Add your freeware! Know of some cool free software for the Mac that's not listed here? Visit the Frisky Forum or send me a note so I can add it!

Programs that Frisky likes best are featured with red stars ().

Found a bad link? I'm not surprised. Most of this software is old, old, old. If you find a bad link and know of a good one, please let me know. Otherwise, I probably don't have time to fix all of these myself. If the link's broken, try Google or MacUpdate, but chances are the software is outdated and gone by now.

Note: While this site is ancient and hasn't been updated for some time, I have been able to add Frisky current list of freeware favorites from Delicious.

Recent freeware highlights

December 7, 2007

• Alarm Clock -- Full-featured alarm clock for Mac OS X.
• iWannaSleep -- Timer and alarm clock app.
• Simple CSS -- Manage your CSS styles easily.
• Name Changer -- Change file names more easily.

November 17, 2007

• Nexuiz -- First person shooter game.

September 19, 2007

• Quinn -- Tetris game you can play over a network.
• App Delete -- Deletes programs and associated files.
• SchoolHouse -- Organizational program for students to track classes and assignments.
• WhatSize -- Easily keep track of the largest files on your computer.
• HandBrake -- Rip DVDs in a variety of formats.

July 23, 2007

• DinkyDungeon -- A 2-D RPG with many levels.

July 18, 2007

• EZ Money -- Checkbook-like budgeting program.
• MacTrek -- Multi-directional shooter for up to 16 players.

July 3, 2007

• FlickrBackup -- Java app to backup all your Flickr photos.

June 27, 2007

• Meteorologist -- Hooray! The sweet little menubar weather app returns, bugs fixed.

May 11, 2007

• Minions of Mirth -- An MMORPG with no monthly subscription fee? Oh my. MacUpdate has this listed as "free," but it may just be a "Free demo," as they have a $30 version as well, but there still is no monthly fee.

May 9, 2007

• SiteSucker -- Download entire websites.

May 7, 2007

• Bean -- A free, lightweight Word Processor.

April 26, 2007

• MacSword -- A program for reading the bible, devotionals, and other biblical files. It is compatible with Sword Project versions of the Bible available for free here.
• 7zX -- Compresses files even tighter than ZIP.
• TubeTV -- Download YouTube movies and convert them using Perian.

April 23, 2007

• JA Backup -- Java-based backup program using ZIP files.

April 17, 2007

• Sauerbraten -- a free multiplayer/singleplayer first person shooter that has some gorgeous graphics. Try this out!

April 9, 2007

• Buddi -- Finance and budgeting app written in Java.

April 3, 2007

• Actiontastic -- To-do list manager that supports the GTD method.
• iGTD -- Another to-do list manager that supports the GTD method.
• FontNuke -- Clean out your font caches.
• GetTube -- Download music and video from YouTube.
• Pac the Man -- Free Pac-Man program.
• SigmaChess -- Free 3D chess program.
• TrailRunner -- Map out trips for hiking, biking, etc.

March 30, 2007

• MagiCal -- Menu-based calendar and clock.
• Google Notifier -- Be alerted with new mail and calendar events.
• SuperTuxKart -- A racing game like Super Mario Kart featuring Tux the Linux penguin.

March 8, 2007

• IceClean -- System maintenance utility.

March 5, 2007

• Exif Untrasher -- Recover pictures that you may have erased from your digital camera!

February 15, 2007

• Norrkross Register -- Keep a database of items like DVDs, books, et cetera in an XML file with this application.

January 2, 2007

• Free Ruler -- A free set of screen rulers to measure pixels and other units of measurement based on your screen resolution.

November 27, 2006

• Minuteur -- This is a kind of egg timer for the Mac, useful for when you're cooking and surfing the web at the same time.
• Mulberry -- This calendar and e-mail program has been around for a while, but now it's free!
• VirtueDesktops -- Advanced desktop manager for Mac OS 10.4.

August 21, 2006

• Buddi -- Budget software written in Java.
• Mulberry -- This calendar and e-mail program has been around for a while, but now it's free!
• VirtueDesktops -- Advanced desktop manager for Mac OS 10.4!

June 21, 2006

• stellarium -- A free open source planetarium for your MAC. It shows a realistic sky in 3D, just like what you see with the naked eye, binoculars or a telescope.

April 24, 2006

• OSXII -- An Apple ][ Emulator.

March 17, 2006

• LinoType FontExplorer X -- A robust font management system that's pretty darn slick. It's free because they have a "store" feature you can use to buy Linotype fonts, but that's the only catch.

