Curated Set

The Best Mac Apps for Designers

Designers hold their tools to a higher standard, and these nine clear it. Acorn and Affinity by Canva handle serious image, vector and layout work, Sketch remains the interface design tool that never left the Mac, Shapr3D brings professional CAD to Apple hardware, and Typeface keeps fonts in order. Pika picks colours with real taste, while CleanShot X, Screen Studio and Shottr make capturing and presenting the work as polished as the work itself.

Acorn Serious image editing, bought once. $29.99 One-Time

Affinity by Canva Pro vector, photo and layout tools, now free. Free

Pika An open source colour picker with real taste. Free

Shapr3D Professional CAD that feels born on Apple hardware. Free

Sketch Interface design that never left the Mac. $12 One-Time

Typeface The font manager designers recommend to each other. Free

CleanShot X The gold standard for Mac screenshots. $29 One-Time

Screen Studio Screen recordings that edit themselves. $9/Month

Shottr A 2 MB screenshot tool with pro-grade tricks. Free

Frequently asked

What are the best Mac apps for designers?

Acorn and Affinity by Canva handle serious image, vector and layout work, Sketch remains the interface design tool built for Mac alone, and Shapr3D brings professional CAD to Apple hardware. CleanShot X, Screen Studio and Shottr make capturing and presenting that work just as polished.

Is there a free design app in this set?

Affinity by Canva now offers its full professional suite for free with a Canva account, and Pika is free and open source for colour picking.

Which app is best for taking screenshots?

CleanShot X is the gold standard for Mac screenshots, priced at $29 one-time with a year of updates.

Which app should I use for interface design?

Sketch is built specifically for interface design, from $12 per editor per month or a one-time $120 Mac-only licence.

Do these apps work on Apple Silicon?

Yes. Every app in Mac Dept. is chosen for feeling native to the Mac, and the entries here are modern, actively maintained builds that run natively on Apple Silicon.