Let’s be honest, the Mac App Store is a lot. There are thousands of apps promising to change your life, and most of them are fine at best and forgotten by Thursday. I’m always willing to try a new app, but it takes a lot for me to stick with one.
Here are the ones I’ve been sticking with this month.
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CleanShot X: Screenshots, Upgraded
If you’ve been using the built-in macOS screenshot tool, you’re leaving a lot on the table. CleanShot X replaces it entirely, and within about 20 minutes you’ll wonder how you ever lived without it.
Here’s the short version of why it’s one of the best Mac apps for anyone who takes screenshots regularly: the moment you capture something, it floats on the side of your screen waiting for you. No hunting through your desktop. No dragging files. You just paste directly wherever you need it.
The annotation tools are also a solid use case. Arrows, blur for hiding sensitive info, highlights, and text, all built right in. Need to screenshot a dropdown menu that disappears the second you move your mouse? There’s a Freeze Screen feature for exactly that. Screen recording and GIF capture are included too, which makes it a one-stop shop for anyone doing tutorials, bug reports, or product demos.
Best for: Designers, marketers, developers, and really anyone who shares screenshots more than twice a week.
Download Cleanshot X here.
NotchNook: Your Notch Actually Does Something Now
If you have a MacBook with a notch and you’re just ignoring it, NotchNook is here to change that. Apple never gave the notch its iPhone Dynamic Island moment on Mac, so third-party developers stepped in. NotchNook is the best of them.
Hover over the notch and it expands into a customizable dashboard: media controls, calendar events, CPU and memory stats, quick-access files, and even a webcam preview. It’s like a mini Control Center built into the top of your screen that doesn’t eat up any menu bar space.
The file shelf is the feature that tends to convert skeptics. You can drop files onto the notch to store them temporarily, which is super handy when you’re moving files between folders or prepping something to AirDrop. It’s one of those things that sounds small until you realize how often you actually need it.
NotchNook costs $25 as a one-time purchase or $3/month, and it’s also on Setapp. Worth noting: it only works on Mac models that have a notch, so if you’re on an older machine, this one’s not for you.
Best for: Anyone on a notched MacBook who multitasks a lot and wants quick access to the things they check constantly.
Download NotchNook here.
Bartender: Clean Up Your Menu Bar
You know that feeling when you open your Mac and the top right corner of your screen looks like a traffic jam of tiny icons? That’s what Bartender fixes. It’s been cleaning up Mac menu bars for over a decade, and Bartender 6 was rebuilt from the ground up specifically for macOS Tahoe with noticeably smoother performance.
The core idea is simple: choose which icons are always visible, which stay hidden until you need them, and which only show up when something changes (like when your battery gets low or a download finishes). You can reveal hidden items instantly by swiping, scrolling, clicking, or hovering in the menu bar. There’s also a quick search so you can pull up any hidden menu bar app from your keyboard without touching the mouse.
The big news this May was Bartender Pro, which adds a Top Shelf feature that turns the MacBook notch into something closer to the iPhone’s Dynamic Island. Think clipboard access, file storage, AirDrop, calendar widgets, and music controls all living in your notch. It’s worth mentioning that NotchNook does something similar, so if you already have that installed, you’ll want to think about which notch experience you actually want before going Pro.
One thing worth knowing: Bartender was quietly acquired in 2024 with no public announcement, and the new owners initially shipped an update with undisclosed analytics tracking. After backlash, the analytics were removed entirely. The app has since stabilized and is genuinely good again, but it’s fair context if you care about that kind of thing. The base app is a $20 one-time purchase with a four-week free trial, no credit card required.
Best for: Anyone whose menu bar has gotten out of control (so, most Mac users with more than five apps installed).
Download Bartender here.
Todoist vs. Godspeed: Pick Your Task Manager Wisely
Okay, this one’s a two-for-one because the right answer genuinely depends on who you are.
If you want something that just works everywhere: Todoist is the pick. It syncs seamlessly across Mac, iPhone, and the web. It integrates with Google Calendar. It has a solid free plan with unlimited tasks and projects. The menu bar widget lets you see what’s on your plate without opening the full app. It’s not flashy, but it’s rock-solid and genuinely pleasant to use. For most people, Todoist is the right call.
