1. The Storage pane of About This Mac is the best way to determine the amount of storage space available on your Mac. Disk Utility and other apps might show storage categories such as Not Mounted, VM, Recovery, Other Volumes, Other, Free, or Purgeable.
2. 7# Wondershare Mac hard drive recovery. This software is used to recover any type of data from a crashed hard drive, recycle bin, memory card etc. It has 3 modes of recovery process and it can be selected based on your requirement. It supports Mac, Windows etc. Pros: You do not require any technical knowledge to implement the recovery process.

• Best Mac Disk Repair Software
• Download Apple Disk Utility
• Mac Hard Drive Failure
• Free Mac Hard Drive Repair Software
• Free Mac Hard Drive Utility Download

To keep your hard drive clean and organized, you should uninstall applications with AppCleaner, one of the most useful free Mac utilities in the world. When you drop an application into AppCleaner, the utility automatically finds all files that belong to it and safely deletes them. The Clean Drive tool in Parallels Toolbox. The Clean Drive tool, one of the more than 40 tools in Parallels Toolbox, is tailor-made to help you manage free space on the Mac Hard Drive, especially in the area of files that you really don’t need, like log or cache files, or the temp files created by some Mac apps. (See Figure 2.).

We clean our rooms and clothes so why not our Macs? But who can waste the entire day digging through folders and files? There are so many places like music, videos, apps and email downloads, and countless more locations on your Mac where junk and clutter accumulates. In 2021 cleaning your Mac is easier than ever. Which is why millions of people download free and low-cost Mac cleaning software.

To start off, we've made a quick comparison chart about the best Mac cleaners for Mac.

A handy cleaner may prove that your Mac is still alive and can actually perform at its best. In this article we’ve brought together some of the best Mac cleaning solutions around to clean, optimize, and maintain Macs that are available in 2021.

Top 12 best cleaners for Mac: Free and premium versions

1. CleanMyMac X

CleanMyMac X takes the first place with good reason — this cleaner combines features of both cleaning software and antimalware tool. Its Smart Scan promises a “nice and thorough scan of your Mac.” It does what it says, detecting junk like user cache files and system logs, checking your Mac for malicious software, and speeding up your MacBook. Looks like, there is a threat in my system, that I need to get rid of:

Frankly speaking, CleanMyMac X is Tesla Roadster among other Mac cleaners. And it does a great job revealing your junk and other clutter, uninstalling unneeded apps and their leftovers, and keeping your Mac’s system clean and optimized. Another pro is that CleanMyMac X is Apple-notarized, which means it’s safe for your Mac. You can download its free version right here.

Price: $39.95
Free version: Available here

2. Disk Doctor

Disk Doctor is developed in the UK and was awarded the 'Mac Gem’ award by MacWorld in 2013. CNET and other tech journalists also praise functionality. As of 2021, it still looks like a useful tool for Mac cleaning that removes junk slowing down and reducing the computing power of your Mac.

Price: $2.99
Free version: N/A

3. Gemini 2

Gemini 2 is the duplicate finder that allows you to free up gigabytes of storage and organize your files. In just a few minutes.

It quickly scans every corner of your Mac and weeds out useless copies. No matter what type of file it is: a photo, music track, or a doc… Gemini will definitely find it. And once the scan is done, you can remove the duplicates in a click. Or review results to make sure nothing important gets deleted.

If you remove something by accident, it takes just a click to put it back. And to make sure things like that never happen again, you can exclude specific files and folders from scan. Try out the free version right here.

The app has seen a major update in 2021 which included a real-time duplicate monitor. This new tool notifies you of duplicates the moment they are created on your Mac.

Price: $19.96
Free version: Available here

4. DaisyDisk

DaisyDisk gives you a visual representation of your Mac folders, making it easy to see what is taking up space and delete the folders you don't need. All you need to do is select a drive, DaisyDisk will scan it, then you can delete everything that is wasting valuable space. It comes with a free and premium version.

