Alternatives · an honest answer
Looking for a CleanMyMac alternative?
RefreshYourMac does the cleaning half of CleanMyMac — caches, logs, unused apps, large files, duplicates — plus the developer files CleanMyMac mostly skips, for €39.99 once with no account. It leaves out the malware scanner, the RAM purge and the app updater on purpose.
Why people look for one
Usually one of three reasons: the price, which on CleanMyMac's own store page on 24 September 2026 was $39.99 a year or €119.95 for a one-time licence; the account it asks you to create; or a one-click "junk" clean that does not tell you what each item will cost you to lose. Each of those is a design choice, and RefreshYourMac made the opposite one.
Where RefreshYourMac differs
- €39.99 once, or €19.99 a year if you prefer. The one-time price is what CleanMyMac charged for a single year on 24 September 2026.
- No account. There is nothing to sign into, and nothing about your Mac's contents leaves it.
- A safety rating on every category. Four levels, and the rating decides what the buttons may do, so your own files can never be swept up with the caches.
- Nothing selected until you ask. Scanning and measuring are free; cleaning is a choice you make per category.
- Developer and AI tool files. Xcode DerivedData, simulator runtimes, node_modules, Gradle and Homebrew caches, and the runtimes and build trees AI coding tools leave behind.
- Move instead of delete. Large files can go to another drive rather than the Trash.
What it deliberately leaves out
A RAM purge button, because it frees memory macOS reads straight back — the measurement is on does purging RAM help. A malware scanner, because macOS already runs one; the app reads out its version and date instead (malware protection). An app updater, which is outside what a cleaner should do.
When CleanMyMac is the better choice
- You want look-alike photo detection for bursts and near matches. RefreshYourMac finds only exact re-saves of the same picture.
- You want a monthly plan, or an app updater in the same window.
- You want cleaning to run from a background agent whether or not an app is open. RefreshYourMac's scheduled clean runs only while its menu bar app is running.
The full table
Price, features and the refusals, side by side with CleanMyMac and MacKeeper and read from their own pages: RefreshYourMac vs CleanMyMac and MacKeeper.