Download Todoist here.
If you live on your keyboard and hate touching the mouse: Godspeed is kind of wild. Every interaction happens in under 50ms and it’s built around keyboard shortcuts from the ground up. Users who’ve switched from Todoist, Things 3, and OmniFocus describe it as one of those apps that gets out of your way so completely that you stop thinking about task management and just… do the tasks. Keyboard-warrior software with a cult following for good reason.
Download Godspeed here.
The short version: Todoist is the mature all-rounder. Godspeed is the speed-focused tool for people who’ve been waiting for someone to build exactly this.
Notion vs. Obsidian: Two Philosophies, Both Valid
Same deal here. No wrong answer, just different philosophies.
Notion is a workspace. It’s docs, databases, project tracking, and team wikis all in one. If you like having everything in one place (your notes, your content calendar, your meeting summaries, your grocery list), Notion is built for that kind of connected, everything-in-one approach. It’s especially strong if you work with a team, since collaboration is baked in from the start.
Download Notion here.
Obsidian is different. It stores everything as plain markdown files on your device, no cloud dependency unless you pay for sync, and it builds a visual graph of how your notes connect to each other. It’s more like a second brain than a workspace. People use it for research, journaling, long-form writing, and building personal knowledge bases over years. The plugin ecosystem is massive and the community is obsessive in the best way.
Download Obsidian here.
The real question is whether you want a collaborative workspace (Notion) or a personal knowledge system that’s fully yours (Obsidian). Both are among the best Mac apps for notes in 2026, they’re just solving different problems.
Hand Mirror: The Dumbest Useful App You’ll Ever Love
Look, this one is almost embarrassing to recommend because of how simple it is. Hand Mirror lives in your menu bar. You click it. Your camera turns on. You see your face. That’s it.
And yet, over 1.5 million people use it. Because you know what’s happened to all of us? You hop on a Zoom call and realize mid-introduction that your lighting is terrible, the re’s something on the shelf behind you, or you forgot to fix your hair after lunch. Hand Mirror is the two-second check that prevents all of that.
It’s free. There’s a Hand Mirror Plus one-time purchase that adds mic level checking, Polaroid-style snapshots, custom window sizes, and a notch trigger (yes, it plays nicely with NotchNook territory if you’ve got a notched Mac). But the free version handles the core job perfectly.
Developed by Rafael Conde, it’s one of those apps that makes you think “why did this take so long to exist?” Simple, delightful, and genuinely useful every single day.
Best for: Anyone with a camera and a video call in their life. So, everyone.
Download Hand Mirror here.
Wrapping Up
The best Mac apps aren’t always the most complicated ones. CleanShot X makes a daily task dramatically better. NotchNook turns wasted hardware into something genuinely useful. Todoist and Godspeed cover the full spectrum of how people manage tasks. Notion and Obsidian represent two thoughtful takes on organizing your brain. And Hand Mirror is proof that the best app is sometimes the simplest one.
This is not an ad but just a shoutout: You can get almost all of these by subscribing to Setapp (which is how I found them in the first place)!
FAQ
What are the best Mac apps for productivity in 2026? CleanShot X, Todoist or Godspeed for tasks, and Notion or Obsidian for notes are all strong picks depending on your workflow.
Is CleanShot X worth it? If you take screenshots regularly, yes, easily. The annotation tools, floating shelf, and cloud sharing alone make it worth the price.
Is Hand Mirror free? Yes, the core app is free. Hand Mirror Plus is a one-time purchase that unlocks extra features like mic monitoring and custom window options.
What’s the difference between Notion and Obsidian? Notion is a collaborative workspace great for teams and connected projects. Obsidian is a local-first, markdown-based personal knowledge tool better suited for individual, long-term note-taking.
Do I need a MacBook with a notch for NotchNook? Yes, NotchNook only works on Mac models that have a notch. Older MacBooks won’t be able to use it.
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