February 23, 2006

• SlipBox -- Notepad-like tool.
• Frictionless -- If you've joined the Getting Things Done cult (by David Allen), then you'll want to try out this task manager.

February 22, 2006

• iTerm -- Terminal program that might be better than Terminal.app, we don't know.

January 26, 2006

• celtx -- Collaboration software for screenwriters. It seems to be in Beta, so we're not sure if it'll stay free. Try it out anyway.

January 25, 2006

• TextWrangler -- The shinier, newer version of BBEdit Lite, and now it works with Cyberduck for editing files via FTP.
• aMSN -- An open-source MSN client that has features the "official" program doesn't, like a web cam.
• Khronos -- Keep track of your time for freelance projects.

January

• Pac the Man -- Remake of the classic arcade game.
• Freespace 2 -- Space battle game.
• Frozen Bubble -- Based on the popular video game Bust a Move.
• Audacity -- Edit and mix your sound files with ease.

December 21, 2005

Check out this collection of free software from FreeSMUG, which includes the "best of the best" in free software.

• Jahshaka -- Open-source video effects editor.
• SeeEdit Mini -- XHTML, XML editor.
• DTV -- Internet TV app.
• MenuMeters -- Tracks different information on your Mac.
• Gantt Project -- Project Management system.
• Max -- Encodes audio files, such as MP3, LAME, Ogg Vorbis.

December 12, 2005

• CreaText -- HTML editor.
• Vienna -- Smooth RSS reader.

December 2, 2005

• Touvaly -- Catalog your disks and removable media so you can find files easily later. There have been $hareware programs like this since the beginning of time (usually for $30 or more). Nice to see a free one again!

November 14, 2005

• iBackup -- Free backup software.

November 11, 2005

• Journler -- A daily notebook to put your thoughts.

November 9, 2005

• MyMind -- A very useful note-taking tool allowing you to sort your ideas with hierarchicial lists and multiple columns.
• bdd Business -- Business software to help handle invoices, reports, etc.
• Personal Aide -- Keep track of files and components needed for a project (it's the right-most icon on the page).

November 8, 2005

• Exif Untrasher -- Recover trashed images from a digital camera media card.

November 7, 2005

• Teleport -- Control several Macs with one mouse and keyboard. I'm assuming this is similar to VNC.
• WeatherDock -- Get the weather through your dock or a window.
• Building -- An "interactive fiction" game similar to those Infocom games of the early 80s. It comes with an interpreter.

November 4, 2005

• Aethera -- Free Personal Information Manager.
• Chandler -- An open-source Personal Information Manager.
• FinderPop -- a delightful control panel that makes the control key worth pressing.

October 31, 2005

• ShakesPeer -- An open source Direct Connect client.
• Camino -- This Mozilla browser now supports CamiFlash to block Flash content and CamiSearch to edit the search function, so now it's just about perfect!

October 24, 2005

• MassReplaceIt -- Find and replace strings in a bunch of files.

October 19, 2005

• Coccinella -- Share your Mac with a common whiteboard window system.

October 12, 2005

• gDisk -- Use your gMail account to upload and download any files you want.
• BidNobble -- One of those auction sniping tools.

October 7, 2005

• NeoOffice J -- A Java version of NeoOffice that runs without relying on X11. It's actually much faster than I expected, and works nicely with Microsoft Office files. Try it!

October 3, 2005

• iEyes -- Eyeballs follow your cursor around the screen.
• Enemy Territory -- This is allegedly a first-person shooter, though I couldn't quite figure it out. My machine probably isn't fast enough to run it properly.
• Konfabulator -- When Apple "invented" the Dashboard, they were really just copying this. Also available for Windows.

September 23, 2005

• Seashore -- Image manipulation program built with Cocoa and code from the GIMP. It has some simple, basic features such as anti-aliased text, layers, and alpha channels. It also works with CMYK!
• Christmas Super Frog -- Christmas-themed Frogger clone.
• MacScan -- Designed to remove spyware, keystroke loggers, and Trojans from your Mac system. Hmm. I wasn't aware any existed.

September 21, 2005

• Critical Mass -- A space shoot 'em up game that uses Opel GL. Looks similar to Galaga.
• Queen Firefly -- Capture the fireflies and try to locate the Queen.
• Gizmo -- Internet telephony application designed to look like iChat.
• WorkTimer -- Keep track of how much time you spend on different projects.
• Inkscape -- Drawing program similar to CorelDraw, but runs in the X11 environment.

