Mar 25, 2020 With these Mac apps for focus, you should be able to concentrate more on your work and less on your distractions. And if you’re looking for a simple work timer instead, check out our list of the best focus timers for Mac. Do you use one of the great apps already or is there a different free, focus app for Mac you’d like to recommend? These apps can help with your routine tasks such as file management, making lists and note taking, and password management, so that you spend less time in these tasks and have more time for important work. Best Mac Productivity Apps. Below are our picks for the must-have productivity apps for Mac. How many of these do you use in day-to-day.
Whether you’re a professional or not, time is everything. It’s great that we now have timer apps that easily manage time. Recently, we had covered the best Apple Watch Timer Apps. Most of those apps offered a built-in tool for the timer. This time, however, we are focusing on timer apps for Mac in general. You will find options from categories like Task timer apps, Pomodoro Timer apps, Countdown timer apps, etc. We have also included Reminder timers and some time-tracker timers for freelancers.
The best part is that even if you reboot your Mac, you can’t turn off the application until the timer’s up. So if your “selfcontrol” is not enough, use this small tool to be more productive with your time. Best Mac Productivity Apps – Useful Tools 1. This productivity app is all about managing your tasks. BTT takes your standard Mac gestures and keyboard shortcuts and puts them on steroids, making it a key selection among the best productivity apps for Mac. Here are some of the things it can do: customize window snapping and resizing (like maximizing one app to the left and another to the right). Krisp is an easy-to-use but powerful app that recognizes your voice and separates it from extraneous noise next to you, leaving only your clean voice. It’s one of the best productivity apps for Mac that. In researching the best free apps for the Mac, I started by using Apple's category list. This makes it easier to cover the wide variety of content available. If an app is on the Mac App Store, it is in one of the 21 categories that Apple has listed.
Read: Top 10 Free macOS Apps to Boost Your Productivity
Best Timer Apps for Mac
1. Focus Booster
Category: Pomodoro Timer
focus booster is an incredibly simpler Pomodoro timer app for Mac. However, despite the simple interface, Focus Booster lets you customize things like the length of the session, break duration, etc. You can also sign in to an account and sync time-tracking data between your macOS, iPhone, and Android.
Nevertheless, we wished there was a menu-bar icon for the app. You will have to open the app to know how much time you have left. Also, Focus Booster does not let you add multiple tasks at once. On the bright side, you can have the better workflow, thanks to multi-platform apps.
The app is free, but it does come with some limitation, for instance, advanced analytics are web-only, and the limited number of sessions (20) in the free version
Overall, Focus Booster is the best choice if you need a simple Pomodoro timer with analytics. It’s useful when you have multiple clients and want to track time.
Check Out focus booster (Freemium, $2.99/month)
2. Pomotodo
Category: Pomodoro Timer
Pomotodo, as the name suggests, combines an excellent Pomodoro timer and a task-management list. You can add tasks to the simple interface and also start the Pomodoro timer. However, both these things aren’t integrated i.e. you cannot run the timer for a specific task.
However, when the timer is running, you can mark the tasks complete. Pomotodo has options like Analytics, Stats, Goals, and History. You can go to Preferences and customize the way this timer app works. In addition, Pomotodo also brings multi-device sync and a fully-fledged time management system.
Pomotodo is more than a simple Mac timer app. It offers ample options for time management as well as Pomodoro technique use.
Color picker for mac os. Check Out Pomotodo (Free, Pro starts at $2.9/month)
3. WaitingList
Category: Countdown Timer
WaitingList does exactly what its name says. It lets you create amazing countdown timers that you can find in the menu bar. Just click on the WaitingList icon and there will be a list of things that you’re waiting for. As opposed to other apps, WaitingList prioritizes visual appeal over anything.
The point is that you can create eye-pleasing countdowns easily. WaitingList lets you choose the style as well as the background. You can also get reminders about an approaching event. Last but not the least, the app offers iCloud Sync feature as well.
WaitingList is an awesome choice when you need interactive timers and reminders. It’s a count-down app that makes your events look more exciting.
