Ok, this is a click-bait but I actually install the following list of tools on all my machines because they are so useful and make my life so much easier and macOS itself even better. Some of them are free, some of them are restricted in my ecosystem (because of the amount of installs/licenses) and some cost just money on a subscription basis. I list them anyway because I think they are worth it. Some of them are also available for non-macOS users.
1. Homebrew
This is a package manager for macOS and the way to get a few of the apps on this list. It depends on the macOS XCode developer tools being installed on your system, but it will tell you if they are missing. If you are not familiar with using the terminal you will get used to it very easily, it's mostly just one line you need. To install it, it's also just one single line. Checkout the Homebrew homepage.
2. MacPaw's Clean my Mac
If you want your Mac to be fast and stable during the time, you need this tool. Yes, even macOS will get crammed and apps will leave all kinds of crap, and this tool will remove all of it reliably. It comes with a cost but it's worth every dime. Check out their pricing models here.
A free alternative might be the console based tool Mole.
3. Tinker Tool
This is the missing part of the macOS settings app. It allows you to control so many tiny but useful things in macOS. I use this especially to tame the macOS dock. Checkout it's full capabilities here.
4. Maccy
This is a tiny but powerful clipboard manager you may know from other systems. It stores your clipboard content in an infinite list, text and binary content, too, like images. If you are dealing with a lot of data to be used in different systems and environments, you need this one!
5. Xnip
Yes, macOS has it's own screenshot tool but this one is beyond that. It allow to create annotations, obfuscations and other add-ons in the captured image or video. The shortcut is customizable and even the location where data is stored. It very cheap on a yearly subscription, but worth every penny.
6. Alfred
macOSs Spotlight search is one of the best search engines of any operating system but it can be improved - with Alfred. Alfred is more than just a search engine for your machine, but check it out for yourself. It's free to test but the full potential comes with the Powerpack which is user-based and can come with lifetime free updates. Check it out here.
7. Bartender
This is a must have if you are using a laptop. The menubar will get crowded very soon and the notch also takes its space. Bartender groups and compresses your menubar icons and makes them still accessible even with limited space. Check it out here.
8. Stats
Stats is a set of menubar apps that show you the state of your system, may it be CPU/GPU load, disk space or network traffic. It's quite versatile configurable but lightweight. The best part: it's free and just one Homebrew install away: brew install stats.
9. Oh-My-ZSH
This is not a "real" app but an extension to your terminal but very useful if you are using Git. It extends your terminal experience with several useful add-ins. Guess what: it's being installed just using your terminal :-)
10. Parallels
If you need a "real" Windows environment even on your Mac you want to use Parallels. Of course there are other virtualization solutions but Parallels is so easy to use. It's not cheap though. If you are using Apple Silicon (the Macbook Neo is also supported) you even more want to use it since you easily install a Windows 11 ARM environment within a few minutes without any hassle. Checkout their price options here.
Honorable mentions
Terminal related
If you like the terminal just like I do, you want to checkout this set of instructions to make "sexy": https://ardyseto.github.io/blog/2025/beautify-mac-terminal/
If you are into crisp terminal fonts checkout this article.
I personally love the Lekton font for my terminal.
Task management
TickTick is a free but versatile tool to manage your tasks. It syncs throughout all your devices and comes with a hotkey to quickly add a task and manage the due date and time.
Editor's choice
Since I am a developer, I appreciate a great text editor. The champ still is Visual Studio Code but I also like to use Sublime for its simplicity and its search and replace functions.