Price:$9.99
Free version: Trial version available

5. AppCleaner & Uninstaller

If you only need to uninstall apps on Mac, AppCleaner is a good pick. AppCleaner only removes applications, plugins, and widgets, which are again, small apps. AppCleaner works in a familiar drag & drop mode. Its interface is also clean and easy to understand for a newbie.

After feeding the apps to AppCleaner, you should visit the Leftovers section of the app to erase their remains. Why we place AppCleaner & Uninstaller among free Mac cleaner tools? Because it is 100% free. Whether you will fully clean your Mac using it, is a different question.
AppCleaner & Uninstaller is created by FreeMacSoft, also the makers of LiteIcon, an icon customizer for Mac.
Price: Voluntary donation

6. Smart Mac Care

If you launch Smart Mac Care, it will look hauntingly familiar to other free Mac cleaner apps. Not only features will be called the same, everything up to the fonts, will be identical to some other app you’ve just used. That’s not a minus, though. You can still free up a lot of space with Smart Mac Care.

Smart Mac Care operates by a logic of “scans.” There is a Junk Scan, Malware Scan, Privacy Scan, etc. Just like Mac Booster, Smart Mac Care removes duplicates scattered in various locations on your Mac. There’s also a Memory Optimizer feature that promises to free up RAM on your Mac. In a word, Smart Mac Care resembles every other generic product whose only difference is in packaging. This is supported by the fact that we couldn’t find any credible third-party reviews for this app.

On another skeptical note: to uninstall Smart Mac Care you have to enter your admin password. This is not the case with other Mac cleaners we’ve used.
Price: $56.62 per year
Free version: Demo available

7. Drive Genius

Drive Genius is labeled a “Mac monitoring software.” It’s a whole suite of tools that provide powerful disk diagnostics. It’s hard to list a thing that this software doesn’t do. You can scan for malware, secure-erase files, customize icons — it’s dozens of apps in one body. What makes Drive Genius unique is, probably, its search for corrupted files and inconsistencies on your drive. If your Mac is an old one, keeping it in good health will be easier with Drive Genius.

In a free version, you can use just a fraction of tools, notably a DiskPulse utility. This is an automatic Mac health checker that notifies you before your hard drive fails. Unlike Mac cleaners that merely scan, it is able to repair damage on your disks, which makes it a real deal. Be prepared that hard drive scan may take some time, but the results are worth it. The latest version of Drive Genius released in 2020 adds long-awaited support for macOS Big Sur.

Price: $299 for Professional edition
Free version: Limited Lite edition is available

8. CCleaner

Originally created in 2004 by Piriform, CCleaner comes with a free and professional version, focusing on businesses and business customers. CCleaner is a cross-platform tool, for PCs, Macs, Android, and it has a Cloud, Network and Technician tool, depending on what you need and the platform/software you use.

The premium version comes with a lot more features, including real-time alerts, free updates, and dedicated support. Although created for PCs in the early days, CCleaner does well to identify unwanted files on a Mac, so that users can select and delete the files and folders they don't need to free up space. As a cleaner for Mac, customers are pretty happy with the results of CCleaner.
Price: $19.95
Free version: Available

9. Sensei

The Sensei app is a relatively new app on the market, but it can be another useful tool for your Mac. The Sensei software developers call the app “Pro Mac Cleaner” on their website. I would call it a performance controlling tool.

Sensei presents a detailed picture of how your Mac performs. In the Dashboard, you can find out information about your MacBook, check your CPU’s current temperature, and see how much of your RAM is used. Cooling gives you exact information on your Mac’s fans' speed.

Its Clean option helps to get rid of user cache, logs, large files, etc. The Uninstaller feature allows you to delete apps from your Mac and remove their traces. It doesn’t list pre-installed apps from Apple, such as Safari or Calendar, but it shows every app you have installed on your Mac.

Surely, you can clean up your Mac manually, but using dedicated software will save you tons of time.

Price: $29 per year
Free version: Available

Free Mac cleaners review

The following Mac cleaning apps are either completely free or donation-based. You won’t find any trial limitations here. If you’re looking for a no thrill basic cleanup, these free Mac cleaners might help you.

