CleanMyMac vs MediaOptim: Honest Comparison (2026)

An unbiased look at CleanMyMac ($90/year) and MediaOptim ($49 one-time). We'll tell you when CleanMyMac is the better choice.

Quick Verdict

CleanMyMac is a Swiss Army knife for Mac maintenance. If you need malware scanning, app uninstalling, and cache cleaning, it's excellent. But if your storage problem is large video and photo files, CleanMyMac can only delete—not compress. MediaOptim solves the actual problem: shrinking media files so you keep everything.

CleanMyMac

$90/year (Subscription)

MediaOptim

$49 (One-time)

Feature Comparison

FeatureCleanMyMacMediaOptim
Video Compression
Photo Compression
Audio Compression
Batch Folder Processing
Space Scanner
HEVC/H.265 Support
100% Local & Private
Format Conversion (WebP/AVIF)
Price$90/year$49

Detailed Breakdown

Price

CleanMyMac costs $90/year as a subscription—that's $270 over 3 years. MediaOptim is $49 once, forever. If you only need media compression, that's a significant saving. However, CleanMyMac bundles many more features (malware, uninstaller, etc.), so the value depends on what you need.

Features

CleanMyMac excels at finding and removing junk: caches, old logs, broken downloads, mail attachments, unused apps. It's genuinely useful for general Mac cleanup. But it has zero media compression capabilities. It can't convert your 4K videos to HEVC or shrink your JPEG photos. MediaOptim does exactly that—compresses video, photos, and audio with batch processing.

Ease of Use

Both apps are easy to use. CleanMyMac has arguably one of the best UIs in the Mac utility space—everything is one-click. MediaOptim is also straightforward: drop files or scan for large media, then compress. Neither has a steep learning curve.

Privacy

Both process data locally on your Mac. CleanMyMac does require an internet connection for license verification and malware definitions. MediaOptim works 100% offline after installation.

Format Support

CleanMyMac doesn't deal with media formats at all—it's not a compression tool. MediaOptim supports video (H.264, HEVC/H.265, ProRes), photos (JPEG, PNG, WebP, AVIF, HEIF), and audio (MP3, AAC, FLAC, WAV) compression.

When to Choose CleanMyMac

  • You need a full Mac maintenance suite (malware, cache, apps)
  • Your storage problem is from app caches, system junk, and unused apps—not media
  • You want a single tool that does everything (even if not deeply)
  • You don't mind paying $90 every year

When to Choose MediaOptim

  • Your storage is eaten by videos, photos, and audio files
  • You want to keep all your files but make them smaller
  • You prefer a one-time $49 payment over yearly subscriptions
  • You need actual media compression (HEVC, WebP, AVIF)

CleanMyMac: Strengths & Weaknesses

Strengths

  • All-in-one Mac maintenance (cache, malware, uninstaller)
  • Beautiful, polished interface
  • System health monitoring
  • Smart scan for quick cleanup
  • Well-known and trusted brand

Weaknesses

  • Expensive annual subscription ($90/year adds up fast)
  • Cannot compress media files at all—only deletes
  • Overkill if your problem is specifically large media files
  • Space "optimization" means removing files, not shrinking them

Frequently Asked Questions

Can CleanMyMac compress videos and photos?
No. CleanMyMac is a system cleaning tool that removes junk files, caches, and unused apps. It cannot compress or re-encode media files. If you need to shrink your videos and photos without deleting them, you need a dedicated media compression tool like MediaOptim.
Is CleanMyMac worth $90/year just for storage?
If your storage problem is system junk, caches, and unused apps, CleanMyMac can help. But if large media files are the main culprit (which is true for most people), CleanMyMac can only suggest deleting them. MediaOptim at $49 one-time actually compresses them so you keep everything.
Can I use both CleanMyMac and MediaOptim together?
Yes, they complement each other well. CleanMyMac handles system junk, caches, and app removal, while MediaOptim compresses your actual media files. Together they cover all angles of storage optimization.
Does CleanMyMac delete important files?
CleanMyMac is generally safe and focuses on removing unnecessary files. However, its approach is deletion-based. MediaOptim takes a different approach—it shrinks files rather than removing them, so you never lose any content.

Ready to Free Up Storage?

Compress your videos, photos, and audio files without losing quality. One-time purchase, no subscription, 100% private.

Download MediaOptimView Pricing

$49 one-time. Free trial available. macOS only.