of 8.7k GitHub stars.
- 36% are on the Mac App Store, and 69% can be installed with a Homebrew cask.
- Paid apps on the Mac App Store have a median one-time price of $13.99 (from $1.99 to $199.99).
- 85% of apps with a public release date shipped an update in the last 90 days, and 94% in the last year.
- Money leans most on subscriptions (3 of 5 apps), and Security & Privacy has the highest open-source share (5 of 8).
How the apps are sold
| Pricing model | Apps | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Open source | 51 | 27% |
| Free | 8 | 4% |
| Free + Pro | 44 | 23% |
| Paid | 59 | 31% |
| Subscription | 26 | 14% |
Category by category
| Category | Apps | Free to start | Subscription | Open source | Mac App Store |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Productivity | 32 | 38% | 31% | 16% | 63% |
| Writing & Notes | 16 | 63% | 19% | 13% | 75% |
| Developer Tools | 24 | 79% | 13% | 42% | 13% |
| Design & Photo | 18 | 33% | 22% | 17% | 61% |
| Video & Capture | 11 | 64% | 0% | 27% | 18% |
| Audio & Voice | 12 | 25% | 8% | 17% | 17% |
| Windows & Desktop | 16 | 50% | 0% | 44% | 25% |
| Utilities | 37 | 65% | 3% | 27% | 22% |
| AI & Automation | 9 | 67% | 11% | 44% | 0% |
| Security & Privacy | 8 | 88% | 0% | 63% | 25% |
| Money | 5 | 20% | 60% | 0% | 80% |
The most-starred open-source apps
| App | GitHub stars | License |
|---|---|---|
 Zed | 92k | – |
 Ghostty | 62k | MIT |
 IINA | 47k | GPL-3.0 |
 Stats | 43k | MIT |
 MonitorControl | 35k | MIT |
 Rectangle | 30k | – |
 Ice | 30k | GPL-3.0 |
 HandBrake | 25k | – |
 CodeEdit | 23k | MIT |
 Karabiner-Elements | 23k | Unlicense |
All 51 are on the open-source list.
How we counted
Every figure comes from the 188 apps listed on MacWorthy, a hand-picked set of native macOS apps rather than the whole Mac market. Prices and update dates come from the Mac App Store, stars, licenses and commit dates from GitHub, and install names from Homebrew, all checked on October 19, 2026.
"Free to start" counts open-source, free, and free-with-upgrades apps. Update freshness uses the newest of an app's App Store update and last commit, so it covers the 122 apps with a public date. The median App Store price covers the 18 apps sold up front there.
To cite these numbers: MacWorthy, "Native Mac apps by the numbers", October 19, 2026, https://macworthy.com/stats/.
Questions
How many Mac apps are subscriptions?
Of the 188 native Mac apps on MacWorthy, 26 (14%) are sold only as a subscription. Another 59 (31%) are paid up front, and 103 (55%) are free to start.
What does a paid Mac app cost?
Among the 18 apps sold up front on the Mac App Store, the median price is $13.99, from $1.99 to $199.99.
How many good Mac apps are open source?
51 of the 188 apps (27%) are open source. The most-starred on GitHub are Zed, Ghostty, IINA.
Are most Mac apps on the Mac App Store?
36% of the apps we list are on the Mac App Store. Many of the rest are sold from the developer's website, and 69% of all apps can be installed with Homebrew.