10. Onyx

OnyX is a french Mac cleaning solution developed by Titanium software. It weighs only 5 MB but that doesn’t mean its capabilities are limited. OnyX is a tool that programmers will have a lot of fun with. With it, you can peek under the hood of your macOS and automate a whole list of jobs, like disk cleanup and cache removal. You can even tweak the color of folders on your Mac, and even make them invisible. Deservedly, it's among the best free Mac cleaners.

OnyX is one of the best Mac cleaners because it cleans many specific under-the-surface files, like inner databases and logs. If you know what is XPC cache is, you’ll probably like this app. But for us, ordinary Mac users who came here for the design and glossy buttons, OnyX will require some learning time.
Those who use OnyX say it is stable and reliable. There is no dedicated customer service (because OnyX is free software), but you shouldn’t be worried. The only likely damage is you accidentally deleting files by yourself.
Price: Free cleaner

11. Clean me

This open-source app that only exists in the form of GitHub download is good enough for cleaning caches and logs. It’s so small its ZIP file weighs only 1.3 MB.
Clean me shows the size of each category of cache files. It analyzes such junk as Application Cache, User Cache, and more temporary files

The developer recommends that you start your cleanup with auto-selected options. Otherwise, you may delete something valuable by accident. So treat it as an analyzer and you’ll be safe.
Price: Free cleaner

12. Native macOS cleaner (Optimize Storage)

Your macOS has its own cleaner of sorts. You’ve probably come across it when checking your occupied disk space.
Go to Apple menu.
Now, click About this Mac > Storage > Manage.

In the sidebar you’ll see the main categories of files on your Mac. Going through Documents is likely to be the most fruitful option. Check the Size and click on Last Accessed. Now you’ve found all those movies gathering dust in your Downloads.
In the same way you can delete some old apps. This feature could be an alternative to a free Mac cleaner; the only problem is it works largely on the surface. You won’t be able to remove System Junk or analyze the grey areas occupied by “Other.”

Frequently Asked Questions

Can’t my Mac clean itself?

Your macOS also has a built-in Mac cleaner, which Apple called Optimized Storage. Though its capabilities are limited, it gives you basic directions on where to start the cleanup. But for a thorough system cleanup and removing malware, you’ll need a dedicated Mac cleaner app.

Can Mac cleaner apps delete my important files?

Typically, best Mac cleaner apps have a protection built-in. They will usually select only those files that are safe for deletion.

Will Mac cleaners slow down my Mac?

Some cleaners try to get into your Login items, thus creating an extra burden on the processor. On a flip side, the reliable Mac cleaner apps might even speed up your Mac. They remove all the outdated junk files giving your Mac an extra boost.

Mac cleaning apps you should avoid

Above we've touched the trusted Mac cleanup solutions but there are many that work on the dark side. Malwarebytes lists Advanced Mac Cleaner Pro and similar tools as unwanted applications. Here are some signs that should warn you against using scam Mac cleaners.
Signs of Mac cleaner scam:

• 'Your Mac is infected' intrusive message
• An app is installed as part of different app
• An app finds 2323 (the number is an example) threats on your Mac
• Mac cleaner redirects your search engine page

Be safe and happy cleaning.

Summary :

Data is the most important thing on a hard drive. But when you plan to sell, give away, or trade-in your Mac, you need to wipe it first to avoid data leakage. Besides, resetting Mac to factory settings work well in fixing many problems you don’t know how to solve. Please master the methods provided by MiniTool Solution right now.

In general, you need to protect hard drive data well to prevent personal data loss/leakage. However, you need to remove the data completely when you plan to change a hard drive, sell/trade in the old Mac, or give away your MacBook to others. What should you do? Do you need to take out the disk drive and ruin it? How to wipe a MacBook completely? All of these questions will be answered later.

What to Do Before You Sell, Give away, or Trade in a MacBook

Before talking about how to wipe MacBook (how to wipe a MacBook Pro to sell), I’d like to show users what they should do before erasing the Macintosh HD.

