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.
Mis à jour le 8 novembre 2026
Réponse courte
On November 8, 2026, the top three are Vorssaint, Raycast and LM Studio. Voir les 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 par 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 | Site webHomebrew |
| 3 |  LM Studio Not on MacPipDiscover, download, and run local LLMs | Installs, 30 days: 6,162 | Installs, 365 days: 58,513 | Site webHomebrew |
| 4 | DDeepSeek Harness Not on MacPipPlugin-based AI agent desktop application | Installs, 30 days: 2,843 | Installs, 365 days: 3,555 | Site webHomebrew |
| 5 | GGemini Not on MacPipNative desktop AI assistant from Google | Installs, 30 days: 2,693 | Installs, 365 days: 18,278 | Site webHomebrew |
| 6 | HHerdr Not on MacPipDesktop app for terminals and coding agents | Installs, 30 days: 2,172 | Installs, 365 days: 2,171 | Site webHomebrew |
| 7 |  Dia Not on MacPipWeb browser | Installs, 30 days: 1,651 | Installs, 365 days: 7,836 | Site webHomebrew |
| 8 |  OmniWM Not on MacPipTiling window manager par OmniNullGPL-2.0Swiftv0.8.0, Nov 2026 | Installs, 30 days: 1,299 | Installs, 365 days: 2,133 | Site webGitHubHomebrew |
| 9 |  KDE Connect Not on MacPipCommunicate with your handheld devices | Installs, 30 days: 1,219 | Installs, 365 days: 3,289 | Site webHomebrew |
| 10 |  Comfy Desktop Not on MacPipNode-based image, video and audio generator | Installs, 30 days: 1,160 | Installs, 365 days: 5,384 | Site webHomebrew |
| 11 | UUnsloth Desktop Not on MacPipDesktop application for Unsloth Studio par Unsloth AI @unslothai | Installs, 30 days: 1,014 | Installs, 365 days: 1,612 | Site webGitHubHomebrew |
| 12 |  Highball Not on MacPipTool to run Windows games par 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 | Site webHomebrew |
| 14 |  Llama Not on MacPipMenu bar app for running local LLMs par 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 par Darryl MorleySwiftSwiftUIv1.5.0, Oct 2026 | Installs, 30 days: 528 | Installs, 365 days: 5,703 | GitHubHomebrew |
| 16 |  Crest Not on MacPipOpen-source web browser par Paul Davis | Installs, 30 days: 510 | Installs, 365 days: 510 | Site webGitHubHomebrew |
| 17 |  PlayCover Not on MacPipSideload iOS apps and games par 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 | Site webHomebrew |
| 19 |  EXO Not on MacPipRun AI models locally across multiple devices | Installs, 30 days: 474 | Installs, 365 days: 1,990 | Site webHomebrew |
| 20 |  VirtualBuddy Not on MacPipVirtualization tool par 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 par Abue Ammar @abue_ammarSwiftv0.12.11, Nov 2026 | Installs, 30 days: 443 | Installs, 365 days: 443 | Site webGitHubHomebrew |
| 22 | OOpenSuperWhisper Not on MacPipWhisper dictation/transcription app par 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 | Site webHomebrew |
| 24 |  Ghostex Not on MacPipWorkspace for running and reviewing multiple CLI coding agents par Mohamad Yahia @maddada | Installs, 30 days: 388 | Installs, 365 days: 460 | Site webGitHubHomebrew |
| 25 | DDelta Not on MacPipMultiplayer environment for coding with agents | Installs, 30 days: 380 | Installs, 365 days: 416 | Site webHomebrew |
| 26 | BBattery Not on MacPipApp for managing battery charging. (Also installs a CLI on first use.) par Mentor Palokaj @ActuallyMentor | Installs, 30 days: 306 | Installs, 365 days: 8,261 | GitHubHomebrew |
| 27 | BBetterCapture Not on MacPipScreen recorder par Joshua Sattler @jsattler_MITSwiftv2026.4, Sep 2026 | Installs, 30 days: 298 | Installs, 365 days: 2,551 | Site webGitHubHomebrew |
| 28 | kkimi Not on MacPipAI chat assistant from Moonshot | Installs, 30 days: 290 | Installs, 365 days: 1,907 | Site webHomebrew |