Best Work Apps For Mac Desktop
Check Out WaitingList ($4.99)
4. Timer for Mac
Category: Countdown Timer
Timer for Mac is a general timer app but works awesome for almost all needs. You can use this app to set a stopwatch timer, normal timer or alarms. It also offers a section named Clock, where you can see the current time.
In the free version, you can set reminders along with actions. It focuses on accuracy and ease of use, but an awesome set of features are also there. Going Pro, Timer for Mac can bring you full-screen mode, a better set of programmed actions, etc.
Timer for Mac does many jobs beautifully when you need to set a timer. That having said, you’d need the Pro version if you need some awesome features listed above.
Check Out Timer for Mac (Free, Pro at $29.95)
5. Time Out
Category: Reminder Timer
It’s very important to take frequent breaks — for your health and productivity. Time Out for Mac allows you to run a timer to remind you. When it’s time for the break, Time Out will show you a full-screen message on the Mac screen.
While setting up Time Out, you can decide the desired amount of breaks. You also get features like Micro Breaks and advanced scheduling. Customization is the key of this timer app. From the time to how take-a-break messages are shown, everything can be changed.
Overall, Time Out is the best companion for those who spend hours in front of the PC. It lets you take a break without compromising productivity. Don’t forget to come back on time, though.
Check Out Time Out (Free)
6. Stand for Mac
Category: Reminder Timer
Stand for Mac is a wonderful Mac timer app for all users. It reminds you to stand up once in a while. The app does not come with any bells or whistles. Instead, you can decide how often you want to be notified about standing up.
The idea of Stand for Mac is amazing indeed. The app does not have a fully-fledged window but Preferences are available from the icon menu. Stand for Mac also plays a sound when it’s time to stand up, but further customization isn’t available.
Pros: Extremely simple and straightforward, no complex set-ups
Cons: None
The Verdict: If you think you have an unhealthy lifestyle of sitting all the time, use Stand for Mac. It comes at no cost, which is great.
Check Out Stand for Mac (Free)
7. Cooking Timer
Category: Kitchen Timer
Cooking Timer is an awesome Mac timer app for chefs out there. It’s pretty simple to use if you’re into some BBQ events or some other cooking. Cooking Timer lets you run three timers at the same time. You can make use of them for different needs.
Coming to the timers, you can use them as Stopwatches or timers itself. In the latter case, choose the desired length from the menu. The single-tap technique makes it easy to manage the timers so that you can focus on what’s being prepared.
Best Work Apps For Macbook
Cooking Timer is the simplest solution out there, for all the good reasons. You can use this timer without concerns when you want to focus on the cooking process.
Check Out Cooking Timer (Free)
8. Timing
Category: Time Tracker for Freelancers
Timing is a wonderful time-tracking app for Mac. Compared to the competitors, Timing is automated when it comes to actions. You don’t have to press the Start or Stop buttons. Instead, Timing app will observe and analyze where you are spending most of your time.
At the end of the day, Timing provides a proper report of time consumption. If you are a professional, you can use this data to create invoices and reports. The best part is that you can automate this process too. It’s going to let you set up some rules for report generation.
Timing for Mac is perhaps the best time-tracker for almost every freelancer. You cannot use the app for normal countdown or anything, but the time-tracking part is excellent.
Check Out Timing ($29 for Productivity, $49 for Professional and $79 for Expert)
9. Horo
Category: Time Tracker for Freelancers
Yet another extremely minimal timer app that won’t even make you feel its presence. No extra features than the exact job it needs to execute. The app is available on the macOS App Store and takes a few seconds to get installed. The app is so light on the system that even summoning Siri to know weather updates might take more space on the RAM.
Once installed, you’ll see the ‘hourglass’ shaped app icon on the menu bar. Click on the icon to reveal the tiny app interface wherein you just insert the time and press the play button. That’s it, the timer will start on the count-down display is visible on the menu bar.
The good part about the app is that you can continue with other tasks while the timer would still be visible on the menu bar. And even if you work in full screen it had you covered. It plays a tone upon finishing. You can even change the tone and set a timer creation shortcut in a premium version which doesn’t cost as much.
