Curated Set

The Best Free Mac Apps

Free rarely means finished, but every app in this set is both. Ice, Loop, IINA, Ghostty and Zen Browser are open source and genuinely complete, Zed and Pika give away what others charge for, Notion Calendar costs nothing at all, Shottr's full toolkit is free for personal use, and Affinity by Canva now offers its professional suite without a price tag. Ten apps, nothing to pay, no compromises on craft.

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

Ghostty The terminal, rebuilt properly for the Mac. Free

Ice Your menu bar, decluttered and under control. Free

IINA The media player macOS should have shipped with. Free

Loop Window management, summoned with a radial flick. Free

Notion Calendar The calendar that knows your Notion workspace. Free

Pika An open source colour picker with real taste. Free

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

Zed A blisteringly quick editor built in Rust. Free

Zen Browser A calmer, faster take on the open web. Free

Frequently asked

What are the best free Mac apps?

Ice, Loop, IINA, Ghostty and Zen Browser are open source and genuinely complete, Zed and Pika give away what others charge for, Notion Calendar costs nothing at all, and Shottr's full toolkit is free for personal use. Affinity by Canva now offers its professional suite without a price tag too.

Are these apps actually free, or is there a hidden cost?

Every app here is free to use in full for personal use, with only Shottr and Zed offering optional paid tiers: a $12 licence for commercial use, and a $10-a-month Pro plan for AI features.

Which free app is best for a menu bar declutter?

Ice is free and open source and does the job on its own.

Is there a free calendar app?

Notion Calendar is completely free and syncs with your Notion workspace.

Is there a free browser?

Zen Browser is free and open source, built as a calmer, faster take on the open web.