Skilled’s Ranking
Execs
- Greater than 50 instruments and utilities
- Accessible for Mac and Home windows
- Slick, easy-to-use interface
Cons
- Requires annual subscription
- Few customers will want all instruments
- Want to see a backup utility included
Our Verdict
Among the many assortment of fifty+ instruments there are some actual gems, just like the Clipboard Historical past and video obtain instruments. There’s additionally a variety of instruments you in all probability don’t want, however somebody someplace does. It’s a disgrace {that a} Toolbox now requires an annual subscription (except you get it as a part of Parallels Desktop) however you may benefit from the 7-day trial to see how helpful Toolbox might be for you.
Value When Reviewed
This worth will present the geolocated pricing textual content for product undefined
Finest Pricing At the moment
Parallels Toolbox Free 14-day Trial
Free
Parallels (1 12 months, 1 Mac)
$24.99
Value When Reviewed
$24.99 per 12 months
Finest Costs At the moment:
Parallels Toolbox Free 14-day Trial
Free
Parallels (1 12 months, 1 Mac)
$24.99
For a number of years all through the Nineties and early 2000s, there was the sheer pleasure of shopping for a brand new pc journal from the rack or getting the brand new concern within the mail and seeing {that a} free CD-ROM had include it. The CD-ROM usually contained varied demos, updates, and free utilities to check out, and as you loaded it onto your Mac and copied every thing over to check out later, your geeky coronary heart thrilled to the thought of with the ability to play with some cool new purposes and utilities you in any other case may not have come throughout.
Parallels, makers of the Parallels desktop virtualization software program, has stored this alive with Parallels Toolbox, which stands at model 7.0.0 as of this writing (model 7 launched in September 2024). What’s current in Parallels Toolbox is a big seize bag of small, cool apps that operate considerably as system widgets, however are nonetheless distinctive in their very own proper.
Parallels Toolbox is included in our evaluation of the finest cleaner apps for Macs, and for good purpose, because it contains quite a few instruments and options that may provide help to to completely uninstall apps, and filter outdated or duplicate information which are taking on pointless disk house. Nevertheless, there’s much more to Toolbox than that easy handful of options.
Parallels Toolbox purposes quantity greater than 50 instruments out there within the Recordsdata, Audio, Photographs, Pictures, Web, Display screen Seize, System, Time, Utilities, and Video classes. The purposes arrive as small downloads and are simple to dive into, with pre-loaded utilities like Uninstall, Obtain Video, Free Reminiscence, and Clear Drive clamoring to your consideration whereas the Library hints at different nifty apps that may be downloaded and explored. Every software works like a type of mini-app that performs one particular job – such because the Free Reminiscence software, which reveals how a lot reminiscence your Mac presently has free, and which apps that you simply’re operating are utilizing probably the most reminiscence.
Because it first launched as a small assortment of utilities that had been–and nonetheless are–included freed from cost together with Parallels Desktop. The app has continued to develop and is now out there as a standalone product for each Mac and Home windows, with an annual subscription charge of $24.99/£20.99 a 12 months. There’s additionally a 7-day free trial out there so as to attempt it out earlier than deciding if you wish to purchase the total model.
You’ll be able to set Parallels Toolbox to run routinely while you begin your Mac, and the Toolbox icon will then be displayed on the Mac’s most important Menu bar–alongside Time, Quantity and different customary Mac controls. This lets you open a pull-down menu that has two tabs for displaying instruments. The Dashboard tab reveals a few of the hottest instruments that will help you get began, in addition to the instruments that you simply’ve used most just lately.
There’s additionally a Library tab that shows your entire record of instruments which are out there, with further sub-tabs that kind instruments into associated teams, akin to Video Instruments or System Instruments. You’ll be able to tag your favorite instruments in order that they’re added to the Dashboard view for fast entry, however many instruments can be positioned with their very own icons within the Menu bar as properly, and there’s additionally an choice to create your personal keyboard shortcuts to launch particular person instruments as properly.
Discover the software you want for the job in Parallels Toolbox.
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A group of greater than 50 instruments signifies that there’s so much to soak up when first getting began however, as talked about, Toolbox can type instruments into teams that will help you discover the instruments you want. Should you’re searching for cleaner instruments that may provide help to to reclaim disk house or fine-tune your Mac’s efficiency then the Clear Drive software can find pointless information which are taking on house in your Mac, and in addition discover duplicate information that you could be not want. One other software can absolutely uninstall Mac apps, together with any associated information which may be scattered round your Mac’s drive. It will possibly additionally spotlight massive information which are taking on a variety of house, akin to video games that you could be not want anymore.
Different teams of instruments embrace Video Instruments, with choices akin to Obtain Video, which might help you to obtain movies from YouTube and different web sites, whereas Convert Video can convert your video information into completely different codecs to be used on an iPhone or iPad, and even into the AVI or WMV codecs for Home windows units. The video instruments additionally embrace choices for creating display recordings and animated GIFs, and there’s a helpful Obtain Audio software, which helps you to simply seize the audio observe from video information that you simply discover on-line.
Right here’s an summary of a few of the most helpful instruments we discovered:
The Uninstall app works in addition to could be anticipated, and whereas this undoubtedly isn’t fully authentic on the Mac these days, it means that you can undergo a listing of put in purposes in your Mac, decide and select what to take away, and reliably strip out each the app and its assist information, which is useful.
The place Obtain Video is anxious, this really capabilities extra as an online browser extension than a standalone app, however it’s easy, to the purpose, and means that you can simply save Web-based video in addition to gives an choice for whether or not or to not save a video’s subtitles. Sure, 4K Video Obtain gives extra choices, akin to isolating audio and video for obtain, however this gives one thing easy and useful and value making an attempt out.

