Popular Mac apps that only run on Apple silicon
Some Mac apps skip Intel Macs entirely and need an M1 or later. These are the ones people install the most.
Actualizado el 8 de noviembre de 2026
Respuesta corta
On November 8, 2026, the top three are Vorssaint, Raycast and LM Studio. Ver todas (50), or how it's ranked.
Most apps still run on both kinds of Mac. A growing number do not: they use the Neural Engine, Apple's on-device AI models or Metal features only Apple silicon has, or the maker simply stopped building for Intel.
This list is handy if you are still on an Intel Mac, or thinking about buying one used. Homebrew marks the apps that need Apple silicon, and we sorted them by installs.
How this ranking works
- Source: Homebrew's public install analytics (formulae.brew.sh), which count installs by people who leave Homebrew's anonymous analytics on. App names and descriptions come from each Homebrew cask.
- Read on: November 8, 2026. The 30 days run from October 9, 2026 to November 8, 2026. MacPip reads it again every week.
- Ranked by: installs in the last 30 days. Nobody can pay for a place, and MacPip apps get no boost.
- Included: Mac apps whose Homebrew cask needs an Apple silicon (arm64) Mac. Deprecated and disabled casks are left out. 149 apps qualify today.
At a glance
The list
Select a column heading to sort. Apps marked Not on MacPip are shown for the ranking only and link to their own pages. Makers are named only where GitHub, the Mac App Store, MacPip or the maker's own website says who they are.
| App | Links | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Vorssaint Not on MacPipMenu bar toolkit with keep-awake, system monitor and volume mixer por vorssaint @vorssaintGPL-3.0Swiftv3.4.3, Oct 2026 | Installs, 30 days: 11,269 | Installs, 365 days: 42,510 | GitHubHomebrew |
| 2 | RRaycast Not on MacPipControl your tools with a few keystrokes | Installs, 30 days: 7,519 | Installs, 365 days: 115,989 | Sitio webHomebrew |
| 3 |  LM Studio Not on MacPipDiscover, download, and run local LLMs | Installs, 30 days: 6,162 | Installs, 365 days: 58,513 | Sitio webHomebrew |
| 4 | DDeepSeek Harness Not on MacPipPlugin-based AI agent desktop application | Installs, 30 days: 2,843 | Installs, 365 days: 3,555 | Sitio webHomebrew |
| 5 | GGemini Not on MacPipNative desktop AI assistant from Google | Installs, 30 days: 2,693 | Installs, 365 days: 18,278 | Sitio webHomebrew |
| 6 | HHerdr Not on MacPipDesktop app for terminals and coding agents | Installs, 30 days: 2,172 | Installs, 365 days: 2,171 | Sitio webHomebrew |
| 7 |  Dia Not on MacPipWeb browser | Installs, 30 days: 1,651 | Installs, 365 days: 7,836 | Sitio webHomebrew |
| 8 |  OmniWM Not on MacPipTiling window manager por OmniNullGPL-2.0Swiftv0.8.0, Nov 2026 | Installs, 30 days: 1,299 | Installs, 365 days: 2,133 | Sitio webGitHubHomebrew |
| 9 |  KDE Connect Not on MacPipCommunicate with your handheld devices | Installs, 30 days: 1,219 | Installs, 365 days: 3,289 | Sitio webHomebrew |
| 10 |  Comfy Desktop Not on MacPipNode-based image, video and audio generator | Installs, 30 days: 1,160 | Installs, 365 days: 5,384 | Sitio webHomebrew |
| 11 | UUnsloth Desktop Not on MacPipDesktop application for Unsloth Studio por Unsloth AI @unslothai | Installs, 30 days: 1,014 | Installs, 365 days: 1,612 | Sitio webGitHubHomebrew |
| 12 |  Highball Not on MacPipTool to run Windows games por Gauthier Piarrette | Installs, 30 days: 816 | Installs, 365 days: 1,203 | GitHubHomebrew |
| 13 |  LM Studio Bionic Not on MacPipAI agent for working with open models | Installs, 30 days: 628 | Installs, 365 days: 1,980 | Sitio webHomebrew |
| 14 |  Llama Not on MacPipMenu bar app for running local LLMs por ggml @ggml_orgMITSwift0.47.0, Nov 2026 | Installs, 30 days: 587 | Installs, 365 days: 1,765 | GitHubHomebrew |
| 15 |  WhatCable Not on MacPipMenu bar app for USB-C cable diagnostics por Darryl MorleySwiftSwiftUIv1.5.0, Oct 2026 | Installs, 30 days: 528 | Installs, 365 days: 5,703 | GitHubHomebrew |
