Same job, lighter app
The big-name apps, and what we'd use instead on Mac and Windows. Every app here comes with one membership, from $1.99/month.
Chess alternative app for Mac & Windows
Chess comes free on every Mac for a quick game against the computer. ChessCafe is free too, runs on Mac and Windows, and turns each capture into a fight between sculpted 3D armies.
Preview alternative app for Mac & Windows
Preview is the Mac's free go-to for cropping, resizing and marking up images. Pixpresso does those everyday jobs on Mac and Windows, in a download under 10 MB, and it's free too.
Quicken alternative app for Mac & Windows
Most people keep Quicken around to track spending and stay on top of bills. MoneyCoffee does that as a real desktop app on Mac and Windows, an 8.2 MB download, with your data on your own disk and no bank to link.
Typora alternative app for Mac & Windows
Typora hides the Markdown as you type. MarkdownCafe keeps your text on the left and the finished page on the right, on Mac and Windows, in a download about half the size of Typora's on a Mac.
iA Writer alternative app for Mac & Windows
iA Writer is loved for its quiet, focus-first screen, but you buy it again for each platform. MarkdownCafe gives you focus and typewriter modes and a live preview on Mac and Windows, in a 7.7 MB Mac download.
ScreenFlow alternative app for Mac
Use ScreenFlow to record demos and tutorials on your Mac? ScreenMotion records your screen and zooms in on every click by itself, in an 11.2 MB app, with no $199 licence or paid upgrades.
Camtasia alternative app for Mac
Most people use Camtasia to record and polish a quick app walkthrough. ScreenMotion does that on a Mac with zooms that follow your clicks on their own, in an 11.2 MB app that comes with a membership instead of a $179.88 yearly plan.
Screen Studio alternative app for Mac
Screen Studio is the go-to for Mac demo videos with automatic zooms. ScreenMotion does the auto zoom too, in an 11 MB download, as part of a membership from $1.99 a month instead of a $9 a month subscription.
YNAB alternative app for Mac & Windows
Most people use YNAB to see where their money goes and stick to a budget. MoneyCoffee does that on Mac and Windows from your bank statement, pasted messages or receipt photos, with no bank to link and no $109 a year subscription.
WinRAR alternative app for Mac
WinRAR has no Mac app with a window: on macOS, RARLAB offers a command-line tool only. PressZip is a native Mac app that opens RAR, ZIP, 7z, TAR and Gzip files with a double-click, and makes password-protected ZIPs.
Bartender alternative app for Mac
Most people use Bartender to hide the menu bar icons they don't need. Barkeeper does just that on your Mac, in a 1.2 MB app with no account and no cloud.
1Password alternative app for Mac & Windows
Most people use 1Password to remember every login. PassBrew does that on your Mac with a KeePass file you own, a 12.7 MB native app with no account and no vendor cloud.