You just got a Mac. Maybe you switched from Windows. Maybe it's your first laptop. Maybe someone handed you a used MacBook and said "good luck."
The first thing you'll do is go looking for apps. And the first thing the internet will tell you is to install Notion, Slack, Discord, and a dozen other tools you recognize from other people's screens.
Don't. Not yet.
Before you load your Mac with apps that will quietly eat your RAM, drain your battery, and make your fans run like a hairdryer — it's worth spending ten minutes understanding what makes a Mac app actually good. Because Mac apps aren't all equal. Not even close.
What "Native" Means — and Why It Matters to You
You'll see the word "native" thrown around a lot in Mac circles. Here's what it actually means in plain terms.
Some apps are built specifically for macOS — written in Apple's own programming languages (Swift, SwiftUI), following Apple's design guidelines, using macOS's own features directly. These apps feel light, open instantly, and behave exactly like your Mac expects.
Other apps — especially big-name ones — are built using a framework called Electron. Electron lets developers write one app for every platform at once (Mac, Windows, Linux) without learning anything platform-specific. The catch: every Electron app is secretly a web browser. It bundles a full copy of Chrome inside it, whether you asked for Chrome or not.
This is why Slack uses 500–800MB of RAM. This is why opening five common apps can drain your battery in two hours. This is why some apps feel like they're running on your Mac rather than as part of it.
Native apps don't have this problem. A well-built native app uses less memory than a single browser tab. It respects your Mac's power management. It works with system features like Spotlight, Notification Center, Quick Look, and drag-and-drop the way Apple intended.
For a new Mac user, the practical difference is simple: native apps feel fast and light. Everything else feels like you're running Chrome one more time.
Your Starter Pack: 8 Apps to Install First
These are the apps you'll thank yourself for installing in week one. All of them are free or have free tiers. All of them are native.
1. Rectangle — Window Management
Free, Open Source · rectangleapp.com
Here's something that will surprise you about macOS: it doesn't snap windows to the sides of your screen by default. On Windows, you can drag a window to the edge and it fills half the screen. On Mac, you can't — not without a tool.
Rectangle fixes this immediately.
Install it, and you'll have keyboard shortcuts to snap any window left, right, full screen, or into quarters. Press ⌃⌥← and your window fills the left half. ⌃⌥→ fills the right half. It works every time, it's invisible when you're not using it, and it uses almost no memory.
You'll use this every single day. It's the first app I tell every new Mac user to install.
2. Maccy — Clipboard History
Free, Open Source · github.com/p0deje/Maccy
macOS only remembers one thing you've copied. Copy something new and the old thing is gone forever — unless you have Maccy.
Maccy lives in your menu bar and silently saves everything you copy: text, URLs, code, anything. When you need something you copied earlier, press ⇧⌘C and a small window appears with your full clipboard history. Search it, click the item you need, and it's back in your clipboard.
This sounds minor until the first time you copy a URL, accidentally overwrite it, and realize you can pull it back instantly instead of hunting for it again. After that it becomes indispensable.
3. IINA — Video Player
Free, Open Source · iina.io
macOS comes with QuickTime Player, which is fine for basic playback but can't handle a lot of common video formats — MKV, AVI, HEVC, subtitles with external files, and so on.
IINA plays everything. It's built natively for macOS, looks beautiful, integrates with Touch Bar and macOS media controls, and the whole app is smaller than a single Electron app's Chrome bundle. Under 50MB.
Replace QuickTime as your default video player and stop thinking about video formats.
4. AppCleaner — Proper Uninstalling
Free · freemacsoft.net/appcleaner
On macOS, dragging an app to the Trash doesn't fully uninstall it. The .app file goes away, but the app usually leaves behind preference files, caches, support files, and sometimes launch agents scattered across your Library folders.
AppCleaner fixes this. Drag any app onto AppCleaner (or drop apps into it), and it finds every file that app has ever left behind. One click removes all of it cleanly.
Especially useful when you're trying apps and deleting the ones you don't like. Use this instead of just dragging to Trash.
5. The Unarchiver — Open Any Archive
Free · theunarchiver.com
macOS can open .zip files natively. Everything else — .rar, .7z, .tar.gz, .iso, and dozens of other formats — requires a tool.
The Unarchiver handles all of it. Set it as your default and you'll never see an "unsupported format" error. It's a tiny, native app that does exactly one job and does it perfectly.
6. Raycast — Your Command Center
Freemium · raycast.com
macOS has Spotlight (⌘Space) for searching files and launching apps. Raycast is what Spotlight would be if Apple had spent the last five years building it seriously.
