6 Great Free Apps For Mac Laptops

By Elana Goodwin on March 11, 2015

I’ve had my Mac laptop for a few years now and I still spend time checking the App Store and looking through its offerings searching for the best free apps to download.

Of course, Apple continues to come out with cool and useful new apps, both free and for purchase, so it’s beneficial to peruse the App Store because you never know what you can find.

To get you started though, here’s a list of 6 great free apps for Mac laptops that you should download right now.

Photo Credit: thenextweb.com

1. Google Chrome

While Apple’s go-to internet browser may be Safari, Google Chrome is the better option for Macs. It’s free, clean, and lets you add third-party extensions to your browser, too.

Bonus: you can change fonts, block certain names and sites from showing up on your Internet, and easily search Google with this browser. Chrome was one of my first downloads on my laptop and is my default browser and one of the best free apps you can get on your Mac.

2. VLC Media Player

I personally use this player on my Mac and like it the best out of all the players you can use. I’ve tried DivX and Apple gives you their DVD Player app already installed on your laptop, but I find VLC to be the fastest and most able to play whatever file you want it to.

Plus, it’s free to download and doesn’t take up too much space on your laptop, making this one of the best free apps you can use on Macs, and a no-brainer to install and set as your default player.

3. OpenOffice

Why pay for Microsoft Word or Office suite when you can download a free version of basically the same software? OpenOffice can open Word documents, PowerPoints, and Excel spreadsheets, plus you can create and save your files with those extension names (like .doc or .docx) so they’re also able to be opened by Microsoft Word owners.

I never bought Microsoft Office for my laptop and instead downloaded OpenOffice and have used it for notes, projects, essays, etc. throughout college and never had a problem with it. So if you want to save some money but still want to be able to create documents such as you would in Microsoft Word, OpenOffice is definitely the best free app for that and worth installing.

4. Adium

I’d never heard of this app before but after doing some research into it, have decided it’s definitely one I’ll be downloading. Basically, Adium is a communication app that unites all your chat accounts on one platform, from Gchat to Facebook Chat, so you can easily use and talk to multiple people from your various accounts.

Adium also lets you add plugins and customize the app, from font style to speech bubble color, and you can download it to your desktop. It’s efficient, convenient, and will let you cut down on the number of tabs you have opened, making chatting with friends and family much simpler, making this one of the best free apps for Macs and one you should check out.

Photo Credit: caseorganic.com

5. SelfControl

The name pretty much says it all; this app lets you easily block your own access to distracting websites for whatever period of time you designate. It’s perfect for if you have a test you should be studying for but instead find yourself unable to stop reading BuzzFeed articles or scrolling through Twitter.

SelfControl lets you put website URLs on a blacklist and then set a timer for how long you want to be locked out of those websites. Plus, it’s smart and won’t let you try to circumvent it by using another browser, like Firefox or Safari, even if you set it for Google Chrome.

For those of you who lack self control on your laptop, this is one of the best free apps that will help you focus on what you need to be doing.

6. Dropbox or Google Drive

These are both file-storing apps you can download or use for free and access from any device with Wi-Fi. Dropbox gives you 2.5 gigabytes of free storage space, and you can upgrade your account for a fee or earn 25 megabytes of extra storage for free by completing some tasks through the app.

You can access Google Drive through your Gmail account or download it to your desktop to make backing up all your files easier. From pictures to documents to music files, either of these apps can help ensure you don’t lose all of your stuff if anything happens to your laptop since it’s safely backed up online.

Some other great free apps for Apple laptops to look into include: Evernote or Microsoft OneNote, OnyX, The Unarchiver, Kindle for Mac, Fotor, and Memory Clean.

So whether you just got a new Apple laptop or device or have had one for a while, check out these awesome free apps to download and save yourself some money while getting some crucial software and apps for your Mac — you won’t regret it!

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