MacKeeper vs CleanMyMac: Which Tool Wins for Performance

Like other computers, Macs also accumulate junk and clutter. Given how cumbersome manual management is, you would rather pick an option like MacKeeper or CleanMyMac. We have recommended both these apps for Mac cleaning and optimization. That brings us to today’s question:

Which among MacKeeper and CleanMyMac actually speeds up your Mac?

We wanted to find out by comparing these tools based on their impact on our Mac’s performance.

TL;DR

• CleanMyMac wins for performance if your goal is to speed up and clean your Mac.
• Choose MacKeeper if you prefer a broader security suite with extras like antivirus and VPN.

About MacKeeper and CleanMyMac

As you may know, both MacKeeper and CleanMyMac are fully-fledged optimization tools that offer security, clutter removal, app management, and more. During this test, however, we focused on the performance component. Here’s what it meant for these tools:

In MacKeeper, we checked out its three components under the Performance subsection: Memory Cleaner, Update Tracker, and Login Items. We also tested the impact of the built-in ad blocker. Given how junk files and overused disk storage can impact your Mac’s performance, we also tried some Cleanup features. Read our full MacKeeper review here.

In CleanMyMac, we focused on the Performance tab, which runs a few maintenance tasks, removes files, and performs real-time optimization. We also checked the Cleanup section, which frees up space by removing cache and junk from your Mac. Read our full CleanMyMac review here.

What “Mac performance” actually means

Before we begin, it’s helpful to understand what affects your Mac’s performance. As we have come to understand in the past decade, the performance of your Mac is determined by the following things.

• Disk Junk Accumulation: This occurs because almost every action you take on your Mac generates temporary files. Over time, these files can slow down your Mac and take up storage space.
• Pressure on RAM: RAM is a limited resource on your Mac. When too many apps consume too much RAM, your Mac can slow down. Background apps add pressure here, too.
• Login & Background Items: Apps that automatically launch when you start your Mac, as well as those that can launch on demand, can also affect performance because they run in the background.
• Residual Data: The data left on your Mac by uninstalled apps or unused DMG files can slow it down over time. Orphaned files, like corrupted apps and extensions, can also cause problems.
• SSD Saturation: Modern Macs also rely on SSD storage for the best performance. So, if your Mac has too many duplicates and large files, you’d notice performance bottlenecks.

Therefore, an ideal performance optimization app for Mac should address all these issues. For example, it should be able to safely scan and remove corrupted files, free up inactive RAM, identify unnecessary login entries, remove app conflicts, and ensure sufficient storage space on SSDs.

Our comparing methodology

We tested both MacKeeper and CleanMyMac on our M2 MacBook Air running the latest version of macOS Tahoe. For context, this is the device we use to test almost all the applications we review. As a result, it always has a lot of junk, DMG files, and other things that need to be removed from time to time.

Unsurprisingly, our Mac is often slow, especially after a tough week of work. Given that we also use this device for project research, there is always something to clean.

To clearly understand and distinguish the impact of both tools, we kept a distance between how we use these tools. That is, we gave our MacBook some time to accumulate junk and cache before we used another tool.

Junk removal & disk cleanup

We tested the Cleanup function on MacKeeper and CleanMyMac. Though both tools took almost the same time to complete the system scan, the scanned area and control were different.

The Cleanup Manager on CleanMyMac puts scanned content into three categories: System Junk, Trash Bins, and Mail Attachments. You also get a subcategorized view for each section. For instance, we loved the option to see User Cache Files, Universal Binaries, Log Files, Language Files, Document Versions, etc., under the Junk section. You also get to selectively remove junk from individual apps instead of a full sweep. This control is great from a security standpoint.

In total, CleanMyMac could detect 7.8GB of junk on our Mac.

The Safe Cleanup function in MacKeeper also does an impressive job of finding logs, caches, and language files on your Mac. It actually detected around 8.6GB of junk.

However, it fails to detect certain things, such as Universal Binaries, User log files, Versions, Broken login items, and iOS device backups. You don’t get any insights into deleted users or broken preferences either. MacKeeper lacks customization options, whereas CleanMyMac offers a simplified view to understand the app and remove its cache.

It’s clear that CleanMyMac does a better job of scanning your Mac for junk and disk cleanup.

