Pearcleaner alternatives for 2026

Updated October 4, 2026

Pearcleaner is a free, source-available Mac uninstaller with a loyal following. Its developer has put the project on hold, so if you want an uninstaller that is still being updated, here are your options and how they compare.

What “on hold” means for Pearcleaner

In the project’s own words, development has “basically stopped since end of 2025”, and issue responses, feature work, pull request reviews and new releases are “effectively on hold indefinitely for now.” The developer also says the project is not abandoned entirely. The latest release is 5.4.3, from November 2025.

The copy you have stays installed, but no new releases are planned. Fixes for future macOS versions and answers to reported issues are not expected while the project is on hold.

What Pearcleaner does

Pearcleaner removes apps along with the files they leave behind, and adds many power-user tools: an orphaned-file search, a Finder extension, a monitor that cleans up when an app is moved to the Trash, a Homebrew manager, an app updater and command-line use. Since version 5.4.0 it moves removed files to the Trash and can undo the last 10 removals. It is free, requires macOS 13 or later, and its license, Apache 2.0 with Commons Clause, allows changes but not selling it.

A free alternative: AppCleaner

AppCleaner is a free, simple drag-and-drop uninstaller, and it was updated for macOS 27 in September 2026. If you want something free and simple, it is a good place to start.

A paid alternative: UninstallGuard

UninstallGuard is a careful uninstaller for $9.99 once, and it is actively developed. For every app it finds the data, caches, settings, containers, launch items, helpers and system extensions it left behind, and shows each one with its path, size, a plain confidence label and the exact reason it matched.

• Nothing starts selected. You choose what leaves.
• Everything you approve moves to the Trash. Its removal has no permanent-delete path.
• History records where every removed file came from.
• Possible Orphans finds leftovers from apps you deleted long ago.
• Apps installed with Homebrew are recognized, and Homebrew’s records can be updated as a separate step you confirm.
• Once enabled, you can start from a right-click in Finder.

Side by side

Which one fits you

Keep Pearcleaner if it does what you need today and you are fine with an app that is not being updated.

Choose AppCleaner if you want a free, simple uninstaller that is still being updated.

Choose UninstallGuard if you want every file explained before anything moves, nothing selected for you, and an uninstaller that is still being developed, paid for once.

Switching over

Open UninstallGuard, pick Pearcleaner, and review the files it lists before anything moves to the Trash, the same way you would for any other app. If you installed Pearcleaner with Homebrew, UninstallGuard recognizes that too. New to removing apps completely? Read how to completely uninstall an app on Mac.

Questions people ask