September 19, 2005

• AquaMacs -- A graphic version of the legacy text editor, Emacs.
• TimeCounter -- a countdown, stopwatch, reminder and alarm clock.
• TinyAlarm -- Puts a small alarm clock in the menubar. Works like an egg timer.
• Smultron -- Elegant little text editor that works with Cyberduck.

August, 2005

• Battle for Wesnoth -- A turn-based strategy game with a fantasy theme. This one looks quite awesome and has options for network play.
• FreeCiv: Simulation game like Civilation. Requires Apple X11.
• Freespace -- Space combat game.

May 6, 2005

• BootCD: Create Mac OS X boot disks.
• Butler: Launches files, keeps bookmarks, Does Things.
• BwanaDik: Another IP address app with additional features to see when you're connected.
• cocoaTunes: media player
• Cyberduck 2.4.3: Free FTP client
• iSnip: Handles little text snippits with a system-wide menu bar item.
• Mini vMac: Emulates Mac Plus and lets you play old, old games.
• OfficeTimer: time projects for freelance work.
• SideNotes: Puts a drawer on the side of the screen where you can put notes.
• skiTunes: An open-source replacement for iTunes.
• SoulSeeX: A SoulSeek client.
• Youpi Optimizer: Delete unused language packages for extra space.

Merry Christmas!

• CalendarClock -- Add a very nice calendar and clock to your menubar that integrates with iCal!
• ABIWord -- A very robust word processor that most of the features you'd expect from Microsoft Word. Really! It can even open and save Word files!
• Audion -- A sleek little MP3 player and encoder. It used to be shareware, but now it's retired.
• BootCD Create a boot disk for Mac OS X that you can burn onto a DVD.
• Car CompanionCar Companion - It's supposed to help you keep track of your car maintenance, but I couldn't get it to work.
• clamXav - Anti-Virus software.
• Compress - Squeeze your files with GZIP, BZIP, and other formats.
• Icarus - A Japanese side-scrolling shooter game.
• NVU - A WYSIWYG HTML editor based on Gecko, which is part of the Mozilla project.
• Spectacular -- Spectacular is a spectral audio composition environment (whatever that is!)
• Stunt Copter -- An old classic, now for Mac OS X!

October 9, 2004

• Camino ExtraPrefs  -- Add several bonus features to Camino, like ad blocking, controls on animated GIFs, and other stuff.
• EasyFind -- An alternative way to find your files.
• GPS photo -- Store GPS photo in an image file.
• MacMAME -- Play classic coin-op arcade games on your Mac--no quarters!
• MP3-Info CMM -- Check an MP3's ID tags with a contexual menu.
• Mr. Clean -- Find and trash duplicate files.
• NewsFire -- Read RSS feeds in an iChat-like interface.
• OSX Planet  -- Put a live globe on your desktop, complete with cloud coverage and other goodies.
• Priviledge Fix -- Change user priviledges in nested folders.
• PicturePopPro -- Grab a preview of an image with a contextual menu.
• RSSOwl -- Java RSS newsfeed reader.
• SMART reporter - Warns you if you have SMART-diagnosed hard disk problems.
• SpamAssassin -- Server side spam filtering program that works great, but I don't know how to install myself.
• ThumbsUp -- Automatically makes thumbnails for your images.
• Text to MP3 -- Allegedly turns text into audible MP3 with Apple's text to speech software, but I couldn't get it to work.
• SliMP3 Server -- Stream your MP3s.
• XMenu -- Like the old Apple menu.

September 15, 2004

• Gemini -- Sync tool.
• iSwipe -- A peer-to-peer file-swapper that works on several networks. I prefer LimeWire, but hey, whatever works.
• Monolingual -- Chances are, you only use one of the dozens of languages built into the Mac OS. Trash the rest!
• Memtest -- Test your RAM for problems. This is a command-line program, so you may want to download a GUI wrapper for it called Rember.
• SpyDisk and SpyDisk -- For use with the free SpyMac World service. Like iDisk, but free.
• Volley -- A community-based file/server software like Hotline that has chat rooms and file sharing.
• Zoe -- A program for managing your mail. That's all I know. Try it!

