CleanMyMac X

The beautiful, fast, reliable way to tidy up

$89.95 (single user, or $39.95 annually) From MacPaw Inc., macpaw.com/cleanmymac Needs OS X 10.10 or later CleanMyMac X is the fourth generation of an easy–to–use app that optimizes your system. While always more visually impressive than competing utilities, this version ratchets up the eye candy to a new extreme. The interface is purely gorgeous, striking a perfect balance between being helpful and looking great.

CleanMyMac X covers five key areas: Cleanup, Protection, Speed, Applications, and Files. From the sidebar, users choose 14 individual modules as needed or let the software do the driving with a click on the Smart Scan button, which is laser focused on removing unneeded junk, neutralizing potential threats (thanks to the newlyadded malware remover), and increasing system performance.

Smart Scan takes about 30 seconds, and a second click runs all three tasks at once. By default, CleanMyMac plays it safe by purging only common files the system rebuilds as needed, but macOS Mojave users can grant full disk access to root out the most junk from built–in apps like Mail, Safari, and more. Users always have the option of previewing files before purging, with granular options to preserve certain cache or log files. (Pro tip: We suggest quitting all running apps to ensure cache files are refreshed.)

This version also introduces a convenient (entirely optional) menu bar app, displaying key details on system drive storage space, available memory, CPU load, and network activity. The same widget can be configured to perform tasks like correctly uninstalling applications, force quitting unresponsive apps, and warning when available RAM is low.

CleanMyMac X has proven to be a reliable ally in the war against system cruft or even removing old 32-bit apps. Aside from occasionally inaccurate recommendations on which “unused” apps to purge, there’s really only one downside, which is the price: Single-user licenses start at $39.95 per year, significantly higher than the one-time $9.99 purchase of less glamorous tools like Mojave Cache Cleaner.

the bottom line. Not the cheapest utility around, but without a doubt the most elegant and reliable way to optimize your Mac. J.R. Bookwalter CleanMyMac X Elegant disk utility Reliable Smart Scan Malware cleaning Rather expensive Exc ellent

With a gorgeous new interface, the latest CleanMyMac X version makes optimization fun. Smart Scan makes it easy to run cleanup, speed, and protection tasks in no time at all from a single mouse click.