With Raycast you can:
- Launch any app by typing a few letters
- Search and open files instantly
- Look up clipboard history (pairs nicely with Maccy — or replaces it)
- Convert units, check timezones, do quick math
- Run shortcuts and automations
- Control dozens of apps without switching to them
The free tier is genuinely excellent. This is the app that makes everything else on your Mac feel faster.
7. Bear — Notes That Actually Feel Good
Freemium · bear.app
Apple Notes is fine. But if you want a notes app that feels like it was designed with care — one that supports Markdown, has a beautiful interface, lets you tag notes instead of shoving them into folders, and opens instantly — Bear is the answer.
The free tier lets you create and read notes on Mac. The paid tier adds syncing with iPhone and iPad. If you're an Apple ecosystem user, Bear is the note-taking app most worth paying for.
8. Shottr — Screenshots Done Right
Free · shottr.cc
macOS has built-in screenshot tools (⌘⇧3 for full screen, ⌘⇧4 for selection). They work, but they're basic.
Shottr adds annotation tools, pixel ruler, color picker, blur for sensitive info, and a scrolling screenshot feature — all in a lightweight native app. It replaces your default screenshot workflow without adding any bloat.
Going Further: One Pick Per Category
Once you have the starter pack, here are the best native picks as your needs grow.
For system monitoring — Stats sits in your menu bar and shows CPU, memory, GPU, and network at a glance. Free, open source, lightweight.
For calendar — Itsycal adds a small calendar popup to your menu bar that shows upcoming events from Apple Calendar. Free, tiny, stays out of the way.
For PDF files — PDFgear is a fully featured PDF editor that's free. Annotate, fill forms, merge files, and more — no subscription needed.
For writing — iA Writer is the focused writing app. Clean interface, no distractions, excellent typography. If you write anything longer than a grocery list, it's worth the one-time purchase.
For image editing — Pixelmator Pro is a full Photoshop-level editor built natively for macOS. Supports Apple Silicon fully, uses machine learning for background removal and upscaling. One-time purchase.
For disk space — DaisyDisk gives you a visual map of what's taking up space on your drive. Beautiful, fast, native. When your SSD fills up, this is how you find out where it went.
For battery health — coconutBattery tells you your MacBook battery's actual health — current capacity vs. original design capacity, charge cycles, and more. Free. Run it once a month and you'll know if your battery is aging faster than expected.
The Apps to Be Careful With
You'll encounter these apps constantly. They're popular for good reasons — but knowing what they are helps you make smarter choices.
Notion — Wonderful for certain workflows, but it's an Electron app. On a new Mac, it loads slowly and uses more RAM than you'd expect. If you're using it for personal notes, try Bear or Craft first. If you need its database features for a team, that's the legitimate reason to keep it.
Slack — Electron, 500–800MB of RAM, ships a full copy of Chrome. If your team uses it, you need it — just quit it completely when you're not using it instead of leaving it running in the background.
Discord — Same story. Electron, heavy background footprint. If you use it for communities, configure it to quit on close rather than minimize to the menu bar.
Spotify — Uses a Chromium variant, not as heavy as full Electron but not native either. If you're open to alternatives, Apple Music's native Mac client is faster and uses less memory.
None of these apps are bad software. They're popular because they're useful. But understanding the tradeoff helps you manage them: keep them closed when you're not using them, don't let them auto-launch at login, and you'll get most of the benefit without the constant background drain.
The One Habit That Matters Most
Open System Settings → General → Login Items and look at what's set to launch automatically when you turn on your Mac.
Every app you install wants to be in that list. Notion wants to launch at startup. Slack wants to launch at startup. Spotify. Discord. They all do.
Most of them don't need to. Start with nothing in that list except the tools you genuinely want available the moment you log in (Rectangle, Maccy, Raycast — yes. Everything else — probably not).
You'll notice how much faster your Mac starts up and how much quieter your fans stay.
Where to Go From Here
The apps above are the foundation. As you build out your setup, the most useful resource I've found is an open GitHub list curated specifically around native macOS apps:
It covers every category — developer tools, window managers, email clients, security tools, terminal emulators, video players — with a consistent focus on apps that are actually native. New apps get added regularly, and the community flags anything that sneaks in bloat.
It's not exhaustive. It's curated. That's the difference that matters when you're just getting started and don't want to wade through 200 mediocre options to find the five worth installing.
Your Mac is fast. Keep it that way.
What was the first native Mac app you found that genuinely surprised you? Drop it in the comments — I'm always looking for undiscovered ones.
Top comments (0)