Step 1: Back up Your Mac

Please ensure the security of your data on your Mac hard drive. You have two choices: transfer files to another Mac/external hard drive and make a backup of the important files.

How to backup MacBook:

• Back up with the built-in Time Machine: you can configure Time Machine to back up all your files automatically.
• Store your files in iCloud: iCloud and iCloud Drive are also used widely to backup important files like documents, photos, music, videos, and contacts.
• Use third-party software: you can also back up a MacBook/MacBook Pro/MacBook Air with third-party programs.

Please read this page to know how to free up storage on Mac when it’s not enough.

Step 2: Sign out of iTunes, iCloud, and iMessage

Sign out of iTunes:

1. Open iTunes on your Mac.
2. Select Account from the menu bar.
3. Choose Sign Out from the submenu.

Deauthorize iTunes:

Best Mac Disk Repair Software

1. Open iTunes.
2. Click on the Account menu.
3. Select Authorizations from its submenu.
4. Choose Deauthorize This Computer.
5. Type your Apple ID & password, and then click Deauthorize.

Sign out of iCloud (macOS Catalina or later):

1. Click on the Apple logo menu.
2. Select System Preferences.
3. Choose Apple ID.
4. Select Overview in the left sidebar.
5. Click Sign Out.

If you're using macOS Mojave or earlier, please go to the Apple logo menu -> System Preferences -> iCloud -> Sign Out.

Sign out of iMessage:

1. Open the Messages app.
2. Select the Messages menu.
3. Choose Preferences from its submenu.
4. Select iMessage.
5. Click on the Sign Out button.

Step 3: Reset NVRAM

The NVRAM, formerly known as PRAM, refers to a small amount of special memory on Mac. This RAM type will keep data for users after their devices are powered off.

Download Apple Disk Utility

How to reset NVRAM/PRAM using startup command:

1. Shut down your Mac completely.
2. Press the power button to turn it on again.
3. At this time, quickly press & hold Command + Option + P + R until your Mac boots twice – the Apple logo appears twice. This process will last about 20 seconds).

How to reset NVRAM/PRAM using Terminal:

Mac Hard Drive Failure

1. Close all the apps running on your Mac.
2. Open Finder -> Utilities -> Terminal.
3. Type sudo nvram -c and press Enter.
4. Type the Administrator password and press Enter.
5. Type sudo shutdown -r now and press Enter.
6. Wait for your Mac to restart.

Step 4: Unpair All Bluetooth Devices

Please connect a USB keyboard and mouse in advance before following steps if you’re using a desktop Mac: iMac, Mac mini, or Mac Pro.

1. Select the Apple logo menu.
2. Choose System Preferences.
3. Click Bluetooth.
4. Select the target Bluetooth device from the list.
5. Click on the X (remove) button next to the device.
6. Click Remove in the pop-up window to confirm.

Step 5: Factory Reset MacBook

What does factory reset Mac mean? It refers to format Macintosh HD (the internal hard drive on your Mac). But the question is how to wipe a MacBook or you can say how to erase MacBook. The following content tells all.

In this post, I'll mainly tell you how to recover files after factory reset and how to restore laptop to factory settings.

Factory Reset MacBook

Factory reset your Mac contains 2 steps: formatting Mac hard drive (erasing all data on it) in Recovery Mode and reinstalling the macOS. How to format the internal Macintosh HD? Please don’t worry. The built-in Disk Utility can help.

How to Wipe Mac with Disk Utility

Step 1: Restart Your Mac

1. Press & hold the power button.
2. Click Restart in the pop-up dialog box.

Other four ways to restart Mac:

• Select the Apple logo menu in the upper left corner -> choose Restart.
• Press Control + Eject and then click Restart.
• Press Control + Command + Eject This is what we called force restart.
• Type sudo shutdown -r <now> and press Enter.

Force restarting Mac may delete files that are still opening. Here’s how to recover a Mac file easily:

Believe it or not, we can make it easy to recover deleted data on Mac even if you are totally a novice.