Best Mac Os Apps
Download Horo (Free, $2 for full version)
Timer Apps for Mac
Best Work Apps For Mac Os
The 10 Mac timer apps we have covered are made for unique needs. As it happens, you cannot fulfill all your needs with a single app. For instance, hr, our pick for task management, would be less useful if you need to get reminders on time. In that case, you should go for something like Time Out. By the way, do let us know which tool do you use for timers and time-tracking.
Related: Quickest Ways to Set a Timer on your iPhone?
After you buy a new Mac computer, or update your macOS to the latest 11 Big Sur, you may need to install new apps. What are the best apps to install on Mac ? Check the must-have Mac apps here.
Any best free apps for Mac (macOS Big Sur) to install on the new Mac? Beside those built-in default apps, you may need some more for specific purposes. If you're struggling to figure out the best free Mac apps for MacBook Pro/mini/Air/laptop from the thousands of software programs, check this article. Here we list 2021 top best Mac apps free for photo editing, music & video download, game, design, productivity and more.
1.0 Video
It's a common choice to watch movies or videos on Mac when we're free. Therefore, watching movies on a Mac shouldn't be quaint or inconvenient. If you have QuickTime failure opening certain movies, there we share you the best free Mac apps to play videos on Mac computer.
* Best Mac app free for video conversion - MacX Video Converter Free
If you're a big movie fan and use mobiles to watch movies a lot, you will need a movie converter that will convert videos/movies among different formats. Here the must-have free app to convert videos on Mac OS X is MacX Video Converter Free, a free DVD converter app for macOS Big Sur and earlier. It will free convert among MP4, MKV, AVI, MOV, 3GP all formats in 4K, HD 1080P/720P, SD to fit iPhone, iPad, Samsung, Android mobiles fast with excellent quality.
* Best free Mac app for video playing - 5KPlayer
Video player is an essential app to install on Mac and when it comes to Mac video player apps, there are many good choices like VLC player, QuickTime player, Cisdem VideoPlayer and many more. 5KPlayer, a fast-rising video player free app for Mac OS X (macOS Big Sur incl.), is simple, light and clean. It professionally handles video and audio in any formats, from SD resolution to HD, 4K UHD and 5K. It also features a video downloader, AirPlay receiver/sender and radio player. If you're tired of those common free Mac player apps, try it.
2.0 Entertainment
When it comes to entertainment with Mac, movies are one of the major topics. To this end, two popular free apps working on Mac OS X that help you to get free movies, videos as well as songs are provided.
* Top free app to download YouTube videos for Mac - MacX YouTube Downloader
When you want to watch YouTube or online videos when there is no internet connection, the best free YouTube downloader app for Mac OS X (macOS Big Sur) will help. MacX YouTube Downloader is a totally free and safe app to download videos on MacBook Air/Pro, iMac etc from YouTube, Dailymotion, Vevo, FaceBook, Vimeo and 1000 more online sites. Any MP4, WebM, FLV in 4K UHD, HD, SD, 3D, 360 vr videos are all supported. It's fast and easy to download YouTube videos to iPhone, iPad, iPod with this app.
* Best free app for Mac to rip DVD movies - Handbrake
Almost all users who have the need to rip DVDs will have Handbrake installed on computer. Handbrake is one of the best free app on Mac to convert DVD or Blu-ray discs into MP4, M4V or MKV. The app is simply, fast and will generate excellent quality. However, if you want to rip protected DVDs on Mac computers running on macOS Big Sur, you will have to switch to other best free Mac apps for DVD ripping like MacX DVD Ripper Mac Free.
If your footage calls for editing or you want to embellish it with interesting effects before ripping files to DVDs, you should use reliable video editing software for Mac.
3.0 Music
If you are a big music lover, music apps will be the must-have software to install on Mac computer. To get free music with good quality, try the free apps on Mac OS X below.
