Best Apple Silicon Mac apps in 2023
Apple has transitioned from Intel chips to its own Silicon on all of its mainstream computers. So when you buy a new Mac, such as the MacBook Pro (2023), you’re getting access to some of the most powerful and energy efficient consumer chipsets on the market. That’s not to mention that macOS Ventura has also been specifically designed for these machines. Though, to make the most out of these devices, you should try to depend on apps developed to run natively on Apple Silicon. These applications tend to be faster and consume less energy. Consequently, your loading times should decrease and your battery could last longer. To help you with the hunt, we’ve chosen the best Apple Silicon Mac apps currently available.
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Best productivity apps
In this category, we’re listing some of the best apps for the Apple Silicon Macs that can enhance your productivity. There are a lot of apps here. While not every app will be useful for everyone, there are quite a few that every Mac user should install. The productivity apps range from a writing app to a third-party calendar to a password manager.
Ulysses
Ulysses is arguably one of the best writing apps for Mac. It features an extensive feature set, ranging from a full suite of organization tools to multiple export options, including a Markdown file. Moreover, Ulysses sports a clean and distraction-free interface for effective writing. It also has apps for iPad and iPhone, making it even better for someone who lives in the Apple ecosystem.
Ulysses
Ulysses is an all-in-one writing app for Mac. It offers a 14-day trial, after which you will have to choose a monthly ($5.99) or yearly ($49.99) subscription.
From $5.99/mo. at App Store
Todoist
Looking for a way to effectively keep track of things to do? You can’t go wrong with Todoist. This popular app not only packs basic task management features but also supports lots of app integrations, allowing you to do a multitude of things with your tasks, using other services like Gmail, Google Calendar, Slack, and Alexa.
Todoist
Todoist offers a fairly decent free version. But if you want additional features, you can always opt for the Pro or Business plan.
$0 at Apple Apps
Magnet
Window management can be a mess on Mac, which is where Magnet comes in. With Magnet, you can organize windows by dragging them, using keyboard shortcuts, or via the menu bar. It declutters your desktop space by snapping windows into organized tiles. You can have apps snapped in a variety of ways, per your preference.
Magnet
Magnet
Magnet is a window management tool that lets you snap windows into a clean layout on your Mac desktop. It can be purchased for $7.99.
$8 at Apple Apps
PDF Expert
If you work with PDFs quite a bit, then an app like PDF Expert is a must-have for you. With it, you can view, edit, merge, and even convert PDFs. It also allows you to annotate, sign and fill out PDFs. Pretty much everything you can think of doing with PDFs can be done with PDF Expert.
PDF Expert
PDF Expert
PDF Expert costs $140, but it supports some advanced features, such as signing documents, merging PDFs, and editing PDF text/images.
$140 at Apple Apps
Fantastical
If you want something more powerful than Apple’s built-in calendar on Mac, Fantastical can help. It can turn normal sentences into clearly formatted appointment entries using natural language processing. You can also connect all your calendars and keep your events and tasks synced in one place. Additionally, Fantastical offers widgets so that you can keep an eye on your upcoming appointments. There are a lot of other features as well.
Fantastical
Fantastical
Fantastical is a fully-featured calendar app for Mac. Best of all, it’s free to use but you will need a premium subscription to access all the features.
Free with subscription at App Store
Zoom
Recent global events have made Zoom a must-have app for a lot of people. Whether you’re working from home or connecting with your friends and family, Zoom is an easy-to-use video conferencing app. Apart from video calls, you can also use Zoom to chat with your connections and share stuff. Moreover, Zoom’s built-in search makes it easier to find contacts, messages, and files.
Zoom
Zoom is free to download and its basic plan allows you to host up to 100 participants for meetings of up to 40 minutes. For longer meetings, you will have to opt for the Pro, Business, or Enterprise plan.
$0 at Zoom
Simplenote
If you’re looking for a no-frills note-taking app, Simplenote is for you. It offers basic note-taking and syncing support. Additionally, there are collaboration features onboard, so you can share notes and lists for others to view or edit. Simplenote is also available across all major platforms.
