Best Productivity Apps for Mac for 2024: Reviewed & Curated
Best Productivity Apps For Mac
18th Aug, 2024
We have created a list of the best productivity apps for Mac to boost multiple areas of productivity such as meetings, creativity, emails and more.
Got a new Mac or just hyped to make it the powerhouse for productivity?
This is the ultimate place to fuel your Apple unit with the best productivity apps designed for Mac on the market. These aren't your go-to Apple recommendations, but handpicked recommendations from the third-party network of the best Mac apps for productivity.
Mac is one the best devices for getting the most out of your day-to-day productivity, but how did we go about picking these recommendations?
Why did we pick these?
These have been picked for the following reasons:
- Great on Apple - All of these productivity apps run fantastic on any MacBook
- Reliable names - These are all good names in the productivity software world
- Speedy Apps - Recommendations are all snappy on your MacBooks and Mac devices.
Best Mac Apps for Productivity: Shortlist
- Raycast - Keyboard shortcuts for speeding up processes
- Things 3 - Minimal to-do list application
- Apple Freeform - For brainstorming and expressing creativity
- Endel - AI-powered focus and sleep application
- Loom - Asynchronous video chat app for teams
- 1Password - For added password security
- MagicFlow - AI-powered time tracking app for focus
- Fantastical - Calendar designed for Mac that's fast and easy to use
- Superhuman - Superfast email application with AI and speed
- Craft - For creating and sharing informative documents
- SetApp - Effective way to use and test a bunch of app
All of the above apps are not listed in any particular order, you may find some of these apps more useful than others depending on what your needs are.
Top 3 Picks for Mac Users
These are the ones you cannot leave here without.
1. Raycast
Fastest Mac Keyboard
- Pricing: Free with $10 per month pricing
- Superpowers: Fast Mac command bar with apps
Why is Raycast good for Mac?
Think of Raycast as the ultimate command bar for Mac users.
Raycast is speedy and replaces your need to use the built-in Apple spotlight feature that all Mac users get and use as default. This helps to speed things up, and you can use the basic tools, but also get access to 1,000+ extensions built by 3rd party providers. The more pro features of Raycast give you AI abilities too, but come at a cost per month.
Raycast has there own App Store, bypassing any app store, allowing users to install Raycast-specific apps that they can plugin into and just use the command bar for. Perfect for apps like Todoist that allow you to then organize your tasks without going into the Todoist app, or even going anywhere but the command bar.
Should I Consider Raycast for my Mac?
If you're someone who already users the MacOS spotlight command bar feature and you feel like you want a faster, more accurate way to find things, search and bypass your browser opening, and in general open to apps for Raycast...
Then this could be your new rapid-fire Mac productivity app waiting in the lurch.
2. Things 3
Minimal To-Do List App
- Pricing: 14-day trial, $49.99 Mac, $19.99 iPad, $9.99 iPhone
- Superpowers: Reliable, minimal design to-do app with personal projects
Why is Things 3 good for Mac?
Things 3 is the most beautiful to-do list app for Mac users, bold statement.
Mac users, iPhone and iPad users too, are getting a treat for the eyes with Things 3. Presenting a clean, simple to-do app that allows you to manage your tasks, plan, use a system-like task app, and bring no more noise than needed. Things 3 has a lovely design, but great features too, like "this evening" for breaking tasks down, projects that have deadlines perfect for setting them and ticking them off and so on.
One of the best ones for Mac users is the gorgeous way to capture tasks by using a command bar shortcut, allowing you to quickly add tasks with a basic, but powerful way to get those ideas and tasks into Things 3.
Should I Consider Things 3 for my Mac?
If you've got the money to pay upfront for Things 3, it is a good investment. Many people think, wow $80 is a lot, it is. But when you look at apps like TickTick that charge $4 per month, ongoing, then you don't ever have to pay for Things 3 again*
So long term, over 5 years, you'll be paying $10-15 per year, so the investment pays itself off within a little time and you might not need it on all those devices (iPhone, iPad, MacOS). All in all, this is a stunning to-do list app, with the basics for solo task management.
*We hope Things 4 is an upgrade cost, versus a full push to subscription.
3. Apple Freeform
Best Whiteboard App for Mac
- Pricing: Free
- Superpowers: Connects with FaceTime for real-time whiteboard calls
Why is Apple Freeform good for Mac?
