AppCleaner vs Hazel

AppCleaner

• Mac users who want an app's support files removed along with the app
• People who want a single-purpose uninstaller at no cost
• Older Macs: builds are kept for macOS 10.10 and later

Hazel

• Mac users whose Downloads and Desktop folders fill up with unsorted files
• Filing scanned bills and statements by the text inside them
• People who want file automation bought once instead of by subscription

AppCleaner

• macOS only. The current version, 3.7, is for macOS 15 and later; earlier systems need one of the older builds.
• It uninstalls apps and their related files; the vendor's page describes no other cleanup or maintenance functions.
• The vendor's site is a short description with downloads. It shows no documentation, changelog or price list.

Hazel

• macOS only; Hazel 6 requires macOS 13.0 (Ventura) or later.
• After the 14-day evaluation, an unlicensed copy drops to Demo mode: one monitored folder, two active rules and no import or export.
• A license covers one major version. Moving from any earlier version to Hazel 6 is a $20 paid upgrade.
• Rule sync works per folder and cannot merge rule sets: a second Mac's existing rules for that folder are overwritten.

AppCleaner

Drag-and-drop uninstalling

Drop an application onto the AppCleaner window and it searches for the files that belong to that app.

Related-file search

Looks for the small files an installation distributes throughout the system, which otherwise keep using disk space after the app is gone.

Review before deleting

Found files are shown before anything is removed. A 2015 Macworld walkthrough describes checkmarks beside each file and says removed items go to the Trash.

SmartDelete

According to the same Macworld walkthrough, switching on SmartDelete in Preferences makes AppCleaner look for related files whenever an app is dragged to the Trash.

Builds for older macOS versions

The vendor lists version 3.7 for macOS 15 and later, 3.6.8 for macOS 10.14 up to 15.6, 3.6 for macOS 10.13 and 3.4 for macOS 10.10 up to 10.12.

Hazel

Folder rules

Hazel monitors the folders you pick and applies rules, much like those in Apple Mail, that match items by name, size, date, type, source website and other attributes.

File actions

A matching item can be moved, copied, renamed, sorted into subfolders, tagged, commented, archived or synced, with patterns that build names and tags from its attributes.

Reading file contents

Hazel 6 uses on-the-fly text recognition to read text in PDFs without OCR and in image files, and reads encrypted PDFs when you supply a password.

Trash management and App Sweep

Deletes items from the Trash by age or when it grows too large. App Sweep notices a discarded application and offers to remove its support files as well.

Scripts, Shortcuts and uploads

Rules can run Shortcuts, AppleScript or JavaScript, Automator workflows and shell scripts, and can upload files to FTP, SFTP or WebDAV servers.

Revert and rule sync

Revert returns a file to its original place and name, with its tags and comments. A folder's rules can sync through a shared file to other Macs or user accounts.

AppCleaner

• AppCleaner$0

  The full uninstaller, downloaded directly from the vendor's page. No price is listed, and donations are optional.

Hazel

• Hazel 6$42

  one-time purchase, single-user license

  Includes free upgrades within version 6. The license keeps unlocking the version you bought after a new major version ships.

• Hazel 6 Family Pack$65

  one-time purchase, up to 5 household members

  One license for up to 5 members of your household. For private households only.

AppCleaner

No public discounts listed.

Hazel

• Other savings

  $20 upgrade from any previous version

  Owners of any earlier Hazel version can upgrade to Hazel 6 for $20. The price is the same for single-user and family pack licenses.

• Other savings

  Volume pricing on request

  The store page asks buyers interested in volume pricing or with other special pricing needs to contact Noodlesoft.