August 29, 2004

• AstroShare -- Used to remotely control a Mac or PC, much like VNC.
• Audacity -- Edit and create audio with loads of extra features.
• HimmelBar -- Launch and quit programs more easily.
• Gimp App -- The best free alternative to Photoshop.
• ImageWell -- Crop your pictures and put them online.
• jIRCii -- Java IRC program.
• KTA Tennis -- Put the current weather in your menubar. Oh yeah!
• Laughing Man -- Detect when your favorite web pages change.
• Mac the ripper -- Extract video from DVD.
• PGP Freeware -- Free encryption software!
• SNES9X CUSTOM 1.43 -- Put the current weather in your menubar. Oh yeah!
• Squid Little -- Put the current weather in your menubar. Oh yeah!
• SuperBrain -- MasterMind game of logic and deduction.
• Thunderbird -- E-mail program.
• VLC Media Player -- Play DIVX, AVI, and MPEG-4 movies as well as DVDs outside your own region! How cool is this?
• Xfolders -- Browse your files in 3D.

June 17, 2004

• Conversation 2  -- Significant upgrade tothe IRC program, with the option to save chat sessions automatically!
• Fish-- A virtual fish tank with loads of options.
• Meteorologist  -- Put the current weather in your menubar. Oh yeah!
• My Sokoban--Push blocks around in this SNES-looking game.
• Onyx -- The best free maintenance utility for Mac OS X, period.
• OpenOffice -- A nice alternative to Microsoft's office suite, but it requires "X11," which I don't understand. Try it anyway!
• PGP Freeware -- The coolest encryption suite gets an upgrade.
• SubEthaEdit -- You and all your iChat buddies can edit one text document at the same time!
• SuperBrain -- Mastermind game clone.
• GNU Privacy Guard -- A free alternative to PGP with loads of add-ons, including GPG Tools and plug-ins for Mail.app and Entourage.

June 15, 2004

• Big Bang Chess -- Slick chess game with network capabilities.
• Butler -- File launcher, bookmark manager, pasteboard extension, and more all wrapped in a cute little icon. Try it out!
• CashBox -- Simple finance program.
• Escape Pod -- Force-quit apps, the dock, and use force-logout.
• FireFox -- Tried this browser yet? Give it a shot!
• Quinn -- Tetris game you can play over a network.
• Shiira -- Slick brower based on the Apple took kit (so it works like Safari, only better!) Perfect except it won't save passwords.
• Wiretap -- Record audio from the Internet or DVDs. I couldn't get this one to work. You try it!
• Yum! -- Recipe organizer with sample recipes!

May 20, 2004

• AuctionSieve -- Sort through eBay auction listings easily!
• BuddyRetriever -- Grab a dozen headlines, comic strips and more content for your online reading pleasure.
• Cacheout -- Clean out your caches and reclaim valuable disk space!
• Camino  -- Web surfers rejoice! The latest version of this tidy little browser is out, and it works great. Give it a whirl!
• CyberDuck -- An free FTP client that works great, with sync options and the ability to edit files online.
• Fire -- Use all popular Instant Messanging systems.
• MacBoot -- Change the boot image on your Mac. Just drag and drop a picture!
• Maintain -- Run various maintenance routines on your Mac.
• RadioRecord  -- Save streamed MP3s to your hard drive and set it to record at certain times like a VCR. It also integrates with iTunes, so your files are added to their own playlist.
• SilverCreator -- Create games on your Mac! I haven't used this, so try it out and let me know howy ou like it.
• SymbolicLinker -- Create UNIX friendly symbolic links (aliases, shortcuts, you know the deal!)
• SuperTux -- 2D side-scrolling game with that silly Linux penguin!
• XFactor -- A very slick peer-to-peer file-swapping program that runs on FastTrack, Gnutella, and OpenFT. How does that light your fire?

May 8, 2004

• Adium -- Free, multi-protocol instant message program. This rocks!
• iEatBrains -- Yum. This program will help you give your MP3s all the correct nametags, even if no one grabbed them from CDDB when they wre originally ripped!
• Laughing Man -- Check to see if web sites are updated.
• VLC -- Play a bunch different video formats, like DVD and VCD.
• XFolders -- Alternative to the Finder.

April 26, 2004

• AbiWord -- A free word processing program that is compatible with Microsoft Word and has many nice features. (Check out the screenshots!)
• MacSword -- Read the Bible on your Mac in several translations, including Hebrew! Very valuable for Bible scholars.
• Microsoft Expression -- A big drawing program for both Mac OS X and 9! It's quite a bit different from Illustrator, but it looks like it has many of the same features. Try it!
• PsyncX  -- A reliable backup program that runs quietly in the background.

Hungry for more freeware? Go visit MacUpdate.com! We find most of the freeware goodies listed here on MacUpdate, so check it.