The Best App Uninstallers for Mac (Free and Paid)

20 October 2026 · 3 min read · By Himanshu Singh, maker of DiskMac

On a Mac you uninstall an app by dragging it to the Trash. That removes the app bundle and nothing else. Its caches, preferences, containers, saved state, logs and sometimes launch agents stay in your Library folder — occasionally for years, occasionally several gigabytes.

What an uninstaller should find

For an app with the bundle identifier com.example.App, leftovers usually live in:

• ~/Library/Application Support/App
• ~/Library/Caches/com.example.App
• ~/Library/Containers/com.example.App and Group Containers
• ~/Library/Preferences/com.example.App.plist
• ~/Library/Saved Application State/com.example.App.savedState
• ~/Library/LaunchAgents — background helpers that keep running

A good uninstaller matches on the bundle identifier, which is exact, rather than on the app’s name, which can match unrelated folders.

1. DiskMac

DiskMac’s uninstaller finds an app’s caches, containers, preferences, saved state, web storage, logs and launch agents by bundle identifier, and shows you what it matched on so you can check the reasoning. Everything goes to the Trash with one-click “Put it back”. It is part of DiskMac Pro, $9 once, alongside the disk map that shows where the rest of your space went.

2. AppCleaner (free)

Drag an app onto AppCleaner and it lists related files with checkboxes. Free and dependable. It is name- and identifier-based and very quick. No disk map.

3. Pearcleaner (free, open source)

A modern open-source uninstaller with an orphaned-files search for apps you already deleted the wrong way. A good free choice for people comfortable with open-source tools.

4. App Cleaner & Uninstaller (Nektony)

A paid uninstaller with extras like managing extensions and login items. Sold on subscription.

5. CleanMyMac’s uninstaller

Thorough, but it comes as part of the full CleanMyMac subscription. Worth it only if you want everything else CleanMyMac does — see CleanMyMac alternatives.

Uninstalling without any app

You can do it by hand. In Finder press ⇧⌘G, go to ~/Library, and search each folder above for the app’s name and bundle ID. To find the bundle ID:

osascript -e 'id of app "Slack"'

Our step-by-step guide: how to uninstall apps completely on Mac.

Apps with their own uninstallers

Some apps install system extensions or helpers outside your Library — Adobe Creative Cloud, Microsoft Office, VPNs, antivirus and audio drivers. Always use the vendor’s own uninstaller for these first, then sweep up what is left.

FAQ