Top TweetDeck for Mac alternatives to ease power users’ pain

By

TweetDeck for Mac alternatives worth trying out
These TweetDeck for Mac alternatives are worth checking out.
Photo: Rajesh

With Twitter killing off TweetDeck for Mac today, users who didn’t plan ahead might be scrambling for options to manage their feeds.

While TweetDeck will continue to function on the web, many power users prefer a native Mac app. Luckily, you can find several worthy TweetDeck alternatives for Mac users that will help you get a handle on your Twitter obsession.

TweetDeck for Mac alternatives

TweetDeck for Mac has long been a favorite among power users. So, it is surprising that Twitter is shutting it down, especially since the app got a major revamp last year.

If you’re one of those people who prefers a dedicated app, check out our recommendations for top TweetDeck alternatives for Mac.

1. Tweeten

Tweeten is the best TweetDeck alternative for Mac.
Tweeten is the best TweetDeck alternative for Mac.
Photo: Tweeten

The best TweetDeck for Mac alternative is undoubtedly Tweeten. It is based on TweetDeck and offers the same column-based interface and feature set that made Twitter’s app so popular. The design has been tweaked to provide a cleaner and more intuitive experience.

As for features, you get all the goodies you can think of. This includes real-time interactive notifications, an emoji picker, an option to download videos from your Twitter timeline and filters. Power users will find the ability to schedule tweets and multi-user support helpful. Tweeten even seamlessly updates in the background.

Despite packing so many features, Tweeten is free to download and use.

I noticed Tweeten consuming a lot of CPU resources in the background on my M1 Mac mini, but your mileage may vary on that front. If you were a heavy TweetDeck user on Mac, Tweeten is hands down the best alternative you have. It is also available for Windows PCs and Chrome.

Download: Tweeten

2. Tweetbot

TweetDeck alternatives for Mac: Tweetbot is a powerful Twitter client for Mac.
Tweetbot is a powerful Twitter client for Mac.
Photo: Tapbots

If you are a longtime iPhone or Mac user, you must have heard of Tweetbot. It is a full-fledged Twitter client for Mac with multi-column support, timeline filters and multiple account support. It also supports iCloud Sync, so you can switch between Macs and pick up exactly where you left.

Tweetbot is a native Mac app, so it feels very fluid to use. The well-designed UI also feels very polished. A useful feature of Tweetbot is the ability to add notes to profiles to store information about a person privately.

Compared with TweetDeck, Tweetbot misses a few advanced features like real-time notifications and GIF search. But this should not be a deal-breaker unless you are a hardcore Twitter power user.

Tweetbot for Mac is a paid download at $9.99. There’s a 14-day free trial, so you can take the app for a spin before paying for it. Minor updates come for free, but major version upgrades cost extra.

Download: Tweetbot

3. Twitterrific

TweetDeck for Mac alternatives: Twitterrific wants to make your Twitter experience more uncluttered.
Twitterrific wants to make your Twitter experience more uncluttered.
Photo: Twitterific

Twitterrific is another popular Twitter client for Mac. It is not a direct TweetDeck replacement as it aims to offer something a bit more elegant. However, you can customize the app for a similar experience.

It offers a multicolumn layout and multi-user support — two of the most popular features among TweetDeck power users. However, you can’t place columns from different accounts side by side, which is an issue. It is not as feature-rich as Tweeten or TweetDeck, and misses out on tweet scheduling, GIF search and a video downloader.

The missing features could be a problem for TweetDeck power users. For regular users, though, Twitterific should be more than good enough for browsing through their Twitter timeline.

Twitterific for Mac costs $7.99.

Download: Twitterific

Browser-based TweetDeck alternatives

If you are fine accessing Twitter through your browser, you can consider services like Buffer and HootSuite.

Plus, as mentioned, TweetDeck itself continues to be available on the web. Twitter also continues to work on a new version of the web-based TweetDeck that offers advanced features. The company will issue invites for people who want to try the upgraded browser-based TweetDeck in coming months.

Newsletters

Daily round-ups or a weekly refresher, straight from Cult of Mac to your inbox.

  • The Weekender

    The week's best Apple news, reviews and how-tos from Cult of Mac, every Saturday morning. Our readers say: "Thank you guys for always posting cool stuff" -- Vaughn Nevins. "Very informative" -- Kenly Xavier.