| 16 |  Crest Not on MacPipOpen-source web browser por Paul Davis | Installs, 30 days: 510 | Installs, 365 days: 510 | Sitio webGitHubHomebrew |
| 17 |  PlayCover Not on MacPipSideload iOS apps and games por PlayCover @playcoverappGPL-3.0Swift3.1.0, Sep 2024 | Installs, 30 days: 508 | Installs, 365 days: 4,388 | GitHubHomebrew |
| 18 |  Parallels Desktop Not on MacPipDesktop virtualization software | Installs, 30 days: 499 | Installs, 365 days: 5,568 | Sitio webHomebrew |
| 19 |  EXO Not on MacPipRun AI models locally across multiple devices | Installs, 30 days: 474 | Installs, 365 days: 1,990 | Sitio webHomebrew |
| 20 |  VirtualBuddy Not on MacPipVirtualization tool por Guilherme Rambo @_insideBSD-2-ClauseSwift2.2.1, Oct 2026 | Installs, 30 days: 452 | Installs, 365 days: 2,549 | GitHubHomebrew |
| 21 |  Tinycast Not on MacPipApplication launcher and productivity tool por Abue Ammar @abue_ammarSwiftv0.12.11, Nov 2026 | Installs, 30 days: 443 | Installs, 365 days: 443 | Sitio webGitHubHomebrew |
| 22 | OOpenSuperWhisper Not on MacPipWhisper dictation/transcription app por StarmelMITSwift0.1.0, Mar 2026 | Installs, 30 days: 443 | Installs, 365 days: 8,634 | GitHubHomebrew |
| 23 |  ChatGPT Classic Not on MacPipOpenAI's previous ChatGPT desktop app | Installs, 30 days: 406 | Installs, 365 days: 4,288 | Sitio webHomebrew |
| 24 |  Ghostex Not on MacPipWorkspace for running and reviewing multiple CLI coding agents por Mohamad Yahia @maddada | Installs, 30 days: 388 | Installs, 365 days: 460 | Sitio webGitHubHomebrew |
| 25 | DDelta Not on MacPipMultiplayer environment for coding with agents | Installs, 30 days: 380 | Installs, 365 days: 416 | Sitio webHomebrew |
| 26 | BBattery Not on MacPipApp for managing battery charging. (Also installs a CLI on first use.) por Mentor Palokaj @ActuallyMentor | Installs, 30 days: 306 | Installs, 365 days: 8,261 | GitHubHomebrew |
| 27 | BBetterCapture Not on MacPipScreen recorder por Joshua Sattler @jsattler_MITSwiftv2026.4, Sep 2026 | Installs, 30 days: 298 | Installs, 365 days: 2,551 | Sitio webGitHubHomebrew |
| 28 | kkimi Not on MacPipAI chat assistant from Moonshot | Installs, 30 days: 290 | Installs, 365 days: 1,907 | Sitio webHomebrew |
| 29 |  AirStats Not on MacPipMenu bar system monitor por byren | Installs, 30 days: 287 | Installs, 365 days: 532 | Sitio webGitHubHomebrew |
| 30 |  BlueStacks Not on MacPipMobile gaming platform | Installs, 30 days: 287 | Installs, 365 days: 3,158 | Sitio webHomebrew |
| 31 |  Blender LTS Not on MacPip3D creation suite | Installs, 30 days: 269 | Installs, 365 days: 1,500 | Sitio webHomebrew |
| 32 |  MacParakeet Not on MacPipLocal speech-to-text, transcription, and meeting recording por Daniel Moon | Installs, 30 days: 262 | Installs, 365 days: 1,416 | Sitio webGitHubHomebrew |
| 33 |  Osaurus Not on MacPipLLM server built on MLX por Osaurus @OsaurusAIMITSwift0.25.32, Nov 2026 | Installs, 30 days: 233 | Installs, 365 days: 6,327 | Sitio webGitHubHomebrew |
| 34 |  Mirai Not on MacPipInference engine for AI models por Mirai Labs @trymirai | Installs, 30 days: 216 | Installs, 365 days: 341 | Sitio webGitHubHomebrew |
| 35 |  Meetily Not on MacPipMeeting transcription and analysis application por Zackriya Solutions | Installs, 30 days: 206 | Installs, 365 days: 1,069 | Sitio webGitHubHomebrew |
| 36 |  Muesli Not on MacPipLocal-first dictation and meeting transcription por Muesli | Installs, 30 days: 196 | Installs, 365 days: 873 | Sitio webGitHubHomebrew |
| 37 |  Headroom Not on MacPipReduce token usage for Claude Code and Codex por gglucass | Installs, 30 days: 195 | Installs, 365 days: 760 | Sitio webGitHubHomebrew |
| 38 |  Vicinae Not on MacPipApplication launcher and command palette por Vicinae HQ | Installs, 30 days: 190 | Installs, 365 days: 670 | Sitio webGitHubHomebrew |
| 39 |  GameHub Not on MacPipCompatibility layer for running Windows and Steam games | Installs, 30 days: 183 | Installs, 365 days: 651 | Sitio webHomebrew |