Okay, we said we wouldn't add any Apple products, but this a good one for Mac.
Apple Freeform helps to bring ideas together in a whiteboard experience that users can use not only on iPad, but on Mac too - allowing you to get in the weeds of an idea, bring shapes, stickers, sketching files, images & media into play. The biggest power feature is FaceTime calls embedded, allowing you both to sketch and track each other's demos.
This isn't as powerful as something like Miro, but it will do wonders for small-group planning or even idea management for yourself. We'd recommend having a look.
Should I Consider Apple Freeform for my Mac?
If you're a visual thinker, then Apple Freeform or whiteboard apps like it are a must to capturing ideas and bringing them together. If you want something free and reliable, then Apple Freeform is that app for you to capture and connect ideas.
4. Endel
The Most Productive Sound
- Pricing: Free with pricing starting from $2.99
- Superpowers: Menu bar on Mac allows for quicker, smarter access
Why is Endel good for Mac?
Endel is one of the underrated apps for productivity.
Getting into focus when using your Mac is hard, there's lots of different apps distracting you and even moulding a clean, minimal wallpaper and screen is hard too. So getting into the zone can be done using sound productivity.
Endel uses your data like health (BPM - beats per minute), location, weather and time of day to basically mould a soundscape that perfectly suits your needs - eg. focus, relaxation, sleep and more. They also offer a range of special guests in their premium subscription.
Should I Consider Endel for my Mac?
If you're lucky enough to be allowed deep work states and listen with headphones at work, in those non-meeting dates, then this is an app for you. Endel helps you to tune into the task at hand by creating productive soundscapes designed only for you, using your data and insights. The timers work great too for setting that deep work focus.
5. Loom
Go A-Sync on Mac
- Pricing: Free with limits, $12.50 per month, per person
- Superpowers: Record with the built-in recorder for all your screens
Why is Loom good for Mac?
Despite being purchased by Atlassian, Loom is more popular than ever.
Loom brings a way to record tutorials, meetings and more using a system of communication that is growing in popularity called a-sync communication. One used by Doist, the company behind Todoist, to communicate find the system the best way to handle remote communication and reduce the need for meetings.
Millions are looking at a-sync communication and are being converted thanks to the nature of reduced meetings, and keeping meetings to external or vital meetings. Well worth exploring Loom for Mac, even if you don't want this - Loom recordings can increase the chances of people replying to you, by giving a friendly face or a voice to the solved issue.
Should I Consider Loom for my Mac?
If you and the team want less meetings, then this is a gem for Mac.
Looking to go a-sync or just add your human layer to your communication, this is the tool you need and the one that people are turning to using on Mac devices for perfect capture.
6. 1Password
Best Password Security for Mac
- Pricing: Starts from $2.99 per month for individual use
- Superpowers: Easy to use, reliable app for password management
Why is 1Password good for Mac?
1Password is a clean, minimal password management system for Mac.
People love the nature of using touchID for logging into their 1Password app and using it to manage their passwords whilst using it on their macOS device. The 1Password 8 app more recently introduced by the AgileBits team is very smooth and a great way to capture. Many people like the Watchtower feature that scans your passwords for potential breaches or even passwords that have now become poor, available on Mac and the mobile editions.
On Mac, it plugs into many browser apps too allowing you to fill information and create recommended passwords for you to use instead of the basic ones you'll re-use.
Should I Consider 1Password for my Mac?
If you don't have a password management system, we'd recommend having a look. This is a nifty tool for managing passwords, with features beyond that too like passport, ID and secure note capture too. Go for it if you're hunting for more secure focused year ahead.
7. Magicflow
Ultimate Productivity Tracking
- Pricing: No free plan with $15 per month ($8 annually)
- Superpowers: Gives you a score for the time you've spent
Why is Magicflow good for Mac?
Magicflow is a great Mac productivity app for measuring focus. It tracks what you are doing on your Mac and how to improve your focus time. It uses AI to track your productivity and overtime helping you create a better habit of focus and overall reduce distraction.
MagicFlow monitors things like how long you spent in deep focus, how many times you switched between apps and how long your productivity sessions were during the day.
Why is MagicFlow Good on Mac?
MagicFlow is great to have open on your Apple Mac to help you increase productivity.