Step 2: Boot into the Recovery Mode

1. Press Command + R immediately when your Mac starts to turn on.
2. Hold these two keys until you see the Apple logo on the screen.
3. Choose a user -> click Next -> type the password.
4. Select Disk Utility in the macOS Utilities window.
5. Click on the Continue button at the bottom right.

Step 3: Erase Your Data

Free Mac Hard Drive Repair Software

How to wipe Mac (format Macintosh HD) in Disk Utility:

1. Look for your startup disk in the left panel under Internal. It is named Macintosh HD by default unless you changed it.
2. Click on the Erase button at the top of the Disk Utility window.
3. A dialog box will pop up to inform you that erasing the disk will delete all data stored on it, and cannot be undone.
4. You may give it a new name or just keep it as Macintosh HD.
5. Besides, you should choose a format from Mac OS Extended (Journaled) and APFS (recommended by Disk Utility).
6. Click on the Erase Volume Group If you don’t see it, just click on the Erase button.
7. Enter the correct Apple ID to allow the erase if you’re asked to provide one.
8. Wait for the erasing process to finish automatically.
9. If there are other internal volumes listed in the left sidebar, please select them one by one and then click on the - button to delete them.
10. Quit Disk Utility.

What to do if you don’t see Macintosh HD in Disk Utility?

• Click View in the upper left corner -> select Show All Devices -> look for the startup disk again.
• Click on the Apple logo menu -> select Shut Down -> disconnect all the unnecessary devices from your Mac -> power on Mac and open Disk Utility again.

Can you recover data from a hard drive that’s been erased?

Luckily, yes. You can recover the files that are important to you from an erased Mac hard drive. The process won't be difficult if you get the right tool to help you. (We’ll show you how to recover data from Mac step by step in the next section.)

What if Mac won't boot into Recovery Mode?

Please try these methods one by one:

• Use Time Machine backup.
• Reinstall Mac OS X.
• Create a bootable installer.
• Access the Internet Recovery mode by pressing & holding Command + Option + R.

Step 4: Reinstall macOS

1. Go back to the macOS Utilities window.
2. Select Reinstall macOS from the list and click Continue.
3. A system version will be prepared for you. Please click Continue.
4. Click Agree to continue after you read the software license agreement.
5. Select a boot disk and click Install.
6. Wait for the installation to complete.

You can also restore your system from a previous backup.

1. Select Restore From Time Machine Backup in the macOS Utilities window.
2. Click Continue.
3. Select an appropriate backup from the list and follow the on-screen instructions.

How to factory reset MacBook Pro or how to factory reset MacBook Air?

The above guide also works for how to wipe a MacBook Pro or how to wipe a MacBook Air.

To factory reset Windows 10, you can fix operating system problems, improve performance, and release free space.

Bonus Tip: How to Recover Files from Mac HDD

Step 1: download a reliable data recovery tool that supports macOS. Stellar Data Recovery for Mac is worth a try.

Step 2: install and launch the recovery tool under guidance.

Step 3: decide the file types you want to recover. Toggle the switch to ON in front of Documents, Emails, Videos, Audio, and Photos. You can also turn ON Recover Everything.

Step 4: click Next in the lower right corner.

Step 5: select your Macintosh HD and click Scan. You can turn on the Deep Scan feature to find more results.

Step 6: wait for the scan and browse the scan results carefully to find the files you need.

Step 7: choose all the folders and files you want to recover from your Mac hard drive. Then, click Recover.

Step 8: choose a destination for the files selected and click Save.

Step 9: the last step is to wait for the recovery to finish.

How to recover data from a Mac that won’t boot?

You should add one more step to the above recovery guide. That is to create a bootable USB drive.

1. Run Stellar Data Recovery for Mac on another Mac computer.
2. Click on the Click here link after Create Recovery Drive at the bottom left.
3. Click Create Recovery Drive and wait. Then, click OK when it’s finished.

Please read this page to know more details on how to recover data from a Mac computer that can’t start:

Please don’t waste time; just get files off failing hard drive on Mac immediately since they may disappear at any time.

