16 Best Productivity Apps for Your Mac

With the right apps, you can get more work done out of your MacBook and turn it into a productivity machine. In this post we cover the best Mac productivity apps that you can use to efficiently manage your workflow and save time.

Best Productivity Apps for your Apple Macbook

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 activities?

LastPass

lastpass

Managing passwords these days can be difficult due to the huge number of accounts that people need to have. As such, LastPass can be invaluable.

It can store all the accounts you have along with their passwords across your Mac and your mobile device in a secure manner.

You will never forget your password or account again when you have this app which is certainly good for your productivity.

AppCrypt

appcrypt

It is not just passwords that have to be kept securely. Sometimes, you need to do the same with your apps and content in your Mac so as to protect it from prying eyes.

With AppCrypt, you can protect your photos, mail and other apps on your Mac with a password. You can even set a lock so that the apps remain locked at specified times.

Bear

Bear is hands down the best writing app available in the App Store now. It is the perfect blend of a simple, easy-to-use interface and the features that one would want in their notes app.

With its markdown support, it makes it quite easy to add links and format text. While the powerful feature of hashtags and sub-tags allows you to group multiple notes for a project or by topic together. It also has an advanced markup editor that supports and highlights over 20 programming languages. Its flexibility makes Bear app ideal for taking quick notes, writing in-depth essays and even code.

Bear is also available on iPhone and iPad and via its cloud syncing feature you can have your ideas and notes always with you even when you are not carrying your Mac.

BetterUnarchiver

betterunarchiver

This app is certainly something that can help with your Mac productivity.

BetterUnarchiver allows you to extract a range of archive files from the common zip format to the lesser used ones like CHM, Hfs and Nsis.

You can even create archive files with a password so as to protect sensitive content.

Alfred

alfredapp

Alfred is easily one of the most necessary productivity apps for Mac. It makes your keyboard a more efficient one so that you rely on the trackpad or the mouse less.

You can assign a keyboard shortcut to launch specific apps. You can even conduct a web search with sites that you commonly use or with predefined terms.

iTools for Mac

iTools for Mac

If you find yourself working with media more often, this app can be rather beneficial. It manages all of your files across your devices efficiently.

It even has backup and restore functions. The networking capabilities of Mac are nicely leveraged by iTools for Mac.

As a result, you can even access your contact list and messages on the Mac.

Google Drive

google drive

Apple may have its own cloud storage system but sometimes it is just not good enough. Google Drive can be a better option.

With it, you can access all of your files on all of your devices online. With 15GB of free space, you will certainly find it more convenient to store and access files that you use often in Google Drive.

That is enough to make it one of the best productivity apps for Mac.

Evernote

evernote

When it comes to taking notes, few apps can be considered to be better than Evernote.

Available for nearly all platforms, it has a plethora of features that make it an excellent choice for improving your Mac productivity.

Apart from typed notes, you can add audio clips, entire web pages and images. You also get a powerful organizer to make accessing notes much easier.

OmniFocus

omnifocus

This is one of the best task managers available for Mac. It has a great user interface and can be used on nearly all Apple devices. There are several features which makes it a rather powerful app. You may require time to understand it but once you do, you will make your work easier.

Bartender

bartender

The Menu bar can quickly become crowded when you tend to use a lot of apps. With Bartender, you can get rid of the clutter.

It will allow you to select the apps that will appear on the main menu bar and which will only be present in the Bartender menu bar.

This is basically a sub-menu for the menu bar. You can even hide apps completely.

Keyboard Maestro

keyboard maestro

This app allows you to launch macros that can automate almost any task that you tend to perform repeatedly.

You simply need to define a trigger and the app will perform that corresponding action whenever you activate that trigger.

DocumentReader

document reader

You can come across a variety of uncommon document file types when working.

DocumentReader makes it easier to access and view these files thanks to the wide range of file types supported.

Hazel

hazel

Having a strong organization is crucial to improving productivity. With Hazel, organization becomes a simple task.

You just need to create rules and the app will automatically put the files in the correct places.

Pocket

pocket

Pocket is widely considered to be one of the best productivity apps for Mac.

There will have been times when you came across an interesting article on the web but wanted to read it later.

Pocket allows you to store that article so that you can read it whenever you want even without an internet connection across and even in your phone.

Wunderlist

wunderlist

To maximize productivity, you need to make to-do lists. In order to make those lists, you need a powerful app. Wunderlist is that app.

Even though it is free, you get extensive features such as cloud sync and availability in a wide range of devices. It is easy to use as well.

Airmail

airmail

While Apple offers its own email client, it might not be suitable for all users. On the other hand, Airmail is something that all people will love using.

There are several excellent features take make it easier to send, read and do other useful stuff with your emails. It can connect with a wide range of apps that enhance its usability.

Enhancing productivity is easier when you have the right apps to help you out. These productivity apps for Mac can certainly simplify a great many number of tasks. However, it is up to you to ensure that this is the case by making proper use of the apps. And, if you own an Android smartphone, you may want to check out these productivity apps for Android.

3 thoughts on “16 Best Productivity Apps for Your Mac”

  1. This was a great piece to read, so thank you. I love Keyboard Mastero, i use it with three machines. The amount of time I have saved is unreal. Dropbox is got to be one of the best innovative apps going, beating Apples MobileMe service too. Thanks for great app tip.

    Reply
  2. Hello Jane,
    Great collection of productivity app. I always use Google Drive to access documents from anywhere that increase my productivity. I also use Evernote to take notes, set reminders and other purpose.
    However, find some new apps and will try to increase my productivity.

    Thanks for the awesome share.

    Reply
  3. Thanks for sharing these apps. I recommend “LaunchBar”. There is no free app out there saving me as much time as this one. It’s just brilliant app.

    Reply

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