Top 13 Free and Useful Micro Apps for Mac

Not every app has to be enormous and full of features like Photoshop or Word or Logic Pro. Sometimes all users need is just a simple, tiny app that does one thing right, really small in size, and doesn’t hog all the system resources. There are tons of these micro apps available for Mac, and this is my personal list of some of the best of them (in no particular order).

1. Skitch

This screen-shooting app from Evernote will help you capture anything on your screen, annotate it, and save the result to your Evernote account or as a standalone image. Skitch is now Mac only.

2. Simplenote

This app will help you create and collect quick notes and sync them across all of your devices as well as the web-based app under one account. It doesn’t have all the bells and whistles of the mighty Evernote, but that’s exactly the point.

3. Jumpcut

Jumpcut might be the lightest clipboard manager out there. It doesn’t do anything more than text, but most users don’t need many fancy features. It can hold virtually unlimited entries and provide an easy way to access and switch between them using shortcuts.

4. f.lux

If you spend most of your waking hours staring at the computer screen, you will notice that your eyes get tired faster at night than during the day. This app will adjust your screen color to be easier on your eyes during the night time and return it back to normal during the daytime.

5. Bean

Need a lightweight word processor with more features than a mere text editor? Then you can’t go wrong with Bean. This app has been around for a long time for a good reason; it does it job well.

6. CheatSheet

Using the mouse to navigate your computer interface is nice, but that can’t beat the speed of using keyboard shortcuts. But memorizing the shortcuts is a lot of work unless you are using CheatSheet. A long press on the Command key will reveal all the available keyboard shortcuts on the focused app.

7. SelfControl

Do you want to get your work done, but everything on the web keeps distracting you? Then you need a little bit of self-control (pun intended). Just add websites to the blacklist, set the timer, and start. Until that timer expires, you won’t be able to access those sites – even if you restart your computer or delete the application.

8. Unarchiver

Compression has been one of the oldest ways to help computer users manage and share their digital files. There are many available compression formats along with the dedicated apps to manage them. Unarchiver simplifies the process by giving users the ability to unarchive multiple compression formats all under one roof.

9. ImageOptim

Google prefers fast websites, and one of the ways to speed up your website is to optimize your images for the web. ImageOptim can help you process and optimize multiple images at once.

10. AppCleaner

While Mac users can uninstall apps simply by deleting them, the method often leaves a lot of clutter behind. To really clean everything, you need an uninstaller like AppCleaner. Simply drag and drop the app that you want to install to AppCleaner, select them from the list, or let AppCleaner monitor your trash for deleted apps and offer to clean the rest.

11. Transmission

If you do torrents on Mac, Transmission is the simplest yet most powerful dedicated torrent client that you can find. It comes with tons of features and settings for power users, but average users will do fine without touching any of them.

12. Apptivate

If the available shortcut keys are not enough to satisfy your inner geek, you can create your own combinations using Apptivate to increase your productivity. The app will help you launch apps, execute scripts, run Automator, access files, and more.

13. Spectacle

If you have a bit of OCD and must have your app window neatly and perfectly aligned, you might feel a little frustrated in the Mac environment. Luckily there’s Spectacle that can help you put your app windows at the perfect size and position around your screen, all with the convenience of shortcuts. The app will always hide in the background and consume next to nothing of your system resources.

And There Are More

Have you tried any of the micro apps above? Which ones do you like and why?

Please also note that the list is far from being exhaustive. There are tons of other micro apps out there. If your favorite ones are not listed above, feel free to share them in the comments below.