购物车 (
Mole, CleanMyMac, and App Cleaner & Uninstaller compared
数码荔枝编辑部
With so many Mac cleanup and optimization tools available, which one should you choose?
The LIZHI.SHOP software store added Mole last week, and many users have left comments asking how it differs from established tools such as CleanMyMac and App Cleaner & Uninstaller.
So this time, I am putting all three apps side by side and comparing them across four dimensions: basic features, specialized capabilities, hands-on experience, and cost of choosing.
Basic features: All-in-one or specialized
Let us start with the most basic feature coverage.
Mole combines cache cleanup, app management (uninstalling and updating), system optimization, disk analysis, and hardware monitoring. Its focus is clear: use a single app to handle everyday Mac maintenance needs.
For users looking for Mac system cleanup software that also provides hardware status monitoring, its coverage is fairly comprehensive.
CleanMyMac is also a comprehensive tool. In addition to junk cleanup and app uninstallation, it covers features such as malware detection, privacy data cleanup, and mail attachment cleanup.
App Cleaner & Uninstaller, on the other hand, is much more specialized. It focuses primarily on app uninstallation, residual file cleanup, software updates, and startup item management. It does not support system cache cleanup, hardware performance monitoring, or disk space analysis.
So this round is easy to understand:
For comprehensive maintenance, consider Mole and CleanMyMac. If you only want to fully uninstall apps and keep them under control, App Cleaner & Uninstaller is a better fit as a Mac uninstaller.
Specialized capabilities: Three different approaches
The real differences come from what each app does best.
Mole's standout feature is hardware monitoring. It can display detailed information such as CPU, memory, temperature, and fan speed, giving users a comprehensive view of the Mac's operating status.
CleanMyMac leans more toward security and comprehensive maintenance. It includes malware detection along with features such as privacy scanning. If you want a single tool to cover as many cleanup, security, and storage management needs as possible, its feature set is indeed comprehensive.
App Cleaner & Uninstaller's advantage is its deeper app management.
In my testing, it was the only one of the three apps to identify 11.91 GB of residual files left behind on the computer by the already uninstalled Tencent App Store app.
There is also a clear difference when it comes to software updates. On the same Mac, App Cleaner & Uninstaller found 59 apps with available updates and supports one-click batch updating.
Mole found 46. CleanMyMac found only 27, and most came from the Mac App Store.
Therefore, if uninstall residuals and software updates are your top priorities, App Cleaner & Uninstaller is actually the strongest of the three.
Hands-on experience: The differences are substantial
The features may appear similar, but the differences are even more noticeable in everyday use.
To be clear, this section reflects my subjective impressions after using all three apps on the same Mac. It is not a rigorous performance benchmark.
Mole's first impression for me was that it was lightweight.
With hardware monitoring running in the background, it had no noticeable impact on system performance. Information such as CPU, memory, and temperature can also be placed directly in the menu bar. When more data is needed, the compact panel opens without taking up much space or covering half the screen.
By comparison, CleanMyMac has a stronger presence.
It does offer plenty of features, but the app itself is also bulkier. It also provides menu bar hardware monitoring, but you must click its icon to view detailed information, and the expanded panel takes up significantly more space.
There is one important difference between them: whether you can see clearly what will be deleted.
Mole places more emphasis on reviewing before deleting. It lists the specific files before cleanup and asks the user to confirm first. Similarly, App Cleaner & Uninstaller displays associated files and residuals directly when uninstalling an app, making the entire process fairly transparent.
In CleanMyMac, both the smart scan and uninstaller lean more toward one-click processing. After scanning, all detected cleanup items are selected by default, while their specific contents must be reviewed on a secondary page.
Here, I recommend checking everything yourself before deleting anything. After all, data such as device backups that occupies substantial space is not necessarily the "junk" you want to delete.
▲ iOS device backup data selected for cleanup by default
Cost of choosing: A substantial difference
Finally, let us look at the three apps' license models and overall positioning, which are among their most obvious differences.
Mole uses a lifetime license and supports activation and use on 2 Macs.
The Chinese version of App Cleaner & Uninstaller uses a lifetime, single-device license.
CleanMyMac, on the other hand, offers different license options, including a subscription and a one-time purchase.
Overall, Mole's advantages are fairly clear.
Compared with App Cleaner & Uninstaller, it adds cache cleanup, disk analysis, hardware monitoring, and system optimization. Compared with CleanMyMac, it covers most common maintenance needs, and its overall positioning makes it more suitable for everyday Mac maintenance.
Summary
The three apps are not simply about replacing one another. Each has its own priorities.
CleanMyMac offers a comprehensive feature set covering cleanup, security, privacy, and storage management, but the app itself is also relatively heavier.
App Cleaner & Uninstaller specializes in software uninstallation and management. If what annoys you most is apps that will not uninstall cleanly, too many residual files, or a desire to update software in one place, it is the most specialized option.
Mole falls between the two. It is more comprehensive than a dedicated uninstaller and lighter than CleanMyMac, while also offering the highly useful addition of hardware monitoring.
So, if you want a simple recommendation:
If you only care about software management, choose App Cleaner & Uninstaller.
If you need features exclusive to CleanMyMac, such as security and privacy, choose CleanMyMac.
If you want a single tool to handle most Mac cleanup, maintenance, and monitoring needs, I currently recommend Mole.
For most users who simply want to reduce junk on their Mac, install fewer tools, and still be able to check hardware status at any time, Mole is indeed the most balanced of the three.
这里空空如也，暂时~