The best productivity apps for Mac in 2025

If you're a Mac user, you have high standards. You invested in a high-quality machine for a reason—and you expect the best software to match. It shouldn't just work on your operating system and respond to familiar keyboard shortcuts—it should feel like a Mac app. It should be that ideal blend of form and function that you've come to expect from the Apple ecosystem.

And developers know this—which is why there are so many productivity apps for Mac that are miles better than what you can find for other devices. 

But productivity is different for everyone, so the best Mac productivity apps will look different for me than for you. With that in mind, here's a list of some of the best productivity apps every Mac user should have, based on hundreds of hours of testing from the Zapier team—and my own insights from using these tools.

The best Mac productivity apps at a glance 

What about your Mac's built-in productivity apps?

You already know they exist, but many of Apple's dedicated apps are just as good, if not better, than their premium non-Apple counterparts. If you exclusively use Apple platforms, you're almost always better off starting by checking out the built-in app for each category. Here are the native Apple apps worth trying: 

• Reminders is a to-do list system with sharing capabilities that lets you assign tasks, trigger reminders based on time or location, and add extra details like sub-tasks, URLs, and images to your list.

• Calendar is Apple's simple built-in calendar. It syncs with most major calendar services and includes inbox functionality for accepting invites and reviewing new appointments.

• Mail has a clean interface and powerful features for snoozing, scheduling, unsending, and filtering email messages.

• iCloud Keychain is a secure and user-friendly way to store your passwords and credit card details across all your Apple devices.

• Apple Notes lets you create and access notes from all your Apple devices. It even supports advanced features like sharing and collaboration, adding tags, and attaching files.

• iCloud is a cloud storage feature built in to the Apple ecosystem that lets you sync data across your devices, including files, photos, calendar events, and even settings preferences.

• Freeform is one of Apple's lesser-known productivity apps. It's an interactive canvas on which you can brainstorm, diagram, and share ideas.

• Focus is a Settings feature that lets you automatically silence other app notifications, calls, and messages from all but your allowed list of contacts.

If Apple's built-in productivity apps and tools alone aren't doing it for you, though, here are my picks for the best Mac productivity apps that are worth the download.

The best Mac productivity app for managing your calendar

Fantastical

Fantastical pros:

• The best-looking calendar app for macOS

• Extremely easy and quick to use

• Pulls in tasks from apps like Todoist and Reminders

Fantastical cons:

• Expensive

Time is a resource, and you only get so much of it every week (at least, that's how I understand it, but I am admittedly not a physicist). This is where calendars come in: they organize time so that we know when things like meetings or doctor appointments are happening. This is crucial for planning your work week and generally just functioning as a person.

A dedicated Mac calendar app makes it possible to combine your work and personal calendars in one place while also using notifications to make sure you don't miss any appointments. Fantastical does all of this while pulling off the best-designed calendar app for macOS.

Plus, Fantastical makes it easy to add new appointments and to see everything in a day, week, month, or even quarterly view. And because Fantastical integrates with Zapier, you can connect it to the rest of your apps to do things like sending Slack notifications or emails when appointments are confirmed. Here are a few workflows to get you started.

Fantastical pricing: $4.75/month (billed annually) for individuals; $4.75/user/month (billed annually) for teams. 

If you want a few more options to choose from, check out Zapier's list of the best calendar apps for Mac.  

The best Mac productivity app for time-blocking

Sunsama

Sunsama pros:

• Intuitive interface

• Meditative experience

• Integrates seamlessly with popular project managers and calendars

Sunsama cons:

• No free plan

If you're searching for the ultimate time-blocking app on Mac, Sunsama should be at the top of your list. It was designed with simplicity and functionality in mind, with a clean, intuitive interface that makes planning your day less of a chore and more of a ritual. 

Sunsama brings your daily and weekly tasks together in one view, with a sidebar that integrates your calendars, task managers, and project tools like Trello, Jira, and Gmail. It's super easy to drag tasks over to your calendar, so you have full control to map out your day while keeping everything organized. Each morning, the app prompts you to reflect on your priorities—asking which tasks are on your plate, how long they'll take, and when you'd like to tackle them. 

