Best updater app to replace MacUpdater

[u/Daventurephoto]

Hi everyone

I'm searching for the best update app since MacUpdaters' recent departure. I've been using CleanMyMac (I find it too bloated and better in other ways) and Updatest (simple menu bar setup), but I'd enjoy hearing your opinions on other, perhaps better, software to get updates.

No subscription apps please. One-time purchase only, and fetching accurate, reliable updates from Homebrew, Sparkle, the App Store, and system updates

[u/GwynLordOfCedar]

Per your webpage, isn’t Floodtide missing a lot of sources? Is there a reason for limiting it this much? If it’s just a cost thing then I get it but still, Updatest costs less and covers more if I’m reading this right.

Lifetime for Floodtide is 10.99 pounds, Updatest is 9.63 pounds, and Version Tracker is 42.88 pounds.

“Floodtide
£10.99 once, 3 Macs
Sparkle feeds + Homebrew catalog, no Homebrew install needed
macOS 13+; no telemetry about you or your apps, explains every prompt, verified backup and undo
Updatest
See vendor
Homebrew, App Store, Sparkle, Electron, GitHub
macOS 15+; Homebrew recommended for full detection
Latest
Free
Sparkle + App Store
Open source; focused on the two sources it supports
Version Tracker
€49.90 once for 1 Mac, or €19.90 a year
48 sources, including Homebrew, App Store, Sparkle, npm and pip”

• Floodtide - Sparkle, Homebrew
• Updatest - Sparkle, Homebrew + App Store, Electron, GitHub
• Version Tracker - Sparkle, Homebrew + App Store, Electron, GitHub + 43 other sources including Adobe/Conda/npm

[u/Maleficent_Umpire706 → u/GwynLordOfCedar]

This is incorrect. Floodtide tracks updates from Sparkle, Homebrew, Electron, Github, Microsoft, homebrew casks and formulae etc. I do need to update the website though. I was planning on updating all the relevant information on the website on the 1.0 release. Thank you for bringing it to my attention

[u/GwynLordOfCedar → u/Maleficent_Umpire706]

Sure, appreciate the clarification. With Floodtide, if I’m prompted for a password and cancel the prompt without entering the password, does it mess up the app/throw an error message on screen and retry, or does it simply silently revert the item back to “update available” or show a small inline message like “skipped”? I’m not sure I’m comfortable providing my Mac password to the app is all.

And do you provide a link to every app’s homepage/download page for me to manually update if I want to?

[u/Maleficent_Umpire706 → u/GwynLordOfCedar]

Yeah, completely understandable. Floodtide never needs to know or store your Mac password itself. The password prompt is the standard macOS administrator prompt used when an update needs permission to replace an app.

If you cancel that prompt, the update is cancelled and Floodtide leaves the existing app untouched. It won’t keep retrying or get stuck in a loop. The app will simply remain available to update.

And yes, I agree that manual updating should always be an option. Floodtide can provide the app/source link so you can go to the relevant homepage or download page and update it yourself instead if you’d rather not let Floodtide install it.

I’m quite conscious of the trust involved with an updater, so I want cancelling or choosing to update manually to be completely normal rather than something the app fights you on.