Best Mac Cache Cleaner

We clean our rooms and clothes so why not our Macs? But who can waste the entire day digging through folders and files? There are so many places like music, videos, apps and email downloads, and countless more locations on your Mac where junk and clutter accumulates. In 2021 cleaning your Mac is easier than ever. Which is why millions of people download free and low-cost Mac cleaning software.

To start off, we've made a quick comparison chart about best Mac cleaners for Mac.

The 16 app bundle is the ultimate all-in-one Mac cleaner software. Mackeeper software tools will keep your computer safe, clean, reliable and fast. Compared to other Mac cleaner software we have tried before, the after-sale support from MacPaw is surely the best. First of all, the developer offers frequent updates to the tool. In most cases, any bug you see in one release will be fixed in a few weeks, maximum.

A handy cleaner may prove that your Mac is still alive and can actually perform at its best. In this article we’ve brought together some of the best Mac cleaning solutions around to clean, optimize, and maintain Macs that are available in 2020.

Top 10 best cleaners for Mac: Free and premium versions

• Clean Me is an open source cleaner for Mac that started as a personal project and gradually evolved into a compelling alternative to the best disk cleaners for Mac. It can clean everything from the Trash folder to downloaded mail attachments, document revisions, app, user, and system caches, spotlight indexing data, system logs, and more.
• Cache Cleaner For Mac free download - RealTime Cookie & Cache Cleaner, Duplicate Cleaner, Wise Registry Cleaner, and many more programs.

1. CleanMyMac X

CleanMyMac X takes the first place with good reason — this cleaner combines features of both cleaning software and antimalware tool. Its Smart Scan promises a “nice and thorough scan of your Mac.” It does what it says, detecting junk like user cache files and system logs, checking your Mac for malicious software, and speeding up your MacBook. Looks like, there is a threat in my system, that I need to get rid of:

Frankly speaking, CleanMyMac X is Tesla Roadster among other Mac cleaners. And it does a great job revealing your junk and other clutter, uninstalling unneeded apps and their leftovers, and keeping your Mac’s system clean and optimized. Another pro is that CleanMyMac X is Apple-notarized, which means it’s safe for your Mac. You can download its free version right here.

Price: $39.95
Free version: Available here

2. Disk Doctor

Disk Doctor is developed in the UK and was awarded the 'Mac Gem’ award by MacWorld in 2013. CNET and other tech journalists also praise functionality. As of 2020, it still looks like a useful tool for Mac cleaning that removes junk slowing down and reducing the computing power of your Mac.

Price: $2.99
Free version: N/A

3. Gemini 2

Gemini 2 is the duplicate finder that allows you to free up gigabytes of storage and organize your files. In just a few minutes.

It quickly scans every corner of your Mac and weeds out useless copies. No matter what type of file it is: a photo, music track, or a doc… Gemini will definitely find it. And once the scan is done, you can remove the duplicates in a click. Or review results to make sure nothing important gets deleted.

If you remove something by accident, it takes just a click to put it back. And to make sure things like that never happen again, you can exclude specific files and folders from scan. Try out the free version right here.

Price: $19.96
Free version: Available here

4. Onyx

OnyX is a french Mac cleaning solution developed by Titanium software. It weighs only 5 MB but that doesn’t mean its capabilities are limited. OnyX is a tool that programmers will have a lot of fun with. With it, you can peek under the hood of your macOS and automate a whole list of jobs, like disk cleanup and cache removal. You can even tweak the color of folders on your Mac, and even make them invisible. Deservedly, it's among the best free Mac cleaners.

OnyX is one of the best Mac cleaners because it cleans many specific under-the-surface files, like inner databases and logs. If you know what is XPC cache is, you’ll probably like this app. But for us, ordinary Mac users who came here for the design and glossy buttons, OnyX will require some learning time.
Those who use OnyX say it is stable and reliable. There is no dedicated customer service (because OnyX is free software), but you shouldn’t be worried. The only likely damage is you accidentally deleting files by yourself.
Price: Free cleaner

5. DaisyDisk

DaisyDisk gives you a visual representation of your Mac folders, making it easy to see what is taking up space and delete the folders you don't need. All you need to do is select a drive, DaisyDisk will scan it, then you can delete everything that is wasting valuable space. It comes with a free and premium version.

Price:$9.99
Free version: Trial version available

6. AppCleaner & Uninstaller

If you only need to uninstall apps on Mac, AppCleaner is a good pick. AppCleaner only removes applications, plugins, and widgets, which are again, small apps. AppCleaner works in a familiar drag & drop mode. Its interface is also clean and easy to understand for a newbie.