At the end of the day, Sunsama gently nudges you to review what you accomplished and what can roll over, leaving you with a sense of closure and readiness for tomorrow. Sunsama can also sync updates across your apps automatically—for instance, moving a Trello card to a new column once you've completed it. And you can do even more to streamline your time-blocking workflow when you connect Sunsama with Zapier. Do things like creating tasks from new starred emails, activity in your CRM, and more. Here are some examples.

Sunsama pricing: Starts at $20/month (or $16/month if you buy an annual plan). No free version, though there is a 14-day free trial.

Check out our roundup of the best time blocking software for more options.

The best Mac productivity app for organizing to-do lists

Things

Things pros:

• Feature-rich while still feeling minimal

• Flexible enough to accommodate almost any productivity workflow

Things cons:

• No web version

Sometimes you have to do things. The tricky part is keeping track of all the things you need to do. The worst place to store said things is in your brain, where they will jingle around endlessly, only to resurface when you can't act on them.

A to-do list app helps keep your tasks organized and helps you decide when to do them. And there isn't a better to-do list app out there than the aptly named Things, which tops Zapier's list of the best Mac to-do list apps. This elegant app looks simple at first, but the more digging you do, the more power you'll find. And most importantly, it fits very naturally into the Mac environment.

Things also integrates with Zapier, which means you can automatically do things like create Things tasks from Slack messages, emails, or any other app you use for work. Learn more about how to automate Things, or get started with one of these automated workflows. 

Things pricing: The macOS version costs $49.99 but offers a 15-day free trial through the Things website; the iPad version costs $19.99; and the iPhone version costs $9.99.

Check out Zapier's full list of the best to-do list apps for Mac for more options to consider.

The best Mac productivity app for blocking distractions

SelfControl

SelfControl pros:

• Once you've turned it on, it's impossible to disable

SelfControl cons:

• Only blocks URLs

I want to finish this article. I really do. But I need to watch Instagram chefs making recipes I know I'll never try. At least, that's what would have happened if I hadn't discovered distraction-blocking apps, which allow me to block YouTube and other potentially distracting sites. 

Perhaps the best app for the job is the totally free SelfControl, which allows you to list your most distracting URLs and set a distraction-free time. It will be completely impossible to access those distracting URLs until time runs out, even if you restart your computer. It's really powerful.

SelfControl pricing: Free

Need more suggestions? Check out our list of the best distraction blocking apps.

The best Mac productivity app for setting Pomodoro timers

Session

Session pros:

• Syncs across your Mac, iPhone, Apple Watch, and iPad

• Over-the-top features (that's a compliment)

Session cons:

• Very expensive for a timer

Session is a ridiculous app, in a good way. It has everything you'd expect from a Pomodoro timer—customizable timers, keyboard shortcuts, and a sleek menu bar app—but it goes way beyond the basics. Session syncs between your Mac and iOS devices, offers detailed productivity analytics, and even integrates with your calendar. On top of that, it can block distracting websites and apps on your Mac, helping you stay laser-focused during your sessions.

It's really the little extras that make it a standout in the long list of Pomodoro apps. It supports Apple-specific features like Live Activities in the Dynamic Island on the iPhone 14 Pro, automations through Shortcuts and AppleScript, and even a Slack integration so you can update your status when you start focusing. To top it off, Session adds a mindful touch by encouraging breathing exercises and reflection at the start and end of each session. It's hard not to be impressed by how comprehensive and polished this app is.

Session pricing: Free basic app; from $4.99/month for Monthly Pro. 

If you're looking for something a little less extra, see Zapier's list of the best Pomodoro apps for more web- and mobile-based options.

The best Mac productivity app for taking notes 

OneNote

OneNote pros:

• Lots of powerful features 

• Easily syncs to every device

OneNote cons:

• No offline-only storage

• No exporting options

Despite being one of the oldest note-taking apps out there, Microsoft OneNote still holds its own with a well-thought-out layout and a generous free plan. Notes are organized into notebooks and sections, making it easy to keep everything neat and accessible. If you're already familiar with the Microsoft Office suite, you'll feel right at home with OneNote's interface—even on a Mac.

