CleanMyMac pricing increased from 2019 to 2025 almost 100%!
I have read many people complain about the constant push of prices by u/CleanMyMac folks from u/MacPaw. I include myself into these set of users. I really like CleanMyMac software but I wish they wouldn't be so aggressive with their pricing structure, or at least that they would honor customers of previous versions with the 50% discount they offered at the time. Also ensuring that customers who purchased CleanMyMacX some months before the launch of their latest version, also benefit of the latest version should be a common sense good practice out of respect to customers.
I checked how their website looked back in 2019 and they were the same as they are saying now. "Major Upgrades and features come at an additional upgrade cost". Ref: https://ibb.co/WNMMxn1S
Additionally, I find their pricing super aggressive in 2025. Ref. https://ibb.co/3mp596HR
CleanMyMac X Price Increase: 2019 vs 2025
Over the past six years, the price of CleanMyMac X has increased significantly. Below is a breakdown of the price changes, percentage increases, and a price-per-Mac comparison.
Insights on Pricing Strategy
- Single Mac Licenses Are Becoming Less Affordable
• The cost per Mac in the 1 Mac plan is now $119.95, making it the least cost-effective option.
- Multi-Mac Plans Are Less Cost-Efficient Than Before
• In 2019, the 5 Mac plan provided the best per-device value at $39.99 per Mac.
• In 2025, the price per Mac in the same plan is now $76.79, making it almost twice as expensive.
- Pricing Strategy Shift: Subscription Model Push?
• The pricing shift suggests that MacPaw may be steering customers toward subscription-based plans, as they provide predictable revenue for the company.
Their upgrade price in the past was 50% of the current cost, nowadays is even higher too.
I don't know if they are trying to push users to go for the subscription of their SetApp product, which gives you access to lots of other apps, (generally quite useful too), but I am allergic and very tired of subscriptions. I want to pay once, a fair price for good software and then upgrade if I really use it and think its worth the upgrade. But what CleanMyMac did now compared to the past with almost a 100% increase in costs, I don't find it fair at all. And honestly, as a supporter customer from many years, I would expect at least that they respected the same level of upgrade discounts they had at the time I purchased.
Final Thoughts
This significant increase in pricing means that CleanMyMac X is becoming a much more expensive investment for users, especially those needing multiple licenses. While inflation and software development costs may explain some of the rise, the almost double price increase for the 5 Mac plan raises questions about whether users will be forced into subscription models as the only viable option.