Is Erasing Enough

Still worrying about the data security after erasing your drive in Disk Utility? You can also get a professional disk wiping program to help you clear data completely. Also, you may take out the drive from your Mac and ruin it physically if you want: burning the drive, breaking it into pieces, scratching the platters heavily, etc.

Format External Hard Drive Mac

Steps to format an external hard drive on Mac/MacBook using Disk Utility (you don't need to boot your computer into Recovery Mode). Erasing the external hard drive will delete everything on it, so you should copy the files you want to keep to another storage device before the action.

1. Connect the external hard drive to your Mac properly.
2. Open Disk Utility.
3. Click View in the upper left corner.
4. Select Show All Devices.
5. Select the target disk under External in the left sidebar.
6. Click Erase located at the top of the Disk Utility window.
7. Give the drive a new name or keep the old name.
8. Choose a suitable format for the drive.
9. Click Erase Volume Group or Erase.
10. Enter the correct Apple ID if necessary.
11. Wait for the erasing process to complete.

Sometimes, people complained that the external hard drive is not showing up on Mac. Why does this happen? How to fix the problem and make it finally appear? Please read this page with care:

Please don’t get anxious when your hard drive not showing up Mac; there are several solutions to get Mac to recognize an external hard drive.

Free Mac Hard Drive Utility Download

The format of the hard drive depends on where you want to use it usually: on Mac or Windows.

• Mac OS Extended Journaled is suitable for macOS 10.12 and earlier versions.
• APFS should be used in macOS 10.13 and later versions.
• FAT (MS-DOS) and exFAT should be selected if you need to use the disk on Windows.

How to Format a Hard Drive for Mac on Windows

Also, you can format the external hard drive on a Windows PC and select a file system that can be supported by macOS. Please connect the external hard drive to your computer and make sure it shows up.

Way 1: format in File Explorer.

1. Open File Explorer. (What if File Explorer not responding/stopped working?)
2. Right-click on the external disk drive and choose Format.
3. Choose FAT or FAT32 as the file system and click Start.
4. Click OK to confirm.

Way 2: format in Disk Management.

1. Open Disk Management.
2. Right-click on the drive of your external disk.
3. Choose Format.
4. Choose FAT or FAT32 as the file system and click OK.
5. Click OK again in the prompt window to continue.

Way 3: format in MiniTool Partition Wizard.

1. Download & install the software properly.
2. Launch it and select the target disk.
3. Choose Format Partition in the left sidebar.
4. Change Partition Label, File System (choose FAT or exFAT), or Cluster Size according to needs.
5. Click OK and then press Apply in the upper left corner.
6. Click Yes to apply pending changes.

Secure Erase Solid State Drive

Is Secure Erase Necessary

As you know, the new Mac models ship with Solid State Drives (SSDs). According to Apple, the Secure Erase and Erasing Free Space will be not available in the Disk Utility. They are not needed anymore since the standard erase action makes it very difficult for others to recover your data intentionally. Therefore, you only need to do a simple erasing on your SSD.

How to Secure Erase SSD on Mac

Some people still want to perform secure erase on their SSDs, ignoring Apple’s word. They should open Terminal and type diskutil secureErase freespace VALUE /Volumes/*.

• The word VALUE should be replaced by a number between 0 and 4, representing different erasing methods.
• The symbol * represents the name of the target drive.

This process may take a very long time.

Besides, there’s another way to protect your data on SSD – using FileVault, which is a disk encryption program built-in Mac OS X 10.3 and later. Please read this page to know how to encrypt Mac data with FileVault.

Conclusion

Many people want to sell/donate/trade in their old MacBook after buying a new Mac. The thing they are worrying about the most is data security. They don’t want others especially the malicious ones to recover their private data for a specific reason. That’s an important reason why people ask how to wipe a Mac or how to erase MacBook Pro.

In this article, we’ve shown you what to do exactly before selling a MacBook, including how to wipe a MacBook in different cases. Hope this page is helpful enough for you.