Hazel vs Renamer (2026): which should you pick?

Pick Hazel if

• Fits if your Downloads and Desktop fill up with files you never sort
• Works for people who scan bills and statements and want them filed by the text inside

Look elsewhere if

• Skip it if you're on Windows or Linux, as it's macOS only, and Hazel 6 needs macOS 13.0 or later
• Tight if you're not paying, because Demo mode is one folder, two active rules and no import or export
• Not for you if you want every future version included, since a license covers one major version and the upgrade to 6 is $20
• Watch out: rule sync works per folder and overwrites a second Mac's rules instead of merging them
• Not for you if you want filing to work out of the box, since you write every rule yourself first

Pick Renamer if

• Fits if you repeat the same renaming jobs and want to save them as workflows
• Works for photo and music libraries named from tags

Look elsewhere if

• Skip it if you want to try before buying, as the pages we read state no trial
• Not for you if your Mac is older than macOS 15, because Renamer 7 won't run
• Pricey if you're upgrading: it needs a valid licence for the previous version
• Watch out: the $26 price comes from the page's structured data, not its visible text

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.

Renamer

• Renamer 7 needs macOS 15 or later, or Windows 10 or later; Renamer 6 does not work on macOS Tahoe.
• Upgrading from older versions needs a valid license for the previous version.
• The $26 price comes from the vendor page's structured data, as the buy step does not show it in page text.
• The pages we read do not state whether the download works as a trial before buying.

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.

Renamer

Reusable workflows

Save any setup as a Renamerlet and start from dozens of built-in workflows for common renaming jobs.

Chains for complex jobs

Assemble several rules into a chain to handle renames that a single find-and-replace cannot.

Live preview and Smart Undo

See how each file will be renamed before applying, and undo with a file backup if a result is wrong.

Photo and music tags

Add EXIF dates and GPS tags to photo names, and insert artist, album, title and track numbers from ID3 tags.

AI Assist on your computer

Suggests rename rules from a prompt using a local model of about 1.8 GB, downloaded once on opt-in; nothing is sent to a cloud service.

Rule library

Number files, find and replace, change case, use regular expressions, insert or remove text by position, and rename from a CSV file.

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.

Renamer

• Renamer 7$26

  one-time, per license

  License for Renamer 7 on macOS and Windows, AI Assist included. Upgrade discounts apply to owners of Renamer 6 or earlier.

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.

Renamer

• Other savings

  Upgrade discount for Renamer 6 owners

  Owners of a Renamer 6 license can upgrade to Renamer 7 for a discount, per the support page.