Homebrew Alternatives for Mac

    There are many alternatives to Homebrew for Mac if you are looking for a replacement. The best Mac alternative is Cakebrew, which is both free and Open Source. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 25 alternatives to Homebrew and 12 are available for Mac so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting Mac alternatives to Homebrew are Nix Package Manager (Free, Open Source), MacPorts (Free, Open Source), Setapp (Paid) and Mac App Store (Free).

    This page was last updated Jan 24, 2021
    1. Cakebrew is the most convenient way to use Homebrew for your daily tasks! It does for Homebrew what Synaptics does to Linux package managers.
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    2. Nix Package Manager

      • Free • Open Source
      • Mac
      • Linux
      • BSD
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        Nix is a powerful package manager for Linux and other Unix systems that makes package management reliable and reproducible.
        No screenshots yet

      • MacPorts

        • Free • Open Source
        • Mac
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        The MacPorts Project is an open-source community initiative to design an easy-to-use system for compiling, installing, and upgrading either command-line, X11 or Aqua based open-source software on the Mac OS X operating system.
        No screenshots yet
        Almost everyone thinks MacPorts is a great alternative to Homebrew.
      • Setapp provides a curated collection of commercial apps available through a low-cost subscription. Access to the apps is driven by a straight-forward local app that neatly organizes them in a searchable, filterable and configurable list.
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        Setapp vs Homebrew opinions
        pros, cons and recent comments
        Homebrew is for open source packages. Setapp is just a subscription-based app ownership platform for proprietary applications.
        Negative comment • 10 months ago

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      • The Mac App Store is the best place to find apps for Mac. No more boxes, no more disks, no more time-consuming installation. Just like the App Store for iPhone and iPad, click once to download and install any app on your Mac.
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        Mac App Store vs Homebrew opinions
        pros, cons and recent comments
        Homebrew packages linux apps. The app store packages mac apps.
        Negative comment • over 1 year ago

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      • Fink

        • Free • Open Source
        • Mac
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        What is Fink? Fink is a project that wants to bring the full world of Unix Open Source software to Darwin and Mac OS X. As a result, we have two main goals. First, to modify existing Open Source software so that it will compile and run on Mac OS X.
        No screenshots yet
      • The best alternative to Ninite for Mac. Get multiple apps silently. Just choose what apps to install and get apps installed automatically, fast and easy.
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      • A simple command line interface for the Mac App Store. Designed for scripting and automation.
        No screenshots yet

      • Spack

        • Free • Open Source
        • Mac
        • Linux
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        A flexible package manager supporting multiple versions, configurations, platforms, and compilers.
        No screenshots yet

      • Rudix

        • Free • Open Source
        • Mac
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          Rudix is a package-based, user-friendly way to extend the Unix portion of Mac OS X with additional network utilities, computer languages, development libraries, text tools and everything else you missed from command line.
          No screenshots yet
        Showing 10 of 12 alternatives