OneNote's offers a more natural note-taking experience compared to other apps. Rather than acting as a simple text editor, OneNote mimics the feel of a real paper notebook. You can click anywhere on the page and start typing right where you want, which allows for a more fluid and flexible writing process. It also supports images, documents, and even drawings (though drawing is easier on a tablet). On top of that, OneNote's search functionality is incredibly robust, including optical character recognition (OCR) that lets you search through images and PDFs.

You can also connect OneNote with your other most-used apps with Zapier's OneNote integration. For example, you might create new notes for upcoming Google Calendar events, or automatically migrate notes from Notion or other word-processing apps. Discover more ways to automate OneNote, or get started with one of these pre-made templates.

Keep in mind, though, that the Mac version doesn’t support local-only notebook storage—so you’ll need OneDrive to store your files. Also, if you ever decide to switch to a different app, exporting OneNote data can be tricky. And Copilot, Microsoft's AI feature, isn't available in the Mac version of OneNote—that's a Windows exclusive for now.

Microsoft OneNote pricing: Free with 5GB of OneDrive storage. Microsoft 365 starts at $9.99/month and includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Outline, and 6TB of OneDrive storage.

Here's a full list of Zapier's top picks for Mac-friendly note-taking apps.

The best Mac productivity app for creating and sharing screen recordings

Zappy

Zappy pros:

• Quick and easy to use

• Free

• Easily add annotations to images

Zappy cons:

• Lacking advanced features

Taking a screenshot on a Mac is a little convoluted. The files are saved to your desktop, meaning if you want to share them with someone, you need to manually drag them over to your app of choice. Recording the screen is even worse: you need to do it using QuickTime, and the files are generally annoyingly large for sharing.

This is where screen recording tools come in. They make it easy to quickly take a screenshot or screen recording and share those recordings with others. The best Mac tool for the job is, in my opinion, Zapier's own Zappy. 

Is it ridiculous for me to recommend a Zapier tool in a Zapier article? A little. But this is something Zapier built for internal usage because they couldn't find any tools that worked for them. To this day, I haven't found a better tool for the job, which is why I'm glad it's now available to people outside the company as well. With it, you can quickly take a screenshot or screen recording and paste it into the app of your choice. Or, if you're a paying Zapier customer, you can share a URL of the screenshot or screen recording with others. That link is direct: there's no growth hacking injected.

Zappy pricing: Free

If you want a few more bells and whistles, check out Zapier's full list of the best screen recording software.   

The best Mac productivity app for bookmarking articles to read later

Instapaper

Instapaper pros:

• Can send articles to Kindle

• Speed-reading feature

• Very simple to use

Instapaper cons:

• Free version doesn't offer a search feature

If you need a simple way to save and enjoy articles, Instapaper is a great choice for Mac users. Its minimalist design and lack of distracting graphics creates a clean and focused reading experience that's perfect for getting lost in an article. Use the browser extension or bookmark tool to save articles, and then read them later in your desktop or mobile app, both of which support offline reading. 

You can even use the speed reading mode, which flashes one word at a time to help you get through articles faster—a clever option if you're tackling a long reading list. Organizing your articles is equally intuitive, with tools like folders, an archive, and even a dedicated section for your favorite pieces. Plus, the ability to highlight text, add notes, and review them later makes it easy to reflect on what you've read or capture important ideas.

There's also built-in support for exporting articles to Kindle or creating EPUB files for other eReaders, so you have complete control over how and where you read. You can even use Instapaper's Zapier integration to automatically send articles from an RSS feed or social media to your reading list. Here are a few popular ways to automate Instapaper.

Instapaper pricing: Free; Instapaper Premium for $2.99/month offering full-text search for all of your articles, unlimited notes, and text-to-speech.

For more options, check out Zapier's list of the other best read-it-later apps.

