Updated Nov 8, 2026, from what MacPip lists today.
MacPip lists 14 free productivity apps for Mac, and a person has checked 7 of them.All of them have a free version.6 of them sell a one-time license.3 of them are paid by subscription.There is no single best free productivity app for everyone, so MacPip does not rank them.If you want it free, start with Caddie.
Apps a person checked come first, newest check first. Never ordered by payment.
| App | What it does | Price | Free or paid | Apple silicon | Open source | Made by | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Caddie | Tasks, notes, calendar and AI agents in one Mac app | Free while in beta | Free version | Not stated | No | Harsha Garlapati | Nov 3 |
| Blook - Private Bookmark Manager | A self-hosted, private, and lightweight bookmark manager built for everyday use. | Free, one-time in-app upgrade | Free versionOne-time | Not stated | No | David Dai | Nov 3 |
| Slap Alert | A Mac menu bar app for founders that celebrates every sale. | Free for scripts, $19 once, 7-day trial | Free versionOne-time | Yes, and Intel, its maker says | No | Not stated | Nov 3 |
| EZ Save | A private file organizer for iPhone, iPad, Mac and Android. | Free, Pro $2.99/mo or $17.99/yr | Free versionSubscription | Not stated | No | Digital Sauce Pty Ltd. | Nov 3 |
| NotesXD | Native macOS notes, tasks and transcriptions app with Active Listening | Free, Pro available | Free versionSubscription | Not stated | No | Not stated | Oct 31 |
| Otterdock | Otterdock groups apps, files, folders and links into Mac Dock groups. | Free, one-time Pro upgrade | Free versionOne-time | Not stated | No | savetimefor.fun | Oct 31 |
| Pixtamer | Batch-convert, compress, resize and rename images into web-ready files, all on your Mac. | Free and open source | Free version | Not stated | Yes | Sidhant Sinha | Oct 31 |
| ScreenVerb | The screenshot app built around AI. Capture, mark up, and paste AI answers in three keys. | Free, Pro available | Free versionOne-time | Yes, Apple silicon only, its maker says | No | David Tran | Pending |
| ActionClip | Turn selected text into actions and create your own Mac workflows | Free, Pro from $12 once | Free versionOne-time | Yes, Apple silicon only, its maker says | No | Advait Vaidya | Pending |
| LokalBot | Your personal context engine. | Free and open source | Free version | Yes, Apple silicon only, its maker says | Yes | Not stated | Pending |
| Sonder | Sonder is a free, open-source markdown editor for Mac. | Free and open source | Free version | Yes, and Intel, its maker says | Yes | Not stated | Pending |
| JellyDraw | Draw on your Mac screen. Drawings stick to the window they're on. | Free, with Pro at $9.99 one-time | Free versionOne-time | Yes, Apple silicon only, its maker says | No | JellyDraw | Pending |
| Raydo Agent OS | The AI agent operating system for real work | Free, Cloud from $20/mo | Free versionSubscription | Yes, Apple silicon only, its maker says | No | Rolitt Inc. | Pending |
| Gander | One Quick Look app for every file a developer opens | Free | Free version | Yes, and Intel, its maker says | No | Not stated | Pending |
The 12 below come first in the table: apps a person checked, newest check first. The other 2 are in the table above.
Tasks, notes, calendar and AI agents in one Mac app
From its maker: Caddie brings tasks, notes, calendar and meeting notes together on Mac, with hold-fn dictation, a coach in the notch, booking links and a hub for Claude Code and Codex via https://usecaddie.app/mcp. Supports teams.
A self-hosted, private, and lightweight bookmark manager built for everyday use.
From its maker: Blook is a self-hosted, private, and lightweight bookmark manager for the links you use every day, beautifully organised and always instantly searchable.
Blook - Private Bookmark Manager on MacPip More Productivity apps
A Mac menu bar app for founders that celebrates every sale.
