macOS has just under 8 percent of the worldwide market share of computer users but that hasn’t stopped Mac developers from making some truly great apps.
Let’s take a look at our top 15 picks for the best software for Mac.
Mac Software for Photo Editing
With the iPhone being so popular, it’s not surprising the Mac is great for photo editing. There are several good options.
1. Apple Photos
Apple Photos comes with every Mac and syncs across all your Apple devices. Take a picture on your iPhone and it shows up in Photos within seconds.
Photos does more than sync pictures though. It has plenty of powerful editing features that let you tweak your images to make them pop.
2. Pixelmator
If you want something a bit more powerful than Photos, Pixelmator is a good choice. It’s an affordable alternative to some of the better-known (and higher-priced) apps for the Mac but still gives you plenty of power-user features.
Pixelmator supports layers which makes it easier to undo changes and make non-destructive changes to your pictures.
3. Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop
Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop are the flagship photo editing apps on the Mac. If you’ve got more complex editing needs or are working with a huge library of images, these apps will deliver.
Lightroom is designed as a photo library manager. It doesn’t have as many editing features as Photoshop but still offers a lot of the same power.
Mac Software for Video Editing
Video editing is another natural fit for the Mac. iPhones are just as good at taking video as they are images (if not better) but the small screens make it harder to make changes.
If you want to do that work more easily on your Mac, these apps will all fit the bill.
4. iMovie
All new Macs include iMovie for free but don’t let the price tag fool you. It’s got plenty of powerful editing features to let you create your next video masterpiece.
You can import video from various sources and work with resolutions up to 4K. It can export to the most popular formats and resolutions so you can share your videos on social media, YouTube, or anywhere else you want.
5. Final Cut Pro
If you’re looking for something with a bit more horsepower, Final Cut Pro is a top-tier video editor. It’s used by everyone from hobbyists to YouTube stars and even major movie studios.
You’ll need a Mac with plenty of RAM, storage, and processing power so make sure your computer is up to running FCP. You might find yourself in the market for some upgrades if your Mac is a few years old.
6. Screenflow
Screenflow is a little more specialized video editor. It’s designed for making screencasts, or videos showing what’s happening on your Mac’s screen.
It’s great for educational videos, app walkthroughs, business presentations, and anything that needs people to see what’s on your screen.
Screenflow’s biggest secret is that it’s a pretty capable video editor as well. You can use it to build hybrid videos with screen captures and more traditional video.
Mac Web Browsers
It’s safe to say that nearly every Mac user on the planet uses a web browser regularly. Clearly, that includes you since you’re reading this article on the internet.
But which web browser is the best choice? There are several good options for the Mac.
7. Safari
Safari is built into macOS so it’s the natural choice for most Mac users. It is a great browser so you can’t go wrong with Safari.
It’s fast, it’s built on the latest web technologies, it’s privacy-focused, and it uses less power – and therefore less battery – than some of the other options.
Safari doesn’t have as many users as the competition though. The smaller user base means there aren’t as many add-ons as there are for some of the alternatives.
8. Firefox
Firefox has been around since 2004 so it’s one of the longest-running browsers in use today. That doesn’t mean it’s outdated though.
Mozilla, the company behind Firefox, updates it constantly to take advantage of new technologies. But because it’s been around for so long, there are a huge number of add-on extensions available that add new features to the browser.
And Mozilla is very privacy-focused, much like Apple, so switching to Firefox doesn’t mean having to give up that benefit of Safari.
9. Chrome
Google Chrome is available on all major operating systems, including macOS. It was originally built on the same rendering engine as Safari so they share some roots but Chrome has gone its own way since then.
Chrome is the most extendable browser on the Mac, with a huge library of extensions and add-ons available. A lot of web apps and specialty sites get designed for Chrome specifically. You might not be able to do everything with another browser and in some cases, they may not work with anything else and require you to download Chrome for Mac.
All that power does lead to one of Chrome’s disadvantages – higher power draw than Safari and Firefox. If you use a laptop and run on battery power, you will often see noticeably shorter battery life when you use Chrome.
Google updates Chrome regularly though and the power draw is one of their top priorities. Every new release gets a bit better so this will likely be a non-issue before long.
Only Scratching the Surface of the Best Software for Mac
While these apps are our top picks for the best software for Mac, they’re only scratching the surface. There may not be as many users on Mac computers as on Windows PCs but the app market is thriving.
And Mac apps tend to have better design and more user-friendly interfaces. Take some time to try these apps and dig into the vast array of great apps on the Mac to see what you’re missing.
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