head to head · open source
Pearcleaner vs Reef
Pearcleaner has 14,670 GitHub stars, 377 forks, 84 open issues and last shipped 3 months ago. Reef has 603 stars, 31 forks, 37 open issues and last shipped 3 months ago. Pearcleaner leads on adoption by 2,333% (14,670 vs 603 stars). Pearcleaner is written in Swift under a custom or non-standard licence; Reef is written in Swift under MIT. Pearcleaner has attracted 3% as many forks as stars, Reef 5%. Reef was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| Pearcleaner | Reef | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 15K | ★ 603 |
| License | Custom / other | MIT |
| Written in | Swift | Swift |
| Last push | 2026-06-22 | 2026-06-28 |
| Forks | ⑂ 377 | ⑂ 31 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Pearcleaner if
- You weight community size — 15K stars and counting
- You want the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches Swift
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Reef if
- You want the Reef feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Swift
- You evaluated both and Reef fits your workflow better
About Pearcleaner
Pearcleaner is a free, source available, fair code licensed macOS application written in Swift and listed under Productivity & Utilities / System Cleanup & Optimization. It is described as a Mac app cleaner inspired by Freemacsoft's AppCleaner and by Sun Knudsen's Privacy Guides post about an app cleaner script. The project's homepage is hosted at itsalin.com, and the repository states that this is the only legitimate website owned by the author.
read the full Pearcleaner overview →
About Reef
Reef is a free, MIT licensed macOS window manager that binds applications to number keys and gives each app its own Alt Tab style switcher, aimed at Mac users who want to refocus any window of any app from the keyboard instead of hunting through the Dock or Mission Control.
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Frequently asked questions
Is Pearcleaner or Reef more popular?
Pearcleaner has 14,670 GitHub stars and Reef has 603. Pearcleaner has the larger community by that measure.
Are Pearcleaner and Reef free?
Both are open source. Pearcleaner has no licence declared in this registry, and Reef is licensed under MIT. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between Pearcleaner and Reef?
Pearcleaner is written in Swift and Reef in Swift. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, Pearcleaner or Reef?
Choose Pearcleaner if you want the larger community (14,670 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose Reef if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.