The best productivity app for managing your passwords

1Password

1Password pros:

• Transparent about security

• Works across all your devices

• Easy to use

1Password cons:

• No free plan

1Password is known for being one of the best password managers available, but it's not just for keeping track of your passwords. The tool lets you create "vaults" to keep everything organized, including passwords, credit card details, auto-fill information like addresses, and up to 1GB of private notes and files.

What makes 1Password great is its simplicity and ease of use, which is rare for password managers. While many security-focused apps can be overwhelming, 1Password strikes a balance by making it easy for anyone to protect their information, regardless of technical skill. The Watchtower feature also monitors your password security and alerts you about weak or compromised passwords. 

1Password pricing: $36/year for an Individual account; $60/year for Families with up to 5 accounts. Monthly plan available once you onboard.

For more options to consider, check out our list of the best password managers.

The best Mac productivity app for reading RSS feeds

Reeder 

Reeder pros:

• Lots of customizable keyboard shortcuts

• Beautiful user interface

• Many integration options, including with read-it-later apps

Reeder cons: 

• No free plan

Reeder is a great mix of sleek design and thoughtful functionality. It has a clean, three-panel layout—feeds on the left, articles in the middle, and the full article on the right—but what really makes it shine are the small details. For example, Reeder automatically adjusts which panels are visible depending on the window size, minimizing the app so you can focus on reading the article without distractions. 

Reeder downloads articles for offline access, and you can even choose to keep months of previously read articles for future reference. Plus, you have the option to pull in the full text of any article, either by using a shortcut or by setting it as the default for certain feeds. There are plenty of customization options, too, like remapping keyboard shortcuts and setting up touchpad gestures.

You can also sync with multiple services, from iCloud to Feedly and NewsBlur. And Reeder integrates with Pocket and Instapaper so you can see your reading list alongside your RSS feed. 

Reeder pricing: $1/month or $10/year

While Reeder is far and away the most thoughtfully designed option, you can also check out this list of the other apps that made the cut for best RSS apps for Mac.

The best Mac productivity app for email

Microsoft Outlook

Outlook pros:

• Free

• Useful built-in calendar

• Lots of features 

Outlook cons:

• Has too much of a corporate feel for a personal email app

If you're looking for a robust email client on your Mac beyond the built-in Mail app, Microsoft Outlook is surprisingly your best option, especially now that it's free for everyone.

Outlook works with not just Microsoft accounts but also Gmail, iCloud, Yahoo! Mail, and standard IMAP/POP3 email addresses. It's a full-featured email client that can handle everything from managing multiple accounts to organizing your inbox with Focused Inbox, which helps prioritize important emails. You can also create personalized profiles to separate your work, school, and personal emails, which makes it easier to stay organized.

Outlook also brings several productivity-boosting features to the table. The ability to @mention people within emails (automatically adding them to the To: field) is incredibly handy for team communication. It also includes modern email tools like follow-up reminders, delayed sending, and email scheduling. And the customizable two-finger swipe gestures allow for quick actions like archiving or deleting messages without clicking around. Outlook's support for mail templates, including Microsoft's pre-designed ones, makes repetitive emails a breeze to manage.

But Outlook isn't just an email client—it also includes a calendar, task manager, chat, and even note-taking features. You can also use Outlook's Zapier integration to connect to thousands of popular apps and streamline your productivity even more. Do things like copying events across calendars, sending emails automatically, and getting notifications for important emails. Learn how to automate Outlook, or get started with one of these popular templates.

Outlook pricing: Free

Check out Zapier's list of the best email clients for Mac for more suggestions.

The best Mac productivity app for tracking time 

Toggl Track

Toggl Track pros:

• Generous free plan

• Built-in Pomodoro timer

• Lots of integrations

Toggl Track cons:

• Busy interface

If you're looking for a time tracker that's both free and powerful, Toggl Track is a great choice. It offers a generous free plan for freelancers and anyone who needs to track their time efficiently. And unlike many time tracking apps, Toggl doesn't require you to fill out a client, project, or task before you can start tracking. Just start the timer, and if you need to sort out the details later, you can.

