At a glance
Expert’s Rating
Pros
- Reasonable price points and speedy performance
- The 60-day trial offers a sufficient amount of time to know the program before being billed for it
- Good level of customization before each module is run
Cons
- Program opts into special offers unless the Privacy tab is configured to prevent this
- Cleanup functions can be somewhat destructive if you don’t stop and customize your functions
Our Verdict
Avast Cleanup Premium for Mac offers a handy array of utilities that are genuinely good at getting under the hood of your Mac and removing unwanted files, with some of the modules going beyond what’s expected. Still, the software requires that some care and customization be used lest you find yourself having wiped out a cookie file or copy that you may have needed. The software, especially with a 60-day free trial, is worth your Consideration.
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Sometimes a company may not bring something wildly original to the table, but can still be a contender in its market. This is the case with Avast Cleanup Premium for Mac, the latest catch-all system maintenance utility from Avast. The utility, which requires macOS 10.13 (High Sierra) or later to install and run, is available at price points between $2.49/month or $24.98 for the first year for one Mac and $2.89/month or $34.68 for the first year for up to 10 devices. Simply download it, install it, assign full access to your hard drive, and you’re good to go.
A free version that only offers a scan function is also available, and Avast allows for a 60-day free trial provided you submit your credit or debit card information.
Similar to other entries in our round up of the Best Mac Cleaners, Avast Cleanup Premium for Mac is divided into modules (Quick Clean, Clean Clutter, Clean Browser, Find Duplicates, Analyze Photos, Uninstall Apps, Startup Manager, System Monitor, and Statistics). As expected, the Quick Clean module offers the most generic cleaning experience to help wrangle back hard drive space and goes after app cache, log files, trash, cookies, and web cache files.
The other modules perform as their names would indicate but offer some interesting features along the way. The Find Duplicates folder hunts down all duplicates on your system and organizes them as All Files, Documents, Pictures, Songs, Videos, Folders, and Others, offering a good level of control in the process. The Analyze Photos module allows for both local and external photo libraries and volumes to be scanned and works well, the module pointing out the rougher copies of old photos and offering to delete them.
Foundry
The unexpected jewels of the utility come in the form of the Uninstall Apps, Startup Manager, System Monitor, and Statistics modules. The Uninstall Apps module digs deep into macOS to retrieve both main-level applications as well as their support systems and offers to remove them. The module also categorizes things as All apps, Unused apps that haven’t been used in 6 months or more, and Large apps that are 1GB or more in size, which turns out to be a handy approach.
The Startup Manager module impressed me in its ability to easily dig under the hood of macOS, locating no less than 51 startup items that could be toggled on or off as needed. The System Monitor offered a good user interface and layout, and also dug into system sensors such as fan speed, power usage, and battery condition, which was excellent to see.
Foundry
If there’s anything with Avast Cleanup Premium for Mac that needs fixing, it’s honestly coming from the corporate end. I received no reply from Avast as to questions I had, setting up the free 60-day trial took an extra day given a server-side error in activating the software online, and the software automatically opts into third-party product offers unless this option is clicked off in the Privacy tab, which gets annoying.
Yes, the software doesn’t bombard you with ads as to Avast’s other products, but these still feel like things that could be quickly remedied from the top down. Finally, the modules themselves, though useful, are also powerful and widely focused, and I felt that using the generic cleanup function without specifying what you wanted to clean up or get rid of was asking for trouble, especially when the browser cleaner offers to wipe out generic cookies and autofill items, which can be useful later. Be cautious when using these tools and you’ll be fine, but randomly using generic, sweeping tools can remove files and copies that you might need later.
Should you buy Avast Cleanup Premium for Mac?
What’s present here is a capable set of utilities that, while similar to several other packages on the market, does a great job getting under the hood of your Mac and helping to organize things as well as clear out the clutter. It isn’t perfect, and I thought the overly wide utilities could inadvertently clear out some files and copies that you might need later, but if you take your time and customize each function, this can work well for you.
Despite the fact that Avast is competing in an increasingly crowded field, the company has put together a viable set of utilities that do their job well, while the suite itself stands on its own and doesn’t constantly bombard you with ads as to Avast’s other products, which is appreciated. There’s something worth trying here, and while I wish their corporate approach to advertising and reply to media requests was better, they’ve offered a compelling product that installs easily, runs well, and does its job. And that’s saying something.