Slap Alert is for founders who like to see a sale land. It watches Stripe, Paddle, RevenueCat, Polar or Dodo Payments with a read-only key, and Shopify orders arrive by webhook. For every new sale, a pixel monkey slaps a sticky note on your screen with who paid and how much, and win cards mark milestones like your first $1k. It is free for scripts, or $19 once with a 7-day trial.
A private file organizer for iPhone, iPad, Mac and Android.
From its maker: A private file organizer for iPhone, iPad, Mac and Android. Save links, photos, videos, documents and notes into folders, stored in your own iCloud and encrypted on your device.
Native macOS notes, tasks and transcriptions app with Active Listening
From its maker: Native macOS meeting notes app with Active Listening, real-time transcription, always-on AI chat, and Google Calendar integration.
Otterdock groups apps, files, folders and links into Mac Dock groups.
Made by savetimefor.funWebsiteOn XFrom its maker: Group apps, files, folders, and links in your Mac Dock with Otterdock. Add desktop widgets and start free with 2 groups on macOS 14 or later.
Batch-convert, compress, resize and rename images into web-ready files, all on your Mac.
Made by Sidhant SinhaGitHub repoOn XFrom its maker: Pixtamer is a native Mac app that turns batches of images into web-ready assets. Drop in a folder, pick a format, and export JPEG, PNG, WebP or AVIF with real before/after sizes for every file.
The screenshot app built around AI. Capture, mark up, and paste AI answers in three keys.
Made by David TranWebsiteOn XFrom its maker: ScreenVerb is a screenshot app for Mac built around AI. Snap a window, drag a pixel-exact region or grab a full scrolling page with one shortcut, then press a number key to run an AI action.
Turn selected text into actions and create your own Mac workflows
Made by Advait VaidyaWebsiteOn XActionClip puts a small action menu beside text you select: copy, rewrite, translate, search or run a saved workflow. You can describe a new action and it builds one using AI prompts, JavaScript, AppleScript or shell commands. Free for 30 actions a day, with lifetime licenses from $12. It is a native Swift app for Apple silicon with macOS 15 or later.
Your personal context engine.
LokalBot records meetings without a bot joining the call, then transcribes and summarizes them on your Mac. It can also search your meetings and, if you turn it on, what you saw on screen. Processing runs locally by default. It is free and open source, for Apple silicon with macOS 15 Sequoia or later.
Sonder is a free, open-source markdown editor for Mac.
Sonder is a free, open-source Markdown editor. It opens your own folder of .md files, so there is nothing to import or export, and adds a Focus Mode plus the AI tools you already have. It works offline and needs macOS 14 Sonoma or later.
Draw on your Mac screen. Drawings stick to the window they're on.
From its maker: JellyDraw is a menu bar app for drawing and highlighting over any app on your Mac. Each drawing sticks to the window it was drawn on, so when you move, resize or minimize the window, your marks go with it.
Look for one job done well, keyboard shortcuts, and whether your data stays on your Mac or goes to a server.
There is no single best one for everyone. MacPip lists 14: Caddie, Blook - Private Bookmark Manager, Slap Alert, EZ Save, NotesXD, Otterdock, Pixtamer, ScreenVerb, ActionClip, LokalBot, Sonder, JellyDraw and 2 more. If you want it free, look at Caddie. If you would rather pay once than subscribe, look at Blook - Private Bookmark Manager. If you want open source code, look at Pixtamer.
With a one-time option, so you can avoid a subscription: Blook - Private Bookmark Manager, Slap Alert, Otterdock, ScreenVerb, ActionClip, JellyDraw.
By their makers' word or by our check: Slap Alert, ScreenVerb, ActionClip, LokalBot, Sonder, JellyDraw, Raydo Agent OS, Gander.
Each has a dated report on its page: Caddie, Blook - Private Bookmark Manager, Slap Alert, EZ Save, NotesXD, Otterdock, Pixtamer.
Apps a person has checked come first, newest check first, then the rest by when they were added. Payment never changes the order, and sponsored rows are labeled and kept apart.
