10 Best Productivity Apps for Mac to Supercharge Your Workflow in 2024

Guide
As a Mac user, you're likely always on the lookout for the best productivity apps to streamline your workflow and get more done in less time. With so many options available, it can be overwhelming to find the right tools for your needs.
To help you out, we've compiled a list of the 10 best productivity apps for Mac in 2024. From capturing stunning screenshots to managing projects and automating repetitive tasks, these apps will help you work smarter, not harder.

1. Xnapper

Xnapper is a powerful native Mac app that enables you to capture beautiful screenshots instantly. With just a few clicks, you can snap a screenshot, preview it, and share it with automatic enhancements like gorgeous backgrounds, perfect centering, rounded corners, and more.
Why we love it: Xnapper saves you time by automating the process of beautifying and optimizing your screenshots for maximum impact.
Pros:
  • Automatic screenshot beautification with customizable presets
  • Detects and redacts sensitive info like email addresses
  • Resizes screenshots to fit social media image sizes perfectly
Cons:
  • Lacks some advanced editing features found in other screenshot tools

2. Alfred

Alfred is an award-winning productivity app that boosts your efficiency with hotkeys, keywords and text expansion. It's an all-in-one solution that lets you quickly launch apps, find files, manage clipboard history, and automate complex workflows.
Why we love it: Alfred's powerful features and customization options make it indispensable for streamlining repetitive tasks and navigating your Mac faster.
Pros:
  • Saves time with custom workflows and hotkeys
  • Clipboard history makes it easy to access frequently used text
  • Integrates with many popular apps and services
Cons:
  • Steeper learning curve compared to simpler launcher apps

3. Things

Things is a beautiful and intuitive task manager that helps you organize your to-dos, projects, and goals in one place. With its simple design and powerful features, Things makes it easy to stay on top of your tasks and make steady progress every day.
Why we love it: Things strikes the perfect balance between simplicity and flexibility, adapting to your workflow whether you need a simple to-do list or a full-fledged project management tool.
Pros:
  • Clean and intuitive interface
  • Supports complex projects with headings and checklists
  • Syncs seamlessly across iPhone, iPad, and Mac
Cons:
  • Pricier than some other to-do list apps

4. Timing

Timing is an automatic time tracking app that logs your activities in the background while you work. It uses AI to categorize your time into meaningful projects, so you can see exactly how you spend your days without any manual input.
Why we love it: Timing gives you unprecedented insight into your productivity by showing you precisely where your time goes, helping you identify time sinks and optimize your workflow.
Pros:
  • Tracks time automatically with no manual input required
  • Provides detailed reports and visualizations of time usage
  • Integrates with calendar for automatic time categorization
Cons:
  • Categorization not always 100% accurate, may require some manual adjustments

5. Hazel

Hazel is a powerful automation tool that helps you organize your files and folders automatically based on rules you define. It can rename files, apply tags, move them to specific folders, and even upload them to cloud services, all without any manual intervention.
Why we love it: Hazel takes the tedium out of file management by automating repetitive tasks and keeping your folders organized without any effort on your part.
Pros:
  • Saves time by automating file organization
  • Highly customizable rules for granular control
  • Can run AppleScripts and shell scripts for advanced automation
Cons:
  • Requires some setup and rule configuration to get the most benefit

6. BetterTouchTool

BetterTouchTool is a versatile input customizer that lets you create custom gestures, hotkeys, and shortcuts for your trackpad, mouse, keyboard, and Touch Bar. It enables you to trigger specific actions, launch apps, control window placement, and much more with intuitive finger movements or key presses.
Why we love it: BetterTouchTool puts you in full control of how you interact with your Mac, boosting your efficiency by making complex actions as easy as a swipe or tap.
Pros:
  • Highly customizable gestures for trackpad and mouse
  • Enables custom keyboard shortcuts and key sequences
  • Integrates with many apps for context-specific actions
Cons:
  • Can be overwhelming with so many customization options

7. Bartender

Bartender is a must-have utility that lets you organize and hide icons on your menu bar. It keeps your menu bar clean and clutter-free while still providing easy access to all your apps and tools.
Why we love it: Bartender declutters your menu bar and streamlines your workspace, reducing distractions and making it easier to focus on what matters.
Pros:
  • Hides rarely used menu bar icons
  • Rearranges icons for better organization
  • Provides quick access with keyboard shortcuts
Cons:
  • Some apps don't work well with their menu bar icons hidden

8. TextExpander

TextExpander is a powerful productivity tool that saves you time by letting you insert frequently used text and images with simple abbreviations. It's perfect for canned email responses, code snippets, form letters, and any other text you type regularly.
Why we love it: TextExpander eliminates the tedium of typing the same things over and over, freeing up valuable time and mental energy for more important tasks.
Pros:
  • Saves time typing frequently used text snippets
  • Supports rich text formatting and images
  • Syncs snippets across devices
Cons:
  • Requires memorizing abbreviations for snippets

9. Keyboard Maestro

Keyboard Maestro is an advanced automation tool that lets you create custom macros to automate almost any task or process on your Mac. It can control applications, manipulate files and windows, execute scripts, and much more, all triggered by hotkeys or other events.
Why we love it: Keyboard Maestro is an incredibly powerful tool for automating complex workflows and repetitive tasks, limited only by your imagination.
Pros:
  • Automates virtually any task or process on your Mac
  • Supports a wide range of triggers and actions
  • Includes a macro library with pre-built automations
Cons:
  • Steep learning curve for advanced automations

10. 1Password

1Password is a secure password manager that helps you generate, store, and fill in complex passwords for all your online accounts. It keeps your passwords safe and synced across all your devices, so you never have to remember them or type them manually.
Why we love it: 1Password takes the hassle and insecurity out of password management, making it easy to use strong, unique passwords for every account without sacrificing convenience.
Pros:
  • Generates and stores strong, unique passwords
  • Fills in passwords automatically on websites and in apps
  • Syncs passwords securely across devices
Cons:
  • Requires trusting a third-party service with your passwords
With these 10 best productivity apps for Mac in your toolkit, you'll be well on your way to a more efficient, streamlined workflow in 2024. From capturing perfect screenshots with Xnapper to automating complex tasks with Keyboard Maestro, these tools will help you make the most of your time and energy, so you can focus on doing your best work.