| 29 |  AirStats Not on MacPipMenu bar system monitor par byren | Installs, 30 days: 287 | Installs, 365 days: 532 | Site webGitHubHomebrew |
| 30 |  BlueStacks Not on MacPipMobile gaming platform | Installs, 30 days: 287 | Installs, 365 days: 3,158 | Site webHomebrew |
| 31 |  Blender LTS Not on MacPip3D creation suite | Installs, 30 days: 269 | Installs, 365 days: 1,500 | Site webHomebrew |
| 32 |  MacParakeet Not on MacPipLocal speech-to-text, transcription, and meeting recording par Daniel Moon | Installs, 30 days: 262 | Installs, 365 days: 1,416 | Site webGitHubHomebrew |
| 33 |  Osaurus Not on MacPipLLM server built on MLX par Osaurus @OsaurusAIMITSwift0.25.32, Nov 2026 | Installs, 30 days: 233 | Installs, 365 days: 6,327 | Site webGitHubHomebrew |
| 34 |  Mirai Not on MacPipInference engine for AI models par Mirai Labs @trymirai | Installs, 30 days: 216 | Installs, 365 days: 341 | Site webGitHubHomebrew |
| 35 |  Meetily Not on MacPipMeeting transcription and analysis application par Zackriya Solutions | Installs, 30 days: 206 | Installs, 365 days: 1,069 | Site webGitHubHomebrew |
| 36 |  Muesli Not on MacPipLocal-first dictation and meeting transcription par Muesli | Installs, 30 days: 196 | Installs, 365 days: 873 | Site webGitHubHomebrew |
| 37 |  Headroom Not on MacPipReduce token usage for Claude Code and Codex par gglucass | Installs, 30 days: 195 | Installs, 365 days: 760 | Site webGitHubHomebrew |
| 38 |  Vicinae Not on MacPipApplication launcher and command palette par Vicinae HQ | Installs, 30 days: 190 | Installs, 365 days: 670 | Site webGitHubHomebrew |
| 39 |  GameHub Not on MacPipCompatibility layer for running Windows and Steam games | Installs, 30 days: 183 | Installs, 365 days: 651 | Site webHomebrew |
| 40 |  Claudoscope Not on MacPipMenu bar dashboard for Claude Code sessions par Liran Baba | Installs, 30 days: 179 | Installs, 365 days: 179 | Site webGitHubHomebrew |
| 41 |  Paper Not on MacPipDesign tool for creating interfaces and prototypes | Installs, 30 days: 178 | Installs, 365 days: 716 | Site webHomebrew |
| 42 |  bb Not on MacPipIDE for running and orchestrating coding agents par get-bb | Installs, 30 days: 177 | Installs, 365 days: 426 | Site webGitHubHomebrew |
| 43 |  Pulse Not on MacPipSystem activity monitor for CPU, memory, GPU, disk and network par EGOIST @localhost_5173 | Installs, 30 days: 170 | Installs, 365 days: 170 | Site webGitHubHomebrew |
| 44 | WWriter Not on MacPipLocal-first Markdown editor par Joel @joelbqz | Installs, 30 days: 166 | Installs, 365 days: 185 | Site webGitHubHomebrew |
| 45 |  Biscotti Not on MacPipPrivate meeting transcription par Steve Cosman @scosman | Installs, 30 days: 160 | Installs, 365 days: 160 | Site webGitHubHomebrew |
| 46 | MMumu Player Pro Not on MacPipAndroid emulator | Installs, 30 days: 158 | Installs, 365 days: 1,412 | Site webHomebrew |
| 47 | RReolink Client Not on MacPipClient for viewing and managing security cameras and NVRs | Installs, 30 days: 109 | Installs, 365 days: 176 | Site webHomebrew |
| 48 | NNativ Not on MacPipRun AI models locally par Neywa Labs @Neywalabs | Installs, 30 days: 102 | Installs, 365 days: 322 | Site webGitHubHomebrew |
| 49 |  SiliconScope Not on MacPipSystem monitor for Apple Silicon with ANE, Media Engine and bandwidth tracking par Kennt YS Kim | Installs, 30 days: 102 | Installs, 365 days: 736 | Site webGitHubHomebrew |
| 50 | TThinkRail Not on MacPipAgentic development environment par JetBrains @jetbrains | Installs, 30 days: 101 | Installs, 365 days: 101 | Site 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
Obtenir les données
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.
Questions
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.