Simplenote
Simplenote
If you want a basic note-taking app that works across every platform, Simplenote is for you. It’s free to download and use across platforms.
$0 at Apple Apps
1Password
With so many passwords to keep track of, having a password management app is a no-brainer and 1Password is one of the best password managers around. It not only allows you to save unlimited passwords and items but there’s also 1GB storage for storing important documents. 1Password will also notify you about compromised websites and vulnerable passwords, so you can take action and remain safe.
1Password
1Password
1Password is one of the best password managers around, and it works across all major platforms. Its app is free to download and comes with a 14-day trial. For continued usage, you’ll need to buy a subscription.
Free with subscription at Apple Apps
Microsoft 365
Microsoft was one of the first developers to update its apps for Apple Silicon support. So your Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and OneNote apps can smoothly run and utilize the full power of Apple’s SoCs. If you’re not a fan of Apple’s Pages, Numbers, and Keynote apps, or you already use Microsoft’s 365 apps on other platforms, exploring its Mac versions makes total sense.
Microsoft 365
The Microsoft 365 bundle or its individual apps can be downloaded for free, but you will need a Microsoft 365 subscription to use Word, Excel, Powerpoint and Outlook. There is a one-month trial available as well.
Free with subscription at Apple Apps
Alfred
Alfred is often referred to as a supercharged Spotlight. But that doesn’t even begin to cover the extent of its capabilities. Sure, you can use it to launch apps, search for stuff, and calculate things, but it also lets you use keywords to trigger system commands. And if you purchase the app’s Powerpack, its feature set increases extensively.
For example, the Powerpack allows you to customize keyboard shortcuts to apps and files, create automated custom workflows, and more. In addition, the app includes your clipboard history, so you can quickly locate text, images, or files you copied earlier.
Alfred
Alfred takes Spotlight Search to the next level through advanced automations and shortcuts. You can download and use it for free, but it also offers a $40 IAP to unlock the Pro version.
Free with IAP at Apple Apps
Bitwarden
While 1Password is an excellent password manager, you need a paid subscription to use it, which can be a downer for many people. Fortunately, you don’t need to compromise your online security because of money; Bitwarden is a fantastic free password manager.
Even in this free plan, you get everything, from the ability to save unlimited passwords, access on unlimited devices, secure storage for IDs, credit cards, and notes, password generator, and more. In addition, Bitwarden is open-source and comes with apps for all major platforms and browsers.
Bitwarden
Bitwarden
Bitwarden is an excellent password manager that is free to download and use. Its free plan is more than enough for most people, so you don’t have to commit to its subscription plan.
$0 at Apple Apps
Reeder
Social media may have become the preferred way of getting news for many people, but there are still a lot of people who like RSS readers to follow their favorite websites. If you’re one of these people, Reeder is an excellent app for Mac. It combines the features of an RSS feed reader and a read-it-later service into one. The app carries a clean and easy-to-navigate interface and supports syncing feeds and articles with iCloud.
If you’re a part of the Apple ecosystem, you’ll also be happy to know Reeder has apps for both Mac and iPhone.
Reeder
Reeder
Reeder is the perfect tool for readers who want to get their news from an RSS feed. The app compiles the articles neatly, and it only costs $9.99.
$10 at Apple Apps
Best browsers
We all need a good web browser and while Apple bundles its own Safari with macOS, not everyone likes to use it. Luckily, Apple supports some alternatives.
Chrome/Edge/Firefox
Google, Microsoft, and Mozilla were quick to update their browsers to support Apple Silicon. So if you are looking beyond Safari, there are plenty of options. In terms of features, Chrome and Firefox have an advantage over Edge as its Chromium-based version is still relatively newer. Choose your pick!
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Google Chrome
Chrome is ideal for those heavily depending on Google’s services and operating systems. It’s free to download and use.
$0 at Google
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Microsoft Edge
Microsoft Edge is great for those who also work on Windows machines and want to keep their browsing data in sync. It’s free to download and use.