RAM & performance optimization

Here’s how MacKeeper and CleanMyMac compare when it comes to RAM and performance optimization:

Feature	CleanMyMac	MacKeeper
One-click RAM cleaner	✅	✅
Memory usage monitoring	✅	✅
Process/app quitting tool	✅	✅
Login item manager	✅	✅
Launch agent cleaner	✅	❌
Spotlight reindexing	✅	❌
DNS cache flush	✅	❌
Background resource footprint	Low	Low

There are a few things both tools get right. For instance, you can clean the RAM with a single click or monitor which apps are using it. There are also ways to quit an app or manage login items using an intuitive user interface; however, that is where similarities end.

Some additional features, such as launch agent cleaners, Spotlight reindexing, and DNS cache flushing, are built into CleanMyMac. In our experience, these features improve your Mac’s overall performance.

We often encounter Spotlight errors on our Macs, and the dedicated option in CleanMyMac was a blessing. We also love the option to free up space, repair disk permissions, and handle background items in detail.

That said, we must mention how impressive the RAM Cleaner interface on MacKeeper is. It provides a real-time overview of RAM consumption and apps responsible for it. You also get to see the real-time impact of the RAM clearing function. It would have been nice if CleanMyMac had a similar option.

In our testing, MacKeeper consistently freed up around 2GB of RAM. However, with CleanMyMac, it was impossible to see the actual number. This transparency is something we like to see. It’s also great that the RAM-clearing function is available on the main tool, not the menu-bar app.

App uninstaller & performance bloat

Detecting and removing large or corrupted apps helps you improve performance. In this sector, CleanMyMac and MacKeeper offer varying options.

Application Management

The application management section of CleanMyMac provides an overview of everything related to the apps you have installed on your Mac. If you want, you can view all the apps you have installed, but it also offers a unique list of unused applications, app leftovers, and available updates. It also lets you sort apps by Stores, Vendors, Category, etc.

Things are slightly different for MacKeeper because you have separate sections for separate tasks. There is a smart uninstaller section that lets you see a list of apps and uninstall the ones that you don’t want. Similarly, there is a section where you can track all the updates and install them right away. However, MacKeeper does not offer the same level of control while sorting apps.

Test Scenario	CleanMyMac X	MacKeeper
App + leftover file removal	✅ Complete	⚠️ Incomplete (froze in test)
Leftover files found (same machine)	11 identified	0 (scan stalled)
App updater included	✅ (detects macOS updates too)	✅ (app updates only)
Extensions/plugins manager	✅	✅
Sort apps by size/frequency of use	✅	✅

Clutter Management

CleanMyMac clearly leads the clutter management tools. For one, you get several tools, such as My Clutter and Space Lens, to see how your storage space is used. You can also use features to find duplicates and manage unused files.

However, in MacKeeper, we don’t have as many options. This is not to say there is no duplicate finder, but we had terrible luck with this tool because it often couldn’t even finish scanning. The following table should give you an idea:

We believe it’s not really the problem of including these features; it seems MacKeeper needs to work on stability to make them truly usable for end users.

Real-world performance impact

Here are some additional insights from our experience with CleanMyMac and MacKeeper:

We had a pleasant experience with CleanMyMac, which helped us recover a lot of storage space, free up RAM, and improve our Mac’s overall speed. More importantly, we found that the Performance Focus features on CleanMyMac X were more stable and reliable. Though it takes a bit longer to complete scans, the level of customization you get for each task is impressive.

MacKeeper also offers incredible control over our Mac’s performance; however, some aspects could be improved. For instance, even though this application helped us recover space and free up memory, we often felt we were not in control. That is, there were not enough options to customize how these deletions or additions worked.

Similarly, features such as the duplicate finder did not work, and the tool’s impact on Mac performance was questionable at times.

The bottom line: which tool wins for performance?

After thorough testing and comparison, we have come to a few conclusions.

If performance is your sole focus when choosing a Mac cleanup or optimizer tool, you should definitely go with CleanMyMac. This app offers several optimized features that will speed up your Mac and ensure there is enough RAM and storage space. The better thing here is that CleanMyMac doesn’t take up a lot of system resources either.

If your priorities extend beyond performance, like real-time antivirus, a VPN, or ad-blocking bundled into a single subscription, MacKeeper offers a competitive all-in-one package. For pure Mac performance optimization, however, CleanMyMac is the more capable and reliable tool.

Loved the article, share!