After feeding the apps to AppCleaner, you should visit the Leftovers section of the app to erase their remains. Why we place AppCleaner & Uninstaller among free Mac cleaner tools? Because it is 100% free. Whether you will fully clean your Mac using it, is a different question.
AppCleaner & Uninstaller is created by FreeMacSoft, also the makers of LiteIcon, an icon customizer for Mac.
Price: Voluntary donation

7. Smart Mac Care

If you launch Smart Mac Care, it will look hauntingly familiar to other free Mac cleaner apps. Not only features will be called the same, everything up to the fonts, will be identical to some other app you’ve just used. That’s not a minus, though. You can still free up a lot of space with Smart Mac Care.

Smart Mac Care operates by a logic of “scans.” There is a Junk Scan, Malware Scan, Privacy Scan, etc. Just like Mac Booster, Smart Mac Care removes duplicates scattered in various locations on your Mac. There’s also a Memory Optimizer feature that promises to free up RAM on your Mac. In a word, Smart Mac Care resembles every other generic product whose only difference is in packaging. This is supported by the fact that we couldn’t find any credible third-party reviews for this app.

On another skeptical note: to uninstall Smart Mac Care you have to enter your admin password. This is not the case with other Mac cleaners we’ve used.
Price: $56.62 per year
Free version: Demo available

8. Drive Genius

Drive Genius is labeled a “Mac monitoring software.” It’s a whole suite of tools that provide powerful disk diagnostics. It’s hard to list a thing that this software doesn’t do. You can scan for malware, secure-erase files, customize icons — it’s dozens of apps in one body. What makes Drive Genius unique is, probably, its search for corrupted files and inconsistencies on your drive. If your Mac is an old one, keeping it in good health will be easier with Drive Genius.

In a free version, you can use just a fraction of tools, notably a DiskPulse utility. This is an automatic Mac health checker that notifies you before your hard drive fails. Unlike Mac cleaners that merely scan, it is able to repair damage on your disks, which makes it a real deal. Be prepared that hard drive scan may take some time, but the results are worth it. Also note that Drive Genius is not available for macOS Catalina (as of the beginning of 2020).

Price: $299 for Professional edition
Free version: Limited Lite edition is available

9. CCleaner

Originally created in 2004 by Piriform, CCleaner comes with a free and professional version, focusing on businesses and business customers. CCleaner is a cross-platform tool, for PCs, Macs, Android, and it has a Cloud, Network and Technician tool, depending on what you need and the platform/software you use.

The premium version comes with a lot more features, including real-time alerts, free updates, and dedicated support. Although created for PCs in the early days, CCleaner does well to identify unwanted files on a Mac, so that users can select and delete the files and folders they don't need to free up space. As a cleaner for Mac, customers are pretty happy with the results of CCleaner.
Price: $19.95
Free version: Available

10. Sensei

The Sensei app is a relatively new app on the market, but it can be another useful tool for your Mac. The Sensei software developers call the app “Pro Mac Cleaner” on their website. I would call it a performance controlling tool.

Sensei presents a detailed picture of how your Mac performs. In the Dashboard, you can find out information about your MacBook, check your CPU’s current temperature, and see how much of your RAM is used. Cooling gives you exact information on your Mac’s fans' speed.

Its Clean option helps to get rid of user cache, logs, large files, etc. The Uninstaller feature allows you to delete apps from your Mac and remove their traces. It doesn’t list pre-installed apps from Apple, such as Safari or Calendar, but it shows every app you have installed on your Mac.

Surely, you can clean up your Mac manually, but using dedicated software will save you tons of time.

Price: $29 per year
Free version: Available

Frequently Asked Questions

Can’t my Mac clean itself?

Your macOS also has a built-in Mac cleaner, which Apple called Optimized Storage. Though its capabilities are limited, it gives you basic directions on where to start the cleanup. But for a thorough system cleanup and removing malware, you’ll need a dedicated Mac cleaner app.

Can Mac cleaner apps delete my important files?

Typically, best Mac cleaner apps have a protection built-in. They will usually select only those files that are safe for deletion.

Will Mac cleaners slow down my Mac?

Some cleaners try to get into your Login items, thus creating an extra burden on processor. On a flip side, the reliable Mac cleaner apps might even speed up your Mac. They remove all the outdated junk files giving your Mac an extra boost.

Mac cleaning apps you should avoid

Above we've touched the trusted Mac cleanup solutions but there are many that work on the dark side. Malwarebytes lists Advanced Mac Cleaner Pro and similar tools as unwanted applications. Here are some signs that should warn you against using scam Mac cleaners.
Signs of Mac cleaner scam:

• 'Your Mac is infected' intrusive message
• An app is installed as part of different app
• An app finds 2323 (the number is an example) threats on your Mac
• Mac cleaner redirects your search page

Be safe and happy cleaning.

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System cleanup in one click

Your Mac takes care of routine maintenance behind the scenes eventually, but that doesn’t mean you can’t keep things tidy yourself in the meantime. One easy way to keep your Mac running its best is to occasionally clean the cache.

