Best Mac software bundles 2025 (free & paid): Get more, pay less

Building your Mac app library can get expensive fast. One app to clean up and optimize Mac, another to write better, a third to organize your clipboard… and suddenly, we are talking about $200 a year. Add a few professional apps, and the costs quickly get out of hand.

Mac software bundles make it cheaper and easier to get the apps you need, but deciding on the best ones can be a bit difficult. So, I've done the tough job for you. 

In this guide, I break down the most popular app bundles for Mac and show you the value each offers. 

Mac app bundle 2025 — let’s compare

Here's a quick overview of the best Mac app bundles 2025:

• Best overall

Setapp: The Mac software bundle offers users access to over 250 Mac, iOS, and web apps, ranging from utilities to development tools, for a flat monthly fee. All apps are full versions with no ads or upgrade fees.

• Best for one-time buyers 

BundleHunt: Here, you can buy individual apps at a huge discount. It's great if you know exactly what you want.

• Best free or open alternative

Homebrew + GitHub: At no cost, you can install a wide variety of apps, mostly via Terminal. Great for developers and minimalist users.

Why Mac users love app bundles in 2025

In 2025, Mac productivity software bundles have become quite popular as they offer better value than buying individual licenses. And with workflows becoming more diverse, it helps to have a range of quality apps at your disposal, without paying full price for each one.

Let's take a quick look at the actual factors driving this shift.

The cost of buying apps individually keeps adding up

If you only use one or two premium apps, paying for the licenses may not feel like a big deal. But when you start setting up your Mac for work, study, or creative projects, the number of tools you need adds up fast. Before long, you are paying a decent sum for 5-8 apps.

Here’s what you should know:

• Most premium apps today use a subscription model, which makes the cost even harder to manage. Even one-time licenses usually charge for major upgrades, so you'll still spend regularly.
• Considering that most premium Mac apps are subscription-based, the costs are an issue for many users. Even apps that have lifetime licenses will typically require periodic upgrades at a cost.
• Add a task manager, a clipboard manager, a few productivity tools, and a markdown writing app, and we are talking about $300-$800 every year. Sure, you'll get a few freebies here and there, but for heavy Mac users like freelancers, students, developers, and remote workers, these can't get you far.

App bundles for Mac help flip this equation. Instead of paying $30 here and $80 there, you get everything in one go – either through a flat fee or a discounted package.

Bundles simplify discovery and app management

Normally, you'd have to set up a few free trials to evaluate different ones. Considering that you'll also need different types of tools, app fatigue quickly sets in. And even after you identify the best apps for your workflow, you'll still need to deal with multiple licenses, updates, and paid upgrades.

Bundles help take all these out of the equation. A platform like Setapp offers hundreds of premium Mac apps you can try with full versions automatically enabled. This way, you can install several apps and identify the ones you need. The platform will then handle updates automatically, and you only need to deal with a single license. Less friction, more flow.

Best of all? You’ll get a chance to discover apps you didn't even know you needed. These include apps like menu bar managers (Bartender), email unsubscribe tools (Spark Mail), and Pomodoro timers (Focused Work).

The top paid Mac app bundles in 2025

I've limited the list to just bundles that offer pro-grade tools at good discounts or for free: Setapp, BundleHunt, and StackSocial.

Setapp — best all-in-one subscription

Setapp is undoubtedly the best value, especially if you compare Setapp vs buying apps individually. This Mac software bundle provides over 250 curated Mac, iOS, and web tools for a single flat fee monthly or annually. All the included apps are fully featured, with no locked features, upgrades, or ads. They span productivity, development, creativity, utilities, and more.

One of the best aspects of Setapp is that it provides a 7-day free trial that gives access to all apps with no feature limitations. You can install as many tools as you'd like. 

Here are a few of the most popular apps you'll get with Setapp:

• CleanMyMac (cleanup tool)
• Ulysses (writing)
• Craft (note-taking & docs)
• BetterTouchTool (custom gestures & shortcuts)
• Paste (clipboard manager)
• CleanShot X (advanced screenshots)
• MindNode Classic (mind mapping)
• Session (Pomodoro-style timing)
• SQLPro Studio (development)
• Downie (video downloader)

You can also read what Setapp is used for (with examples). Since you don't pay extra for installations, you get a risk-free chance to discover new premium apps.

Want to understand how apps are selected and added to Setapp? See the detailed process of how Setapp chooses the best apps for you.

"I'm a Productivity Nerd, and I love trying apps that have the promise to make things easier and save time at work. Setapp is a must-have subscription if you are into the Apple Ecosystem. Great suite of premium Mac Apps at a compelling price point", says Amit Desai, Content Creator, Setapp’s user.

BundleHunt — build-your-own discounted bundle

If you are more into lifetime purchases, you can check out BundleHunt. It's a platform that offers discounts for various Mac apps, often at a small unlock fee between $3 and $5. 

Unlike a Setapp subscription that provides constant access to specific apps, BundleHunt's model is more like a hunt, as the name states. It offers a rotating list of discounted apps that change after a few weeks, and you may get an app at a discount of up to 90%. 

One of the best aspects of the model:

• You get to cherry-pick only the apps you need. However, the app you want may not be in the bundle, so you may have to wait until it's on offer (if ever).
• App categories usually include photo editors, file managers, and utilities. 
• Most apps typically offer lifetime licenses, but some also provide annual (or 6-month) subscription plans. When these expire, you'll need to buy a new license from the developer or wait and hope for another discount.

StackSocial — deep discounts on lifetime licenses

StackSocial is like a deal warehouse. On the website, you'll find standalone deals for different types of digital purchases. Most of these are lifetime licenses to different software, although there are also subscription deals.