| 40 |  Claudoscope Not on MacPipMenu bar dashboard for Claude Code sessions por Liran Baba | Installs, 30 days: 179 | Installs, 365 days: 179 | Sitio webGitHubHomebrew |
| 41 |  Paper Not on MacPipDesign tool for creating interfaces and prototypes | Installs, 30 days: 178 | Installs, 365 days: 716 | Sitio webHomebrew |
| 42 |  bb Not on MacPipIDE for running and orchestrating coding agents por get-bb | Installs, 30 days: 177 | Installs, 365 days: 426 | Sitio webGitHubHomebrew |
| 43 |  Pulse Not on MacPipSystem activity monitor for CPU, memory, GPU, disk and network por EGOIST @localhost_5173 | Installs, 30 days: 170 | Installs, 365 days: 170 | Sitio webGitHubHomebrew |
| 44 | WWriter Not on MacPipLocal-first Markdown editor por Joel @joelbqz | Installs, 30 days: 166 | Installs, 365 days: 185 | Sitio webGitHubHomebrew |
| 45 |  Biscotti Not on MacPipPrivate meeting transcription por Steve Cosman @scosman | Installs, 30 days: 160 | Installs, 365 days: 160 | Sitio webGitHubHomebrew |
| 46 | MMumu Player Pro Not on MacPipAndroid emulator | Installs, 30 days: 158 | Installs, 365 days: 1,412 | Sitio webHomebrew |
| 47 | RReolink Client Not on MacPipClient for viewing and managing security cameras and NVRs | Installs, 30 days: 109 | Installs, 365 days: 176 | Sitio webHomebrew |
| 48 | NNativ Not on MacPipRun AI models locally por Neywa Labs @Neywalabs | Installs, 30 days: 102 | Installs, 365 days: 322 | Sitio webGitHubHomebrew |
| 49 |  SiliconScope Not on MacPipSystem monitor for Apple Silicon with ANE, Media Engine and bandwidth tracking por Kennt YS Kim | Installs, 30 days: 102 | Installs, 365 days: 736 | Sitio webGitHubHomebrew |
| 50 | TThinkRail Not on MacPipAgentic development environment por JetBrains @jetbrains | Installs, 30 days: 101 | Installs, 365 days: 101 | Sitio webGitHubHomebrew |
The makers behind this list
The people and teams who build these apps, as they name themselves on GitHub or MacPip. Say thanks, star a repo, or follow them.
- vorssaintVorssaint
- OmniNullOmniWM, a team
- Unsloth AIUnsloth Desktop, a team
- Gauthier PiarretteHighball
- ggmlLlama, a team
- Darryl MorleyWhatCable
- Paul DavisCrest
- PlayCoverPlayCover, a team
- Guilherme RamboVirtualBuddy
- Abue AmmarTinycast
- StarmelOpenSuperWhisper
- Mohamad YahiaGhostex
- Mentor PalokajBattery
- Joshua SattlerBetterCapture
- byrenAirStats
- Daniel MoonMacParakeet
- OsaurusOsaurus, a team
- Mirai LabsMirai, a team
- Zackriya SolutionsMeetily, a team
- MuesliMuesli, a team
- gglucassHeadroom
- Vicinae HQVicinae, a team
- Liran BabaClaudoscope
- get-bbbb, a team
- EGOISTPulse
- JoelWriter
- Steve CosmanBiscotti
- Neywa LabsNativ, a team
- Kennt YS KimSiliconScope
- JetBrainsThinkRail, a team
On MacPip, too
Mac apps listed on MacPip that fit this list, each with its own page.
CuewakeLeave it here. Find it when you’re back.
LingerSave what moves you. Recall it in your own words.
NotchMuseSynced lyrics in your Mac menu bar and beside the notch
uRSS 2.0Fast, private RSS reader and Podcast app for mobile devices
Related lists
- Popular Mac apps that still need Rosetta
- The most popular AI apps for Mac
- Apple silicon native Mac apps
- The most popular Mac apps, by real installs
- All Mac app rankings
Obtén los datos
Download this list as CSV or read it as Markdown. Free to use: please cite it as MacPip, "Popular Mac apps that only run on Apple silicon", https://macpip.com/rankings/apple-silicon-only-mac-apps, read November 8, 2026.
Preguntas
Which popular Mac apps need Apple silicon?
By Homebrew installs in the last 30 days, Vorssaint, Raycast, LM Studio, DeepSeek Harness and Gemini lead. 149 apps in Homebrew's ranking need an Apple silicon Mac.
Will these apps run on an Intel Mac?
No. Their makers ship them for Apple silicon only, so they will not install or open on an Intel Mac, even with the newest macOS it supports.
How do I know if my Mac has Apple silicon?
Open the Apple menu and choose About This Mac. If it says Chip, followed by Apple M1 or later, you have Apple silicon. If it says Processor and Intel, you do not.