As of mid July 2026, here is an inventory of the apps I have installed on my 14” M5 Pro MacBook Pro (aka FrugalMac). All prices are listed in US dollars. For convenience, I’ve arranged my software stack into categories.
Essentials:
Alfred 5.x with PowerPack (~ $80)* – app launcher, clipboard manager, text expansion
HyperKey (free) – remap CapsLock key to Shift Option Command Control combo
Rectangle 0.96 (free) – window management
1password ($36 / year) – password manager
BBEdit 16 (free version) – text editor
Fantastical ($59 / year) – advanced calendaring app
Utilities:
Mole ($9) – app management, disk analysis, cleanup
Bloom ($16) – Finder replacement
Carbon Copy Cloner ($50) – disk cloning backup
EasyDMG (free) – one click DMG installs
Ghostty (free) – powerful Terminal replacement
Image2Icon (free) – make custom icons
macShot (free) – screenshot maker
Recordly (free) – screen recording software with intelligent zoom
SiliconScope (free) – menubar stats for Apple Silicon Macs
Synergy ($19) – share one keyboard and mouse across multiple computers
Backblaze ($99 / year) – encrypted cloud backups
PastePal ($15) – Universal Clipboard for iPhone and Mac
Helium (free) – privacy first Chrome-based browser
Productivity:
MS Teams** (web app)
MS Word** (web app)
OneDrive** (web app)
Notion Calendar (web app)
Zoom (free**)
RSS / Blogging/ Social Media:
Indigo ($36 / year) – Mastodon / BlueSky client
NetNewsWire (free) – RSS reader
Instagram (web app)
YouTube (web app)
MarsEDIT ($60) – Blogging
Design:
Adobe Creative Cloud ($50/month)**
Pica (free) – font mangement
Pika (free) – color picker
* purchased a MegaSupporter license more than a decade ago
** provided by the college
One-time purchases: $249
First year subscriptions: $230
Total cost: $479
Software costs ebb and flow, so this is just a snapshot of where things are at almost two months in with my new Mac laptop. My needs and requirements will most certainly grow and change over time.
-Krishna