* Top free apps for Mac audio editing - Audacity
Audacity is an open source free audio editing and recording app for Mac OS X, Windows, Linux and others. With this free app on 2017 MacBook Pro/Air, mini, you can listen to music, record audio from various sources in high quality, edit and mix it, import and export music into WAV, MP3, AIFF and OGG files. Besides that, various of audio editing features are available to edit sounds, add audio effects, mix tracks, cut and paste recording etc.
Other best free Mac apps for audio editing include Gtuner, Mixxx, Hydrogen, Reaktor 5 Player etc.
* Best free apps for Mac music - Spotify
If you are looking for the best Mac apps free for music playback, you can try Spotify if you're not using Apple Music. Spotify is a streaming music service that offers you a new way to enjoy millions of songs. Once you sign up a Spotify account, you can listen to music freely on the Spotify app installed on Mac. Spotify offers massive music collection with excellent high quality, as well as a slew of useful features.
Similar top free music apps for Mac are Google Play Music, Vox, Tomahawk and also 5KPlayer.
4.0 Photos & Graphics
With sharing selies on social sites getting popular, how to take the best photos as well as further editing gets more important. Which free photo editing apps for Mac are easy to use while generating the best effects? Check below.
* Best free photo editing app for Mac OS X - GIMP
When it comes to the best free photo apps for MacBook Pro/Air, mini, iMac, the first thoughts may be Photoshop or iPhoto. Besides them, there are many other top free Mac apps for photo editing, just like GIMP. Similar to Photoshop, GIMP offers wide range of photo editing tools with which you can make subtle adjustments and colorize, remove barrel distortion, create impressive monochrome conversions, and do everything like Adobe photo app.
The best free Mac apps for photo editing also have Affinity Photo, Lightroom, Pixlr, Preview.
* Best free Mac OS X apps to manage photos - JetPhoto Studio
After we learn the best free photo editing for Mac OS X, the programs to mange photos are also among the sought-after best free photo apps for Mac. JetPhoto Studio is one of the best free apps to mange photos on Mac. It allows users to create flash or web galleries from the photos, send photos to mobile phones, share photos on websites and more. It also features soome image management and editing features.
Similar best free Mac photo apps include MacX MediaTrans, Phototheca, XnView MP, IrfanView etc.
5.0 Games
Do you often play Mac games? Besides those famous games on Mac, you may have missed out some truly greate yet totally free games. We have the best free game apps listed under each category below.
When you want a free game app on Mac, there are countless choices. Actually, there are so many categories that it may be hard to choose the best. No worry, below we list some top-rated free Mac game apps for you.
Best strategy game for Mac: League of Legends, Team Fortress 2, Hearthstone, Starcraft II, Heroes of Newerth.
Best free car racing game on Mac: Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing, Grid 2, Dirt 3, TOCA Race Driver 3.
Free first person shooter game apps for Mac: Marathon Trilogy, Team Fortress 2, Assault Cube, Red Eclipse, Warsow, OpenArena, Cube 2 Sauerbraten, UberStrike.
6.0 Data Backup
Are you sure you have made a safe copy of your favorite photos, videos, data, apps, memories? Accidents happen all to often. The best free Mac apps below will make sure all your important files are safely kept.
* Best free apps for Mac to backup Mac data - Time Machine
Time Machine is among the top choice for the best free Mac app to backup the computer data. As an inbuilt free Mac data backup app, Time Machine will save hourly backups for the past 24 hours, daily backups for the past month, and weekly backups for data older than a month. Note that Time Machine will delete the oldest backup to make space for new data. So you're suggested to use other free Mac backup apps together.
Other best free Mac apps for data backup: FileFort, Backuplist+, CrashPlan, iBackup, SilverKeeper.
* Best free app to backup iDevices on Mac - MacX MediaTrans
MacX MediaTrans is a rising data backup app that helps to backup data from iDevices to MacBook Air/Pro, iMac, Mac mini on macOS Big Sur and earlier. It excels iTunes or iCloud for its superfast speed and simplicity. By only a drag and drop, data on iPhone, iPad and iPod will be backed up to Macs, including videos, music, photos, ringtone, iBook, Podcast and more. It also features strong iOS (10) file management ability. It offers free version for unlimited time.