How to clear cache files step-by-step?

There are three types of caches you can clean on your Mac:

• User (or App) cache. These cache files created by all the apps that you use on Mac. It includes apps that came with your macOS (like Mail) as well as 3rd-party apps (like Sketch). Every applications creates a lots of cache - it wouldn’t be surprising to clear up gigabytes of space when cleaning app caches.
• System cache. These cache data created by the built-in macOS system services that run your Mac.
• Browser cache. All browsers store your browsing history and cache data from websites you visit. You know how you shop for something online and then for weeks you’re seeing it everywhere? That’s because your browser caches hundreds of files that make up the websites you visit. Caches also include cookies and trackers that save information about your browsing history and report the data back to the site. This works out in your favor when you return to a site without having to log in again, but it can also leave you feeling like your computer is spying on you.

Old cache files do nothing but cluttering your system and slowing down your Mac through all the wasted space it is taking up. Here's a guide to cleaning all these caches, at the end of which your Mac will be lighter and leaner.

The guide to clean all caches on your Mac

Besides browser and website information, your Mac keeps several caches of its own for different reasons. The good news is you can clean them up manually, or you can clean them with a special app which can clear the browser cache in Safari, Chrome, and Firefox, as well as your system cache, email cache, user cache files, and even your DNS cache files.

Clear your cache in one click

Install the best utilities for clearing your cash — enjoy a clean system and a fresh browsing experience on Mac.

Delete user caches on a Mac

User cache makes up the majority of junk data on macOS. Your applications accumulate user's cache data on a hard disk the longer they are in use. Some apps and utilities can build up cache sizes that reach into gigabytes. This is often just a waste of space, particularly with apps you don’t use every day. By clearing your user apps cache files, you’ll be amazed at how much hard disk space you can reclaim.

Note: Manually clearing cache files on a Mac is something that anyone can do. It takes some time and patience, but if you follow our instructions, you can get the job done all by yourself. Please follow the instructions closely.

Clean up cache files manually

To find and clear your user cache manually, do the following:

• In your Mac’s user folder, there’s a hidden Library folder, which itself contains a folder of caches left by the applications you’ve installed on your Mac.
• Strongly recommend that you remove the insides of ~/Library/Caches and /Library/Caches folders, but not the folders themselves.
• Want to make sure your junk user cache data is gone forever? - Empty out your Trash.

If you are unsure and want a safer option, go ahead and learn on how to use CleanMyMac to handle caches properly. It will find up to 5x more junk cache data to remove from all over your system.

Get rid of cache files with CleanMyMac

1. Launch CleanMyMac app.
2. Select System Junk in the left sidebar.
3. Hit Scan at the bottom of app's window.
4. Then click Clean.

And you're done! If you’d like to remove only cache files and nothing else, click on Review Details before clicking Clean. Deselect everything but System Cache Files and User Cache Files, then click Clean.

Delete system caches on Mac

System cache files are generated by OS X and, unlike application cache, have nothing to do with the user. The hidden system caches are mainly created by the apps that run on your Mac. The clearing of system cache is not recommended in manual mode, unless you are very careful or trying to fix a problem. System cache files do not generally take up much space, which is another reason why a clean out isn’t as necessary as with user cache.

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Clean up system cache data manually

You can find and delete system cache in the same way as user cache, by

1. Going to ~/Library/Caches and hit Enter to removing the insides of the folders with the app name.
2. System cache folders are named com.apple and should be backed up for safety.
3. Go into the com.apple folders and delete the files inside of them. Only the files, not the folders!
4. Right click on the Trash icon and “Empty Trash”.

That’s it, now, just like with your user cache, your system cache is also clear.

Be careful: not all app cache files can be safely deleted. Some app developers keep important information on cache folders. The great idea to backing up a folder before you erase all files inside. If everything works fine, you can delete this backup.

One-button solution to cleanup macOS caches

CleanMyMac is such a great tool because it lets you perform the exact maintenance you want, or run a Smart Cleanup scan with a single click and have the software make recommendations.

Clean up browser caches

We love our browsers but we don’t love it when they start to use up hard disk space with cache files. Whether you’re wanting to free up space, get your browser performing better or trying to remove your history for the sake of privacy, removing your Mac browser cache will help.

Flush DNS caches

Your Mac’s DNS cache is a list of all the DNS queries that were resolved for every site. When you type in 'setapp.com,' the DNS server resolves that to a numerical IP address. But if you notice a site not loading, or your browser acting up or working too slowly, resetting the DNS cache might be the cure.

To flush DNS cache manually

1. Open Terminal (⇧ Shift+⌘+U, and double-click on Terminal)
2. Type this into Terminal: sudo dscacheutil -flushcache;sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder;say cache flushed
3. Press Enter to run and fill your admin password to execute the command.