See at Microsoft
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Firefox
Firefox is a great web browsing alternative for those not satisfied with Google’s and Microsoft’s offerings. It’s also free to download and use.
$0 at Mozilla
Best social apps
Many popular social apps reside on our phones. Even though the Apple Silicon Macs now support iOS apps, you won’t find the likes of TikTok and Instagram here as they’ve opted out from officially being available on the Mac. So it’s slim pickings in this category of the best apps for the Apple Silicon Macs.
Apollo for Reddit
With the launch of the Arm-based M chips, Apple has started supporting iOS apps on select Macs. While many of the iOS apps don’t offer a great experience on laptops and desktops, Apollo for Reddit is an outlier. It looks and works quite nicely on the Mac. With Apollo, you get features like a Jump bar to hop between subreddits, a tabbed interface for easy navigating, and full inline Imgur uploading, along with other features.
Apollo
Apollo
Apollo is one of the best Reddit clients for Mac. It’s free to download and use, but you can also go for the Pro or Ultra subscriptions for extra features.
Free with optional subscription at Apple Apps
If you haven’t been a fan of Twitter’s official Mac app, it is time to give it another try. The app has become a lot better in recent years and is now more responsive and fully featured. The app’s design is also pleasing to look at, and you can easily switch between accounts.
Twitter
Twitter is the official client for the service, designed natively for the Mac. It’s free to download and use. Just note it hasn’t been updated in quite a while.
$0 at Apple Apps
Best audio & video apps
Same as social apps, pretty much all streaming services have opted out of officially being available on the Apple Silicon Macs. Fortunately, the iOS app support on the Apple Silicon Macs is not a complete failure as the Overcast app for iOS makes an appearance in this category.
Overcast
Like Apollo for Reddit, Overcast is another iOS app that works great on the Mac. If you want a good podcast player, look no further. It sports a simple and intuitive interface, and there are tons of useful features like Voice Boost, Smart Speed, Smart Playlists and Sleep timer. You can also download podcasts, search for new podcasts and even get personalized recommendations. Furthermore, the app has powerful playback customization options.
Overcast
Overcast
Overcast is an excellent podcast player that is free to download and use. You can optionally purchase Overcast Premium for $9.99 to get rid of the ads.
Free with IAP at Apple Apps
VLC
VLC needs no introduction. It’s one of the most popular cross-platform multimedia players out there. If you want a solid video player, this is it. It can play a lot of file formats, supports a wide variety of codecs, and even comes with some rudimentary video editing tools.
VLC
VLC
VLC is one of the best multimedia players that is free to download and use. It supports a wide variety of media file formats.
$0 at VLC
Handbrake
Handbrake is an excellent video converter for Mac. You can convert pretty much everything, like a DVD or Blu-ray source to MP4, MKV, or WebM formats. The app comes with several device-specific presets and universal profiles to make it easier to get exactly what you need. You can also add subtitles, add chapter markers, and queue encodes. Best of all, it’s entirely open-source.
Handbrake
Handbrake is an essential video converter that allows you to shift between popular video file formats. It is free to download and use.
$0 at HandBrake
Best photo apps
Photographs are a big part of our lives and thanks to smartphones, humans are taking more photos than ever. So whether you’re a professional photographer or a casual user, the chances are you’ll want a photo editing app to take your photos to the next level.
Pixelmator Pro
Pixelmator Pro is one of the best image editing software available for Mac. What sets it apart from other photo editors are the built-in automatic retouching tools powered by a machine learning algorithm. You also get advanced photo manipulation capabilities, including the usual RAW editing options, presets, filters, and layer editing. Additionally, Pixelmator Pro packs a full set of vector tools for creating designs and lots of other features for creative professionals.
Pixelmator Pro
Pixelmator Pro
Pixelmator Pro is one of the best photo editing tools with support for RAW files, presets, and much more. It is available as a one-time $50 purchase.