Similar best Mac apps free for iDevices data backup: iFunBox, CopyTrans Manager, AirMore, Apowersoft Phone Manager, iPhone Explorer.
7.0 Productivity
In fact, there are some good free apps that will make your task on Mac faster and more efficient. Nowadays, it's important to stay productive and get your tasks done in less time. You will be amazed at the features of those samll, free but useful apps.
* Best free app for Mac OS X app launching - Alfred
Alfred is a free application launcher app for Mac. It maximizes users' efficiency on Mac by facilitating the access to various programs. This simple and free app makes it fast and easy to launch apps, find files, search web, solve calculations, and do many more with keyboard shortcuts. It will track the app your often use to make you more efficient.
Other top free launcher apps for Mac include: Quicksilver, LaunchBar, Spotlight, Butler.
* Top free app on Mac to manage tasks - Wunderlist
Wunderlist is among the best task manager apps for MacBook Pro/Air, iMac that it allows you to make lists. With this free app on Mac, you can create lists of different tasks with deadlines, share them with friends and access from different devices. You won't miss any task, to-dos, due dates or additional information.
Other excellent free Mac task manager apps are Any.do, Evernote, Todoist, TickTick.
* Best free Mac apps to manage Mac screen - f.lux
f.lux is a small, free and extremely helpful app that will adjust the color of the monitor based on the time, sunlight and temperature of the day. By adjusting the brightness and color temperature of Mac's display, it helps eyes relax and reduces strain on our retinas.
Other best free apps for Mac to protect our eyes include Redshift, RedshiftGUI, Twilight.
8.0 Storage
It's really frustrating to have Mac out of storage space. Getting the right tool will help you clean up more space, check the storage being used, delete unnecessary files and eventually speed up the Mac performance.
Dr. Cleaner is the only and also best free app for Mac OS X to optimize memory and clean disk to speed up Mac computers. It will help you to scan the large files to delete, clean whole system, automatically optimize memory, scan junk files, clean disk, delete cache and unnecessary files, empty temporary files, cache files, system files, log files and do more. You will see a significant performance boost with this free app.
9.0 Social Network
Mac Productivity Software
Everyone is online nowadays. Famous networking apps like YouTube needs no introduction. But you may have missed some tiny and interesting free networking apps for Mac that make it easier to get contact with friends.
* Best free social networking app for Mac - Twitter for Mac
No doubt that Twitter for Mac is one of the most popular and also top best free Mac apps for social networking. As the official client for Twitter, it allows you to do everything you can on Twitter, for example, you can sign in multiple accounts, read notifications, send messages, check trending topics and hot spots, search contents and more.
Similar good free apps for Mac networking: Face Tab, Echofon, Social Lite, FlipToast.
* Best free apps Mac for chatting - Skype
If you want to contact friends around the world via video or voice chat, Skype will be your first choice. Skype is a simple and free app for Mac OS X that makes it easy to text messages and make free calls to anyone else on Skype. It's quite stable with excellent video and audio quality.
Other free apps for macOS Big Sur chatting: Google+ Hangouts, Facetime, VOXOX, Viber, Line, Jitsi.
10 Mail
Mac computer has a free email app built-in, but that's not always the best solution for daily mail use. There are third-party free apps for Mac OS X (macOS Big Sur) that offers better solution to manage emails.
Speaking of the best free mail app for Mac OS X, Airmail will a be must-have app for MacBook Pro/Air, iMac or mini. As the recommended mail app for Mac, Airmail delivers Mac users a quick, modern and easy-to-use experience to read and manage emails. It supports iCloud, MS Exchange, Gmail, Google Apps, IMAP, POP3, Yahoo!, AOL, Outlook.com, Live.com. It has advanced features for single and multiple accounts.
Best Free Productivity Apps For Mac Os
Good free mail apps for Mac computer: Apple Mail, Polymail, Thunderbird, Inky, CloudMagic.