Toggl Track also makes your time-tracking job easier by being basically anywhere you need to work. It integrates with dozens of web apps thanks to its browser extensions for Chrome and Firefox. That means you'll see a Toggl timer button in apps like Google Docs and Notion, so you can start and stop time tracking while you work. Plus, the desktop app offers a handy menu bar timer on your Mac, so you can track time without ever having to switch windows. And if you forget to stop the timer and get distracted, Toggl will prompt you to fix the time block. 

Toggl also offers handy features like a Pomodoro timer, upgraded dashboards and reporting features, and plenty of integrations. You can use Toggl Track's Zapier integrations to do things like adding new time entries to a spreadsheet, starting new timers when calendar events start, and creating clients based on a database. Learn more about how to automate Toggl Track, or get started with one of these pre-made workflows.

Toggl Track pricing: Free for up to 5 users; $9/user/month when billed annually for the Starter plan.

If you're looking for more recommendations, check out Zapier's full list of the best time-tracking apps.

The best Mac productivity app for messaging

Beeper 

Beeper pros: 

• Free for now

• Mobile versions available

Beeper cons: 

• May not always be free

You might consider messaging to be more of a distraction from productivity than a part of it. But if you spend a lot of time communicating across multiple platforms, it makes sense to consolidate and simplify that process into one streamlined app. 

If so, Beeper is for you. The app is best known for trying (and eventually failing) to bring iMessage to Android—but it still supports a wide range of services, including WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Telegram, Slack, Discord, and Google Chat. This wide compatibility means you can access all your messages in one place. No more constantly switching between different apps.

What makes Beeper particularly appealing is its combination of convenience and customization. You can search all your chats across services, pin important conversations, and even schedule messages to be sent later. Plus, the app gives you granular control over notifications, so you can only receive alerts for one-on-one chats or messages where you're specifically mentioned. The app is also sleek, fast, and easy to use, with a secure backup system that syncs your messages across devices.

Beeper pricing: Although Beeper is free for now, the company will probably introduce a paid plan in the future, likely around $10/month for premium features.  

Texts is another great option for power users who don't mind a hefty price tag. Read more about it in our roundup of the best all-in-one messaging apps.

The best AI chatbot for Mac

ChatGPT

ChatGPT pros:

• Powerful

• Fun and easy to use

ChatGPT cons:

• Like any AI, it's prone to hallucinations

ChatGPT is the go-to AI chatbot, and while you can access it in your web browser, there's also a desktop app for Mac that makes it even more powerful. On desktop, you can use Advanced Voice Mode: ask ChatGPT questions aloud and get real-time, spoken advice without needing to stop what you're doing—whether you're writing, researching, or working on a project. It's like having a personal assistant right on your Mac, available whenever you need it.

The desktop app also gives you the full power of ChatGPT's conversational abilities without needing to keep a browser tab open. Just hit option + space to open a dialog window and start a new conversation, search the web, or take a screenshot (and then ask a question about it). 

ChatGPT lets you do everything from text-to-image prompting to data analysis and voice conversations—and it's impressively fast. It also remembers your conversation context, so it can give more accurate and relevant responses as you go along. Plus, with the latest GPT-4o model (available to Plus users), the app is even faster and more reliable at handling complex queries. 

You can even integrate ChatGPT into your existing workflows with Zapier's ChatGPT integration. Do things like generating replies to Slack messages, drafting email copy, and summarizing data, straight from the apps you use most. Learn how to automate ChatGPT, or get started with one of these examples.

ChatGPT pricing: Free for basic use; $20/month for the Plus plan, which includes advanced features and access to newer models (including o1).

If you're looking for more options to experiment with (though most won't have a desktop app for Mac), check out Zapier's roundup of the best AI chatbots.

The best clipboard manager app for Mac

Paste

Paste pros: 

• The best design and functionality for macOS and iOS

Paste cons:

• Comically high pricing for a clipboard manager

We've all done it. You cut some text to your clipboard with the intention of pasting it somewhere, but before you do, you get just distracted enough to copy something else—and lose that first text forever. Clipboard managers can help keep you a little more organized, and Paste is simply the best option out there for Mac users.