$50 at Apple Apps
Darkroom
Darkroom is another powerful photo editing app that you should consider. While it’s a relatively new entrant in the Mac space, it has become a very popular photo app on iPhone and iPad. Darkroom not only packs powerful management and editing workflows, but it also features a deep iCloud Photo Library integration. The app is a dream to look at and has pretty much everything you would need to enhance your photos, including RAW editing.
Darkroom
Darkroom
Darkroom is free to download and includes several in-app purchases to unlock premium features, including a one-time purchase of $49.99 that unlocks everything forever. It’s great for those who relying on iCloud since the app integrates with Apple’s storage service.
Free with IAP at Apple Apps
Best utility apps
Lastly, we have the best utility apps for Apple Silicon Mac users. If you want your Mac to keep providing excellent performance in the long run, these apps can help.
MacCleaner Pro
MacCleaner Pro is an effective junk file cleaner and speed optimizer for Mac. With the app, you can clean up RAM, disable startup programs, clear caches, remove installation files and delete unneeded localization files. MacCleaner Pro can also help you identify apps or files hogging disk space. Additionally, the app comes with tools to find duplicate files and completely remove programs.
MacCleaner Pro
MacCleaner Pro
MacCleaner Pro offers a 7-day trial, following which you will have to purchase it for a price of $45. It helps you delete some unneeded cache files, in addition to clearing RAM.
Free with IAP at Apple Apps
AppCleaner
While it’s super easy to uninstall a program on the Mac, the uninstallation process leaves behind a lot of temporary and junk files. AppCleaner helps you clean this junk, so you don’t have unnecessary stuff clogging your Mac. It’s pretty straightforward and very easy to use.
AppCleaner
AppCleaner
AppCleaner is free to download and use. It’s a great tool to delete leftover files after uninstalling software from your Mac.
$0 at FreeMacSoft
Bartender
If you don’t like a cluttered menu bar, Bartender is the app to get. It helps you take control of your Mac’s menu bar, allowing you to hide everything behind one icon. The app also lets you set up triggers to show select menu bar items only when you need them.
Bartender
Bartender
Bartender offers a four-week trial, following which you’ll have to buy it for $15. It’s a handy utility for those who want to declutter their Mac’s Menu Bars.
Free trial with IAP at Apple Apps
The Unarchiver
Although macOS comes with a built-in Archive Utility, it’s relatively barebones. So if you deal with archives a lot, you need a robust app like The Unarchiver to extract pretty much any compressed file you get. It supports a lot of archive formats, including the most popular ones, like Zip, RAR, 7z, Tar, and Gzip.
The Unarchiver
The Unarchiver
The Unarchiver is free to download and use. It’s a perfect utility for those dealing with compressed files of different formats, such as ZIP, RAR, 7Z, and more.
$0 at Apple Apps
Amphetamine
Amphetamine is a great app if you want to prevent your Mac from going to sleep, showing a screensaver, or dimming the screen. This is very useful when you want to leave a task running and don’t want the Mac to go to sleep automatically. You can use the app to keep the system awake indefinitely, until a specified time, while a particular app is running, or until a file is downloading. You can also create Triggers to keep the Mac awake. There’s plenty to play around with.
Amphetamine
Amphetamine
Amphetamine is free to download and use. It keeps your Mac awake to avoid automatic sleeping or ongoing task interruption.
$0 at Apple Apps
Onyx
Onyx is an excellent option if you need something to keep your Apple Silicon Mac in tip-top shape. The app has been around since 2003 and is beloved among macOS techies for system maintenance. It can help clean your Mac, remove problematic folders, rebuild databases, and more. In addition, Onyx can verify the structure of the file system at the startup and repair any disk permissions.
Onyx
Onyx is free to download and use. It acts as a maintenance tool for macOS by verifying system files and clearing out unwanted cache.
$0 at Titanium Software
There are our top picks for the best apps for the Apple Silicon Macs. Given that many of the good Mac apps are still waiting to be updated for the M chips, this list is only going to grow longer in the coming months. If you’re feeling adventurous, you can even use Windows apps on Apple Silicon Macs with Windows 10, although we wouldn’t recommend that route for the average user.
