I make Shiny, a small memory utility, so I have a commercial reason to write this. I've tried to counteract that by being factually accurate about all three apps, including where they're genuinely good. If you want a full Mac cleaner suite, you deserve an honest read before handing over your money or your trust.
A note on scope: this post is about the Mac versions of each app. CCleaner in particular has a separate reputation on Windows, where it is more capable and where the 2017 security incident hit hardest. On Mac, the landscape looks different, and I've tried to keep the comparison Mac-specific throughout.
At a glance
| CleanMyMac | CCleaner | MacKeeper | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | ~$40 / year | Free tier; ~$30/yr for Pro | ~$48 / year |
| Free tier | Trial only (limited scans) | Yes, with ads | Trial only |
| Malware scan | Yes | Yes (Pro) | Yes |
| App uninstaller | Yes | No | Yes |
| Telemetry | Anonymous usage stats (opt-out) | Usage data collected | Usage data collected |
| Parent company | MacPaw (Ukraine, est. 2008) | Gen Digital (formerly Avast/NortonLifeLock) | Clario Tech (formerly Kromtech / Zeobit) |
| Notarized by Apple | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Notable incident | None | 2017 supply-chain compromise (Windows) | Years of scareware-style advertising |
CleanMyMac: the legitimate option
CleanMyMac is made by MacPaw, a Ukrainian software company founded in 2008. It is the most reputable of the three by a significant margin. The app is notarized by Apple, which means Apple has scanned it for malware before allowing distribution, and MacPaw has never had a confirmed security incident.
What it does well: the feature set is genuinely broad. Memory cleaning, malware scanning, an app uninstaller that removes leftover preference files, a disk space visualiser, cache cleaning, and maintenance scripts all live in one polished interface. The design is mature, the workflows are smooth, and it's available on Setapp if you already subscribe to that bundle.
Where it overreaches: CleanMyMac's "Smart Care" feature runs scans and surfaces notifications suggesting your Mac needs attention. Some of these are legitimate; some are closer to manufactured urgency. The app defaults to anonymous usage telemetry, which you can turn off but have to find. At around $40 a year for one Mac, it is also the kind of tool you should use regularly to justify the cost, not install and forget.
One honest caveat: CleanMyMac has a tendency to present routine system states as problems requiring action. A Mac that is using 70% of its RAM is doing its job; macOS is designed to use available memory, and inactive memory is reclaimed automatically when something else needs it. CleanMyMac will sometimes tell you your memory pressure is high when the system is actually fine. That framing keeps users engaged with the app, but it is not always accurate. Take the "health" scores with some scepticism.
If you are going to buy one of these three, CleanMyMac is the one with the cleanest track record. See also: Is CleanMyMac actually safe to install?
CCleaner: the cautionary tale
CCleaner was once a well-regarded PC utility, lightweight and independent. Two events changed its reputation significantly.
The first was the 2017 supply-chain compromise. Attackers inserted malware into the Windows build of CCleaner 5.33, meaning that roughly 2.27 million users downloaded a trojanised version directly from the official servers. The Mac version was not affected, but the incident raised serious questions about the security of CCleaner's build and distribution pipeline. This was not an edge case or a phishing attack; the official download was compromised for weeks.
The second was the acquisition by Avast in 2017, followed by Avast's own merger into NortonLifeLock to form Gen Digital. CCleaner went from being a nimble independent tool to a product inside a large security conglomerate. For many users, that provenance is not the point; what matters is whether the app is good. On Mac, CCleaner has always been thinner than its Windows counterpart; there is no app uninstaller, the interface is basic, and the free version carries advertising.
On Mac, CCleaner's feature set is also simply thinner than its competitors. There is no app uninstaller. The privacy cleaning features remove browser caches and cookies, which is the same thing macOS's own privacy settings can do. The interface has not seen the same investment as CleanMyMac's. The free version is ad-supported, and the Pro upgrade costs around $30 a year for features that CleanMyMac includes in a more polished package at $40.
Most Mac power users quietly moved on after 2017. The app is not actively dangerous, but for a Mac-specific cleaner, the alternatives have a better story.
MacKeeper: the rebrand journey
MacKeeper has the most complicated history of the three. It was originally developed by Zeobit, acquired by Kromtech, and is now operated by Clario Tech. That is three owners in roughly a decade, and each handover came with promises to clean up the product's reputation.
The reputation that needed cleaning: for years, MacKeeper was synonymous with aggressive pop-up advertising. Third-party websites ran ads that displayed fake system warnings claiming your Mac was infected, then pushed MacKeeper as the solution. The Federal Trade Commission took note. The tactics were not technically illegal but were widely considered deceptive, and the security community catalogued them extensively. See: Is MacKeeper a scam?
The current MacKeeper app, under Clario, is notarized by Apple and signed with a valid Developer ID. It is not malicious software. The feature set covers malware scanning, a VPN, ad blocking, and some system cleanup. The annual price is around $48, which is higher than CleanMyMac for a product with a weaker trust baseline.
The trust gap remains not because the current app is bad, but because trust is slow to rebuild. If you have never heard of MacKeeper before, the current product is a reasonable if expensive option. It includes features that CleanMyMac does not, notably a built-in VPN and identity theft monitoring, which broaden its scope into security territory beyond basic Mac maintenance.
If you remember the pop-up era, that memory is not entirely unfair; the company earned the scepticism. The appropriate question is not whether MacKeeper is currently malicious (it is not), but whether you are comfortable giving a subscription to a company that spent years building its user base through fear-based advertising. That is a personal call.
Which one, if any, is for you
Three honest profiles:
You want a full Mac maintenance suite and you will use most of it. CleanMyMac is the right call. It has the strongest track record, the best-designed interface, and a company that has been doing this work for nearly two decades. Accept that $40 a year is the price and use the features.
You used CCleaner on Windows for years and want the same thing on Mac. You will be disappointed. The Mac version is thin, the parent company is a conglomerate, and the 2017 incident is a matter of record. CleanMyMac does more, costs similarly, and has a cleaner history. There is no strong case for CCleaner on Mac in 2026.
You saw a MacKeeper ad and are curious. Read the history first, then make a call with full information. The current app is not scareware. It is, however, the most expensive of the three for a product that has not fully earned back the trust it spent on aggressive marketing. If you have no prior exposure to the brand, it is a functional if pricey option. If you do, that instinct to pause is reasonable.
A fourth honest profile: most Mac owners do not need any of these. Modern macOS handles cache management, storage cleanup recommendations, and memory management without third-party help. The Storage panel under System Settings does a reasonable job of surfacing large files and recommending what to delete. XProtect provides baseline malware scanning that updates silently. AppCleaner does app uninstalls for free. The only genuine gap in the standard macOS toolkit is a quick, on-demand way to release memory pressure without restarting an app or rebooting. That is the job these suites all include, and it is the narrowest one on the list.
See Are Mac cleaner apps actually worth it? for a longer read on when they add real value and when they do not.
The smaller fourth option
I make Shiny, so I should be transparent about the conflict of interest in mentioning it here. Shiny is not a cleaner suite. It does one job: freeing memory pressure from the menu bar. It does not scan for malware, clean caches, or uninstall apps. It costs $4.99 once and covers up to three personal Macs. If you have looked at CleanMyMac and realised the only feature you would ever use is the memory cleaner, Shiny is worth considering as a focused alternative. If you want the rest of the suite, it is not a substitute; you need one of the three above.