With Paste, you can create and manage multiple clipboards in a visually stunning app that conveniently pops up at the bottom of your screen. Whether you need quick access to frequently used social media links or other snippets, Paste makes it easy to organize and recall everything with just a few keyboard shortcuts.

Also, Paste's seamless integration with iOS means your clipboards sync across devices—so you can access and insert saved items from your Mac to your iPhone. While iOS's limitations mean the experience isn't quite as smooth as on Mac, Paste compensates with a clever custom keyboard that keeps everything just a few taps away. 

That said, at $3.99/month or $29.99/year, Paste is a hefty investment for a clipboard manager. But if you already have a subscription to SetApp (and if you're the kind of person who reads articles on Mac productivity apps, you might want to consider it), the $9.99/month fee covers Paste along with dozens of other excellent Mac and iPhone apps.

Paste pricing: From $3.99/month or $9.99/month as part of a SetApp subscription

For more recommendations, peruse our list of the best clipboard managers for all devices.

The best Mac productivity app for habit tracking

Streaks

Streaks pros:

• Fast and easy to use

• Syncs across Apple devices 

Streaks cons:

• The design might not be for everyone

If you want to build (or break) a habit, a habit tracker app can help you meet your goals by gamifying the process. Of course, odds are good that you'll do most of your habit tracking on your phone—but it can be handy to have an app that syncs across all your devices so you can check off that habit, wherever you are. And if some of your goals are screen-related, like cutting back on social media doomscrolling (*raises hand*), having a habit tracker widget staring at you from your computer's home screen can be an additional motivator.

Streaks is a habit tracker that's as intuitive as it is powerful—and it was designed with Apple users in mind. It's simple, fast, and flexible enough to track just about any habit. True to its name, Streaks focuses on helping you maintain consistent habit streaks, whether that means hitting daily, weekly, or monthly goals.  

The app also syncs seamlessly across iPhone, Mac, and Apple Watch using iCloud, so you can mark habits off or check progress from any device. It even integrates with Apple's Health app, automatically logging habits like step counts, sleep hours, or workout goals. With handy Home Screen widgets and Shortcuts support, Streaks feels like an organic part of the Apple ecosystem, not just another app on your device.

And if you love to dig into data, Streaks offers surprisingly robust statistics. With just a tap, you can view detailed insights into your streaks, including completion rates, trends, and timing. Want to track your mindset or progress notes alongside your habits? The app's built-in note feature lets you add context, elevating your habit tracking to a more thoughtful experience. Plus, with its ultra-quick setup—just two taps to check off a task—you'll find yourself sticking to habits with less effort and more consistency.  

Streaks pricing: $5.99 for the universal app.

Here's our list of the best habit tracker apps for every device.

Other Mac productivity apps

I could honestly recommend Mac apps all day, but the set above is a solid start for really getting things done. If you want to dive a little deeper into productivity apps for Mac, though, here are a few more.

• Application launchers, like Raycast, make it easy to open any app with just a few keystrokes and can generally automate all sorts of things. 

• Amphetamine is a tiny app for keeping your Mac awake, which is perfect during presentations.

• Numi is a neat alternative to the conventional calculator.

• Bartender is a great Mac productivity app that keeps your menu bar from feeling cluttered by hiding icons.

• AltTab is an open source app that lets you switch between all windows on your Mac with a simple keyboard shortcut.

• Rectangle gives you more control over your window. Move, resize, and snap windows using keyboard shortcuts. 

• Hand Mirror lets you quickly check your camera from your menu bar before entering a video call.

• TextExpander lets you create text snippets and templates for things you type regularly. Then, just type your custom shortcut, and the app fills in the rest.

Just remember: the best Mac productivity app is the one that makes you more productive—end of story. Need more? Check out all of Zapier's app recommendations. 

Related reading:

• The best productivity apps

• How to optimize your Mac for productivity

• How to clean up your Mac (on the inside)

• How to export all your Apple Notes

This article was originally published in July 2018 by Matthew Guay and has also had contributions from Justin Pot and Jessica Lau. The most recent update was in November 2024.