AppCleaner vs Mainspring: Different Jobs
AppCleaner comes up in almost every list of essential Mac utilities, and deservedly so. It is also frequently mentioned alongside Mainspring, which is worth clearing up, because they do not compete.
What it is
AppCleaner from FreeMacSoft is a small free utility that removes an application together with the preference files, caches and support files it leaves behind. Dragging an app to the Trash leaves those scattered around your Library folder.
Where they overlap
Very little, honestly. Both are small focused Mac utilities from independent developers, and both save you from doing something tedious by hand.
Where they differ
- AppCleaner deletes files belonging to apps you are removing.
- Mainspring changes macOS settings and deletes nothing at all.
- AppCleaner is free. Mainspring is a one-time 29 dollars.
Which should you use?
Get AppCleaner if you install and remove a lot of software; it does a genuinely useful job for free. Get Mainspring if you want to change hidden settings and be able to reverse them. They sit together in the same toolkit rather than replacing one another. If you are curious what actually gets left behind, see leftover files after uninstalling.
Every setting here is a one-click, reversible toggle in Mainspring — no Terminal, and an undo button on all of it.
Mainspring turns 90+ hidden macOS settings into labelled, reversible toggles, each with an undo button. It records every change it makes, so nothing you try is permanent. No Terminal, no subscription.
Try Mainspring free →Signed & notarized by Apple · 1-day free trial · $29 once