Hazel vs Keyboard Maestro

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

Keyboard Maestro

• Mac users who repeat the same multi-step tasks and want to automate them
• People who prefer paying once per major version to a subscription
• Users who want clipboard history, text expansion and app switching in one tool

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.

Keyboard Maestro

• macOS only; version 11 requires macOS 10.13 High Sierra or later.
• The license covers version 11.x. Later major versions are paid upgrades, which the vendor says it releases roughly every 12 to 36 months.
• There is no free plan: the programs are free to download and try, but continued use requires a license.
• Licensed per user for up to five Macs; customers with ten or more users are asked to contact the vendor for a volume quote.

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.

Keyboard Maestro

Macros built from triggers and actions

A macro pairs one or more triggers with a list of actions, created by hand or by recording. Built-in actions include control flow, conditions and loops, and third-party plug-in actions can be added.

Many trigger types

Macros can fire from a hot key, a typed string, a time of day or cron schedule, an application launching, a folder change, a USB or MIDI device, a Wi-Fi network change or a remote web link.

Clipboard history and named clipboards

The Clipboard History Switcher browses and pastes past clipboard entries, and an unlimited number of Named Clipboards are saved permanently.

Text, image and web actions

Type or paste strings, expand typed snippets, run calculations, OCR and capture images, and work with the front page in Safari or Chrome, including filling in forms.

Application and window control

Launch, quit, show or hide applications, move and resize windows, and switch between running apps and open windows with the Application and Window Switchers.

Scripting and syncing

Macros can run AppleScript, shell scripts and JavaScript, and can be triggered from scripts, a URL or the keyboardmaestro command-line tool. Macros sync across Macs through Dropbox or other file sharing.

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.

Keyboard Maestro

• Keyboard Maestro 11US$36

  one-time purchase, plus applicable tax

  A per-user license for version 11.x that an individual may use on up to five Macs. Not a subscription; version 11 can be used indefinitely.

• Upgrade to version 11US$25

  one-time upgrade, plus applicable tax

  For owners of any previous version. Purchases made since 1 March 2023 were issued a free upgrade to version 11.

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.

Keyboard Maestro

• Other savings

  US$25 upgrade from any previous version

  Owners of an earlier version can buy an upgrade to version 11 for US$25 plus tax instead of the US$36 new-license price.

• Other savings

  Volume discount for ten or more users

  The user manual asks customers with ten or more users to contact Stairways Software for a volume discount quote.