CleanMyMac and MacMemory, compared
Updated · Dmytro Virych
Each row states what the maker says about their own product, in a short phrase, with a link to the page it was read on and the day it was read. The right-hand column is MacMemory's own behaviour, read from its code. There is no verdict, no rating and no price for either product: prices change without notice and a stale one repeated here would be worse than none. If a row has gone out of date, write to hello@macmemory.app and it will be re-read.
The facts
| Fact | CleanMyMac | MacMemory |
|---|---|---|
| What it does, in the maker's words | An all-in-one Mac cleaner and maintenance app: junk, duplicates, malware and performance Source · checked September 23, 2026 | Open the grey System Data block in your Mac's storage bar, read what every item inside it is in plain language, and delete only what you choose. |
| How it is sold | Both: a subscription with all future upgrades, or a one-time purchase that covers the current major version only Source · checked September 23, 2026 | You pay once and own it, including future updates. |
| Where it is sold | The MacPaw Store, the Mac App Store, and Setapp Source · checked September 23, 2026 | Direct download from macmemory.app; signed and notarized; not on the Mac App Store |
| Runs in the background | Yes: a menu bar item with live monitors for health, protection, storage, memory, battery and CPU Source · checked September 23, 2026 | No: no menu bar item, no login item, no scheduled scans |
| What the free version shows | A 7-day trial with every feature; the paid plan starts when it ends unless cancelled Source · checked September 23, 2026 | Everything: every item and every size, before payment |
| Approach to System Data | Caches, logs, temporary files and incomplete downloads, as one module of a wider suite; files are reviewed before deletion Source · checked September 23, 2026 | Opens the grey System Data block into named categories, one plain sentence each, two labels |
| Where deleted files go | Not found on the maker’s pages | To the Trash; Time Machine snapshots and the Trash itself are removed outright, and the row says so |
| Needs Full Disk Access | Yes, for the app, its Health Monitor and its Menu Source · checked September 23, 2026 | Yes, to read Mail, backups, snapshots and the Trash; a limited scan works without it |
| Minimum macOS | macOS 11 or later Source · checked September 23, 2026 | macOS 14 Sonoma or later |
What MacMemory deliberately does not do
Some of these are things CleanMyMac does, and a reader may want them. They are listed so the table above is not read as a claim of having everything.
- No subscription. One payment, lifetime updates.
- No account, no email capture, no login.
- No background anything: no menu bar icon, no login item, no scheduled scan, no notification.
- No auto-clean. Nothing is deleted without a click.
- No third safety label. Anything the app judges risky is not shown at all.
- No memory or RAM features. The product is storage; the name is what people call it.
- No Mac App Store build. Full Disk Access and the sandbox are mutually exclusive for this use.
- No telemetry. It connects to the internet only to check your licence and for updates.
What System Data is · What MacMemory costs
CleanMyMac is a trademark of MacPaw Inc. Not affiliated.