To clean your Mac’s DNS cache in one click

1. Open CleanMyMac and select Maintenance in the left sidebar
2. Check the box for Flush DNS Cache
3. Click the Run button at the bottom of the window

Your browser cache is essentially saved bits of the websites you’ve visited recently. That way, if you go back, your computer can re-use locally cached elements that haven’t changed, which speeds up load times versus reloading everything fresh from the remote server. Your cache will overwrite itself eventually, but you can clear your cache, history, and cookies anytime you want to gain a little bit of extra security and speed up your Mac.

Clear Safari caches step-by-step

To delete Safari's websites' caches and cookies via browser preferences:

1. Click Safari in the top menu click Preferences.
2. In the window that appears, click the Advanced tab, and enable Show Develop menu.
3. In menu bar go to Develop and choose Empty Caches.

Check and delete Safari browser cache with Terminal:

1. Press Command + Shift + G to open up the Terminal
2. With these simple commands you can delete Safari's cache file. But first, check its size using the disk usage (du) command:
   du -h /Users/$HOME/Library/Caches/com.apple.Safari/Cache.db
   Note: replace '$HOME' with the name of your home folder
   1. To delete Safari's cache file type:
      rm /Users/$HOME/Library/Caches/com.apple.Safari/Cache.db
      Note: when you use the remove (rm)command files are essentially unrecoverable.
   2. A more prudent approach is to use the move (mv) command:
      mv /Users/$HOME/Library/Caches/com.apple.Safari/Cache.db ~/.Trash/
      This will move the file to your user's ($HOME) trash. From there it is still recoverable until you empty the trash.
      Safari will create a new Cache.db file automatically when you open a new webpage.
   3. Open a new webpage or restart Safari and recheck disk usage:
      du -h /Users/$HOME/Library/Caches/com.apple.Safari/Cache.db

That's all.

Chrome clearing cache tutorial

The simplest way to clear Chrome browser cache manually is:

1. In the top right corner of Google Chrome browser click the 3-dot icon to choose Settings.
2. At the bottom of the menu, choose Advanced (or use Cmd+Shift+Delete keyboard shortcut)
3. Click Clear browsing data and deselect all, but Cached images and files. Choose time range and hit Clear data button.

One more way to delete Chrome browser cache is to clear some folders where these data located.

1. To find Chrome cache files, open Finder and click to Go to the folder.
2. To go to the folder where Chrome' primary cache locates type: ~/Library/Caches/Google/Chrome/
3. To go to the folder with the additional bulk of cached data type:~/Library/Application Support/Google/Chrome/Default/Application Cache/
4. Select files within these folders and delete them.

How to delete cache in Firefox manually

1. Click the hamburger icon in the top right corner and choose Preferences.
2. Choose Privacy & Security on the left sidebar.
3. Scroll to the section Cookies and Site Data and click to Clear Data... tab
4. Now, check Cached Web Content and click Clear button to delete Firefox cache.
5. Exit/quit all browser windows and re-open the browser.

How to clean all browsers cache data at once

1. Open CleanMyMac and select Privacy in the left sidebar
2. Click Scan at the bottom of app's window
3. Then Select Items to advance to the next page. The list is broken down by app: you can check each browser to remove all data, such as cookies, browsing history, downloads history, HTML5 local storage, saved passwords, and even close the tabs from your last session. Or you can uncheck any of that you want to keep
4. Click the Remove button at the bottom of the window when you’re ready to delete everything that’s checked

Shape up your Mac even more with other apps in Setapp

CleanMyMac isn’t the only app in the Setapp collection that helps you take good care of your Mac. Setapp gives you access to all of its apps at once, so you can try to get your Mac in even better condition with no downside. Here are some examples.

Declutter automatically sorts files you leave on your desktop, so they’re not cluttering up your view but are still easy to find.

Disk Drill can perform data recovery tasks, like restoring deleted files that haven’t been written over yet, or grabbing anything usable off a corrupted flash drive.

Gemini can find duplicate files. For example, photos and videos you downloaded from your iPhone as well as emailed yourself. Or PDFs you downloaded and filed away once, only to download again later when you forgot you already had a copy.

iStat Menus monitors your Mac’s vital signs in real time, so when things slow down you can see which app is hogging all your memory.

Get Backup Pro makes it easy to make bootable backups of your system, making emergencies not so scary anymore.

No one likes a slow Mac, and it’s a good idea to clean it up every so often. Cache files are the most common and probably the least understood offender that Setapp can help you to keep under control.

So you can do everything else in a blink of an eye. With Setapp, you have full access to the best solutions for performing routine Mac maintenance whenever you like.

Meantime, prepare for all the awesome things you can do with Setapp.

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