Comparisons
CLEANUAI VS APPCLEANER
Short answer
FreeMacSoft’s AppCleaner is free and does one thing: you drop an app on its window and it finds the related files to delete with it. If that’s all you need, it does the job. CleanUai also uninstalls with leftovers, and adds junk cleaning, a disk map, leftovers of already-deleted apps, an app updater and a menu bar monitor, for a one-time payment.
CleanUai and AppCleaner, feature by feature
| Feature | CleanUai | AppCleaner |
|---|---|---|
| Price | US$ 9.99 or R$ 34.90, once | Free, with donations |
| How you pay | Lifetime license, 1 Mac, with 1 year of new versions | Free |
| Free trial | Yes · 7 days, all unlocked, no card; scanning free forever | Yes · Not needed: it’s free |
| App in Brazilian Portuguese | Yes | Not verified |
| Cleans junk and caches | Yes · System Junk | No |
| Visual disk map | Yes · Space Lens | No |
| Large and old files | Yes · Large & Old | No |
| Uninstalls with leftovers | Yes · Uninstaller | Yes · Drag and drop |
| Leftovers of deleted apps | Yes · Leftovers | Not verified |
| Updates other apps | Yes · Sparkle, App Store and Homebrew | No |
| Menu bar monitor | Yes · CPU, memory, disk, network, battery | No |
| Malware scanning | No | No |
| Cleanup goes to the Trash | Yes · Always; delete for good only by holding | Not verified |
| Works without an account | Yes | Yes |
● yes · ◐ partly · ○ no · ? not verified. Prices are list prices in US dollars, without promotions.
Where AppCleaner is better
- It’s free.
- It’s simple: drag and drop, nothing else.
- It runs on older macOS (version 3.7 needs macOS 15; earlier versions run on even older systems).
- You can install it with Homebrew (
brew install --cask appcleaner).
Where CleanUai is different
- It shows each app’s size and its leftovers in a list, so you find what’s heavy without knowing its name.
- It finds leftovers of apps you already deleted, on the Leftovers channel.
- It does the rest of the cleanup: system junk, Space Lens, large files and the app updater.
- Everything goes to the Trash, with a guard that protects system folders.
Which to choose
If you only want to uninstall an app now and then, AppCleaner is free and works. If you want to look after the whole Mac in one place, CleanUai.
Questions
Is AppCleaner free?
Yes. FreeMacSoft gives it away and accepts donations.
Does AppCleaner clear caches?
No. It’s an uninstaller. For caches, logs and developer leftovers, CleanUai has the System Junk channel.
Does CleanUai uninstall apps with their leftovers, like AppCleaner?
Yes. The Uninstaller shows the app and its leftovers in Library, with each one’s size, and moves it all to the Trash.
Sources
Prices and features checked on the official sites on October 29, 2026. Prices change: check each app’s site before you buy.
AppCleaner is a trademark of FreeMacSoft. CleanUai is an independent app with no connection to FreeMacSoft, and this page is not sponsored or endorsed by them.
Other comparisons
Updated