Best Free Mac Software Apps of 2017

Macs are not the most pocket friendly exhibitions of tech we see today. But most definitely, they are the most user-friendly. Those of us, who are a part of the Apple community, love to take pride in the suave features and advanced technological prowess even though after each purchase our cash-poverty kills us. We simply love anything with a gratis tag that we see after each Apple and/or Mac purchase.

In this article we will wax on a bit about 12 useful, yet free Mac software apps every Mac user can install and use. Though we're also lots of free website builders for mac here we will talk about small but effective antivirus software programs to audio, video and image editors that are found in Macs owned by editing pros. So, dig in and make your own Mac free apps inventory.

  1. CyberDuck

You may be wondering if we are trying to pull a con after seeing CyberDuck in the Mac App Store for £17.99. In reality, if you go to the cyberduck.io website you can download this gem of a FTP app for free. You can connect to all servers including FTP, SFTP and WebDAV servers, S3, Google Storage, Rackspace Cloud and Amazon CloudFront. This is a Blackblaze B2, OpenStack Swift and Azure browser for both Windows and Mac devices.

  1. Darktable

Hate paying for Lightroom and Aperture subscriptions? You can simply download Darktable from its official website for free. This photography workflow app is quite unique; it does not hide its database roots. In this raw developer app, all images are records and all the searches and subsequent edits are operations. It has a bewildering number of modules specialized for importing, tagging, searching and rating. Multiple other modules allow you to edit shadows, image borders, highlights and watermarks on the records.

  1. CrossDJ Free

Well, this is for everyone who love spinning the records to see others grooving to their favorite jams. CrossDJ Free is a Mac inspired app for all the DJs in the making. You can download the application from this verified link without paying a single penny! Enjoy two fully functional decks, mixers and video mixing options on your free Mac software. You can also go for an upgrade for a mere $39 for added features like 2 more decks and samplers, 18 snazzy new video effects and MIDI control.

  1. LibreCAD

This has been listed among the top free CAD programs for Mac time and again. This is an awesome 2D tool that is currently based on the community version of QCad. If you have always dreamt about accessing an open source CAD application designed for Mac and Linux users, LibreCAD is your chance. All documentation and support is free for the humongous community of users, developers and contributors from around the globe. Explore their awesome 2D development features right now.

  1. Hotspot Shield

Hotspot Shield is a free VPN client that is based on Open VPN. You have probably installed other anonymous surfing apps like JonDo on your device already, and you are probably wondering what difference another OpenVPN client would make. But unlike other apps, Hotspot Shield encrypts all your data and internet activities. This is super cool and super effective for people living in the black-out zones or the ones in love with forums inhabiting the dark corners of the web. You can simply forget the whole “proxifying” deal after installing Hotspot Shield.

  1. ClamXav

ClamXav is here to redefine the antivirus facilities all Mac users can experience for free. This is ideal for all current Mac OSx. It has the ability to detect and neutralize almost all threats on Mac and Windows platforms. You can use this app for both active and passive screening of files. Sentry is a great option for monitoring your hard drive and downloaded files.

  1. NoobProof

It is a wonderful firewall config tool for all Mac OSx patrons. You can now download NoobProof for free and access all its services to build a firewall around your device. You can even block specified hosts, subnets and allow similar entities. Creating new services and blocking old ones is child’s play with NoobProof installed on your Mac device.

  1. Luminance HDR

This is the best HDR software for Mac if you have the hots for experimenting with your clicks. It uses a whopping 9 different tone-mapping algorithms. From a sketch effect to a surrealist touch, you can give your click any effect you can ever dream of with the Luminance HDR for Mac. This is an open source project that can now be enjoyed for free by all Mac users.

  1. Inkscape

This is possibly the best free vector graphics editor ever created for Mac OSx. The application uses SVG files as raw files and supported SVG features include paths, shapes, texts, clones, markers, alpha blending, gradients, grouping, patterns and transforms. You can import the edited files in JPEG, PNG and TIFF formats and export the same as multiple vector-based formats. In short, if you are not prepped to dish out $600 for AI and added few hundred for its upgrades, Inkscape is the best vector drawing program for you.

  1. iBackup

This is a simple and yet extremely useful backup application for all Mac users. From OS 10.3.9 to 10.10, iBackup has been saving precious pictures, docs and files for about a million Mac users from around the world. It backs up and restores all data and application settings like Mail, iPhoto, iTunes, System Preferences and third party applications across all Mac platforms. This app also enables you to explore all local backups of iOSx devices. At this point you can retrieve a specific file without performing a complete system restore.

  1. FileZilla

FileZilla goes hand in hand with Cyberduck in terms of FTP and SFTP transfers. It is quite the reliable alternative to commercial FTP clients that charge quite a bit for same services. With FileZilla you can enjoy the perks of having a site manager, SSl, Kerberos GSS security, drag and drop, proxy support and active firewalls for your registered Mac services for free. Filezilla is an open source software program that evolves with the need and requirements of all clients, contributors and developers.

  1. Bluefish

Do you have a nose for programming and editing? Then you will love this one. Bluefish is an extremely lightweight software that has been designed for experienced programmers. You can write codes for creating functional websites using its simple, yet interactive UI. You can choose from among the multiple markup and programming languages to write your script. The interface is teeming with toolbars, user-customized menu options and dialog boxes for your convenience. Now you can download Bluefish for free and enjoy it forever on your Mac to create awesome scripts and running programs.

Conclusion

All of the 12 software applications mentioned here are wonderful, working alternatives for all the paid software programs you can buy from the Apple Mac Store. Most of these are open source software programs and that means you get to use and experience some new features every day on a stable platform. From monitoring your device security to helping you edit your favorite pictures, these applications will never make you feel cash-poor ever again.