After more than two weeks of fully transitioning to Mac from Windows, I’ve had to replace pretty much every tool in my arsenal. The hardest part was finding replacements for PowerToys and ShareX—those were the real kickers that kept me on Windows for so long.
CleanShot X: Finally, a ShareX That Works on Mac
I’ll be honest—I was skeptical about paying for a screenshot app when ShareX did everything I needed on Windows for free. But after trying CleanShot X, I get why people rave about it.
The “remember last selection” feature is great for pixel-perfect consistency. I love how it follows which monitor I’m on to save screenshots automatically. The multi-step ShareX process (screenshot → auto-open → copy → save) is now just seamless. Even when I switch capture modes—area to window—my saved settings for each mode stick around.
I wish there was a default option to automatically copy and save, or maybe a spacebar shortcut, but the queue system works great. I can keep screenshotting, put everything in the queue, and bulk save later.
The Setapp Math
Here’s the thing about Setapp—I got it primarily for CleanShot X, and the math actually works out. CleanShot X alone would cost me more than several months of Setapp. Plus I get ClearVPN thrown in, which adds serious value since VPN subscriptions aren’t cheap.
My rough calculation? It’ll take about three years before individual app costs would match what I’m paying for Setapp, and that’s not even counting major version updates that usually cost extra.
Raycast: Turned Out to Be Much More
I originally wanted Raycast for clipboard history—basically a Win+V replacement. I was considering Paste from Setapp, but it felt like overkill even though it was “free” with the subscription.
Raycast proved to be much more than just a clipboard manager. The shortcuts and aliases system is genuinely powerful. It effectively replaced both Win+C and Win+V functionality while adding stuff I didn’t know I needed.
Spokenly: This Changed How I Work
This is working better than any transcription app I’ve tried. I bind it to my right Command key and I’m dictating this entire post with it right now.
I used to use ChatGPT’s web interface for transcription, then copy-paste the results into whatever app I actually needed. What a waste of time that was. Now I just hit my right command key, Spokenly pops up, and I’m good to go. I’m using real-time transcription with the large model so I can see it transcribing as I talk.
This has really changed how I work now. I dictate a lot of my notes, interactions with LLMs, and I work so much faster.
Don’t bother with anything else. The one that comes with Setapp (Murmur)? Yeah, that’s useless. You can hook up your OpenAI API key if you want, but since Whisper is open-source, you can just use that. API costs for transcription are dirt cheap anyway, but if you don’t want to use system memory, sure, go with the API.
Magic Trackpad: Actually Worth It
This was one purchase I was skeptical about. After decades of mouse-only workflows, spending money on what seemed like an expensive luxury felt unnecessary.
But man, it’s actually worth it. The gesture controls feel natural in a way that’s hard to explain until you experience it. It’s one of those purchases that immediately justifies itself.
Window Management: Still Figuring This Out
Here’s where I’m still struggling. PowerToys FancyZones on Windows was perfect for my three-screen setup with preconfigured workspaces. I’m running three screens with nothing maximized, and finding macOS window management way less intuitive than what I had.
There are plenty of window management apps out there, but none feel as natural as the Windows solution. I can now properly use shortcut keys for window placement without thinking too hard about it, but it’s not perfect yet. Just needs a little bit more time and patience with myself when I accidentally minimize everything.
Still working on achieving a comparable setup to what I had with PowerToys.