13 November 2026 · 6 min read
MacUpdater has stopped — what to use instead in 2026
For years, MacUpdater was the easy answer to a simple question: "Which of my Mac apps are out of date?" Its developer has ended development, and the free version's update data won't keep working forever. If you relied on it, here is how to keep your apps current today.
Why the App Store isn't enough
The Mac App Store only updates apps you bought there. Many of the most popular Mac apps — browsers, code editors, video tools, utilities — are downloaded directly from the developer or installed with Homebrew. Each of those updates itself differently, or not at all, so a few always fall behind. Outdated apps miss security fixes and are the first to break after a macOS upgrade.
Option 1: check by hand (free)
Open each app and choose Check for Updates… from its app menu. It works, but with 30+ apps it's slow, easy to forget, and some apps have no such menu.
Option 2: Homebrew (free, for the Terminal-comfortable)
If you installed apps with Homebrew, brew outdated --cask --greedy lists the ones with newer versions and brew upgrade --cask --greedy updates them. It only knows about apps Homebrew installed, and it's a command-line tool.
Option 3: Latest (free, open source)
Latest is a small free app that checks apps using the Sparkle update framework plus App Store apps. It's a good start, but apps that don't use Sparkle are missed.
Option 4: a full update manager
A dedicated update manager combines several sources — the developers' own update feeds, Homebrew's catalogue and the App Store — into one list, so you see every update in one place. When choosing one, check:
- Coverage: how many of your apps it actually tracks. Try the free scan first.
- False alarms: it shouldn't nag you about betas or versions that don't run on your macOS.
- Safety: it should verify the developer's signature before installing and keep the previous version so you can roll back.
- Fair pricing: know whether you're paying once or yearly, and what happens when you stop paying.
Our take: Uptend
We built Uptend because we missed MacUpdater too. It feels familiar from the first launch: one table of your apps, installed vs. newest version, and an Update All button. It can import your MacUpdater ignore list, checks which apps are ready for macOS 28, and keeps previous versions so any update can be undone.
Scanning and update alerts are free forever. Pro ($9.99/year, 4 Macs) installs updates for you, in one click or in the background. When a subscription ends, only the Pro parts switch off.
Whatever you choose
Keep a Time Machine backup, update before upgrading macOS, and remove apps you no longer use — fewer apps means fewer updates to worry about.