The discounts on StackSocial are quite huge, and you can buy an app for up to 95% off. You'll find several PDF editors, VPNs, privacy tools, antivirus software, and various utilities.

Most of the deals are geared towards small businesses, students, and creatives looking to lock in long-term value.

Free and open-source Mac bundles worth checking

Sometimes, you don't have to spend money on a license. In fact, some of the most powerful developer-grade tools come from the open-source world. They aren't "bundles" in the traditional sense but rather collections that allow you to access different apps for free.

Let’s take a look at some open-source Mac bundles.

Homebrew + Cask — App management for devs

Homebrew is a staple for developers as it helps install and manage command-line tools and open-source software (libraries, utilities, programming languages, etc.) that Apple doesn't provide by default. 

When you add its extension, Cask, you can also install and manage GUI apps you'd normally drag to the Applications folder. So, instead of downloading a .dmg file, dragging an app, and then deleting the .dmg, you only need to use a command like brew install --cask iterm2.

After installing apps, you also won't need to manually check and install updates. Simply running the command brew upgrade will install upgrades for all brew apps.

While it’s meant for people who are comfortable using Terminal, it's almost a must-have for developers and sysadmins.

GitHub — curated Mac app collections

GitHub is a goldmine for open-source Mac apps, but finding them can be a pain. Thankfully, there are some curated lists that pull together hundreds of free apps you can explore by category. These are all free to install and have open-source licenses.

Two of the best collections are:

• Awesome-mac
• Open-source-mac-os-apps

These are great for discovering apps you've never heard of or knew you needed.

Which Mac app bundle is right for you?

So, the best Mac app bundles in 2025 are Setapp, BundleHunt, and StackSocial. 

But choosing the best Mac app bundles 2025 needs more than just looking at the prices. Since they come with multiple apps, you need to find something that suits your workflow in the best way, whether you are a developer, creative, student, or freelancer.

To do this effectively, categorize yourself based on your usage needs.

Best for general productivity users

You like to keep your Mac in the best shape, have a notes app that doesn't feel like a spreadsheet, and have access to a task manager for your to-do list. In other words, you want different apps to help you stay focused, on time, and efficient.

Go with Setapp.

The platform is like a powerhouse for productivity. You get 250+ apps with multiple apps for productivity, utility, writing, organization, development, and more. You'll have an app for every part of your workflow, regardless of the profession.

Also, check out the detailed overview of the Setapp for iOS plan.

Best for one-time buyers

You hate monthly fees and prefer to buy an app once and be done. You know the exact tools you need and are willing to patiently build a small but mighty toolkit.

Go with BundleHunt or StackSocial.

These two let you grab lifetime licenses at huge discounts of up to 90%. You'll find lots of PDF editors, disk utilities, VPNs, and backup managers at any time. However, you may not get the specific apps you are interested in, so you may have to wait for weeks or months to get an offer.

Best for minimalists or devs

You prefer a lean setup as long as it gets the job done. You are happy using Terminal and probably think that the Mac App Store is “fine but unnecessary.” What matters most to you is full control over your apps. 

Go with Homebrew, GitHub, or both.

These two host lots of open-source software, so you'll rarely need to pay a thing. The GitHub library is surprisingly extensive in 2025, so you'll discover lots of free alternatives to paid software. Homebrew + Cask will then let you install different apps and control them via Terminal. 

What real users say about Mac app bundles

It's one thing to look at numbers and features, but it's good to hear what actual Mac users have to say about something. So, I combed through Reddit, X, and various other forums to get reviews and comments on the best Mac app bundles 2025.

Here's what one user had to say about Setapp:

“I use a lot of apps from it, so I find it to be well worth the money… Some are apps I absolutely love, and would buy/pay for if I didn't have it through Setapp.” — u/ErlendHM, r/macapps (reddit.com)

This sentiment is quite common among Setapp users, and it highlights Setapp's value as a bundle that provides apps that users already pay for. The platform is also well praised as the ultimate platform for app discovery.

"…I've personally installed about 26 apps, however I would only pay for about 4-5 of them if it doesn't part of the subscription. Out of those 5, just 2 of them cover the subscription amount and everything else is essentially money saved.

Personally, I do like tinkering with new apps and the sub is worth it for that alone. If I had to choose between Netflix and Setapp, I would go with Setapp every day of the week."

— u/grovolis, r/macapps (reddit.com)

However, there are still some negative reviews, especially from users who only use it on a few apps now and then. This category of users mostly prefers on-time licenses.

StackSocial is the place for that, but I found the reviews to be mostly negative. Users are generally happy with the pricing, but there's a lot of dissatisfaction as users usually find out later that "lifetime" isn't really what it sounds like. VPNs expire after several years, and other apps need payments for upgrades. There are also many cases of users receiving used keys, especially for Microsoft apps.

"Purchased a lifetime subscription and vendor cancelled the product, saying they do not sell lifetime licenses. They said to go back to stacksocial."

Source: Reviews.io

BundleHunt is more reliable according to Reddit reviews. However, there's some common negativity stemming from the variety on offer:

"I've seen QR wizard about 5 times, as well as menubarx, typinator, text workflow, keykeeper and many others. So much waiting for these packages to finally see on the list 90% of the same as in the previous package."

— u/CacheConqueror, r/macapps (reddit.com)

Final thoughts on the best Mac app bundles in 2025

If you're looking to build a flexible, cost-effective Mac toolkit in 2025, Setapp stands out as the most practical option. Especially if you rely on more than a couple of apps to get work done. Unlike one-off deals or free alternatives, it offers consistent access to a wide range of high-quality tools without the hassle of managing multiple licenses or upgrade fees. 

Additionally, you can test all the apps with a 7-day free trial to determine if Setapp suits your needs.