- Tracks you and provides a score by eyeballing what apps you use on Mac.
- Use the score given to reduce the time not in focus, and manage productivity better.
- Start a focus session on your Mac to begin tracking productivity.
Receive insights from MagicFlow to understand the way you work, MagicFlow also tells you when you have gone off track so you can bounce back.
8. Fantastical
Best Mac Calendar App
- Pricing: Free with £5 per month upgrade
- Superpowers: Reliable calendar app for Mac users
Why is Fantastical good for Mac?
Fantastical is one of the best Mac productivity apps for managing calendar
Everything from handling quick adding tasks using natural language, to the weather forecast and using the customizable settings to make the desktop experience work brilliantly for you. We'd recommend Fantastical for all round use but for Mac users, the way you can add tasks, calendar items and even connect with other apps helps for a smooth way to handle calendar with ease.
Should I Consider Fantastical for my Mac?
If you're hunting for a reliable, fast calendar app for Mac, then Fantastical builds one of the best one for Mac users. The design, the feel of the calendar experience and the way it is crafted for Mac use is all very nice including a great Mac menu bar for adding events and capturing what's ahead.
9. Superhuman Email
Fastest Mac Email App
- Pricing: $30 per month
- Superpowers: Speedy, reliable email with command bar abilities
Why is Superhuman good for Mac?
Superhuman brings a clean, rapid email app to the Mac with no issues.
This experience is one of the best on the market and for Mac users, you'll love it for the command bar abilities that allows you hit COMMAND + K and start organizing emails without even touching the mouse, or your mousepad. Snippets help to save time with email templates, quality of life updates like the pop open email as you type helps to craft replies back on Mac with no worries. Everything about Superhuman oozes function on Mac.
Should I Consider Superhuman for my Mac?
We'd recommend Superhuman for those who use Mac but have a need for powerful email and handle at least between 2-3 hours of email a day, this will likely be taken down, once learnt, to around 1-2 hours thanks to the speed, but it is important to note that Superhuman isn't for everyone.
10. Craft
Beautiful Mac Documents
- Pricing: Free with starting from $5 per month Pro pricing
- Superpowers: Stunning personal and team documents on Mac
Why is Craft good for Mac?
Craft is the perfect place to build documents on Mac for work and life.
This is like Notion, but provides a way for you, like Google Docs, to create documents and make them more engaging with cards, designs and layouts that bring a sense of design and organization to your productivity. Used by many businesses as a team wiki and used by many others as their note-taking app and journal tool for capturing day-to-day journal.
This app is versatile and works great on Mac as one of the speediest document apps on the market, even compared to the powerhouse Notion.
Should I Consider Craft for my Mac?
Craft is great if you don't have need for databases or projects.
If you need a speedy and clean way to create documents and share them, or even ones to manage for yourself - Craft is one of the best apps for that for Apple devices in particular.
11. SetApp
- Pricing: $9.99 per month
- Superpowers: Get productivity apps and save upfront costs
Why is SetApp good for Mac?
SetApp wants to be the Netflix for productivity apps.
By giving you a lot of them (240+ apps) and allowing you to install what you want, when you want and with a healthy $9.99 per month price. For many people this is a lot more approachable than a $99.99 upfront cost, when you don't know the app and you just want the basics to cover what you do. There are a range of apps, not just productivity, and they all cover areas you'll need, or may need in the future.
Should I Consider SetApp for my Mac?
SetApp is a great way to save money when it comes to paying for apps. If you aren't fussed about the tools you use and the brands behind them, then SetApp helps to give you a set of 240+ functional tools that do the job, but they are actually fantastic.
You essentially rent the SetApp apps, but they work ideal for many.
Which Mac Productivity Apps are Best For Me?
Here's some of our biggest Mac recommended productivity apps for scenarios.
For Task Management
Both Things 3 and Magicflow can help craft a better task management workflow on Mac.
For Day-to-Day Productivity
Easy daily wins for boosting productive nature on Mac.
For Smarter Utilities & Time-Saving
Fantastic tools for better time management on Mac, SetApp and Craft.
Explore More Productivity Apps & Software
From trending reads, trending tools and beyond
Choose from hundreds of productivity tools
View AllWeekly Roundup: Explore People's Productivity Tools
Become a reader to our newsletter exploring what productivity apps people use on a daily basis to get things done