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Clear Drive: As soon as once more, this feels a bit typical/according to related utilities being developed by different firms nowadays, however it gives simple notifications and entry as to what’s consuming drive house (i.e., log information, cache information, trash, browser information, mail cache, cell apps, iTunes temp information, iOS machine backups, and outdated updates) and gives a pleasant stage of management as to clearing them out. Clear Drive additionally gives fast entry to the macOS Storage pane, which tends to be ignored, and means that you can regulate your storage preferences on the fly.
Free Reminiscence: Much like different reminiscence cleaners available on the market, this notifies you as to the place your Mac’s RAM/Unified Reminiscence goes, which purposes are munching up the vast majority of it, and means that you can mark the quantity of free reminiscence in macOS’ Menu Bar, which could be helpful.

Parallels Toolbox will release reminiscence in your Mac.
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File Display screen: This turned out to be each cool and useful, and after assigning it permission within the Display screen & System Audio pane, it means that you can file what’s on display as a QuickTime film file and put it aside to the desktop. You’ll must tinker with its choices to get it precisely the way you need it, however it’s spectacular nonetheless.
Break Time: The Break Time software tracks time reminds you to get away out of your pc every so often. It’s pretty customizable in addition. It’s simple so as to add your work calendar, customise notification sounds, and inform it to dam your display throughout breaks, thereby forcing you to really calm down and yank your self away from a tool for as soon as in your life, and that’s appreciated. Sure, it might be a bit extra customizable and provide an choice to enter extra particular numerical occasions for work and break cycles, however that is off to begin and succeeds in reminding you to tug your self away out of your Mac all through the day.
Unit Converter: Only a nifty widget that may take nearly any numerical unit and convert it into distances, financial models, or about something you may think about on the fly. Sure, different widgets do that as properly, however that is simple to tug up and work with and enjoyable in addition.
Rework Textual content: This acquired me actually into Parallels Toolbox and made me a fan, providing a fast and simple set of textual content settings that may be readily copied over to different apps and pasted in as desired. Sure, with the ability to create backwards and upside-down textual content to ship alongside to buddies could seem a bit foolish, however it is a enjoyable software that makes you need to see what else you may provide you with.

Screenshot
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Encrypt: The cool on-the-fly encryption utility Hollywood promised however nobody ever really delivered. This lets you drag and drop information and folders in, and shortly encrypts every thing to the .pboxz format, which could be locked to the password of your alternative. It’s fast, it’s speedy in each its encryption and decryption capabilities, and you’ll designate the place the file is saved to in addition to save your passwords to the macOS keychain for simple retrieval.
Eject Volumes: This ejects all of the exterior volumes mounted in your Mac directly, which could be extremely handy, or a minimum of simpler than telling a pal or member of the family to recollect to pull a quantity to the trash or inform them to click on an icon and use Command-E to eject it, which is a dialog I’ve had dozens of occasions through the years that by no means acquired much less irritating.
Clipboard Historical past: One of many largest teams of instruments is time-saving Productiveness Instruments. My private favorite–which has earned its personal spot on my iMac’s Menu bar–is Clipboard Historical past, which may retailer a number of textual content and graphics gadgets that you’ve got copied into the clipboard, going again so far as the final 30 days. That is actually helpful for me when writing and enhancing articles because it permits me to shortly look again and retrieve textual content or graphics that I might have to make use of once more.

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Focus On: I additionally like the power to shortly launch a whole group of apps or information with one click on–akin to Pages and Photoshop Parts once I’m engaged on screenshots for evaluations–and the Focus On Window software that reduces distractions by dimming your entire display other than the window or app that I’m presently utilizing.

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There’s additionally a helpful set of time-management instruments, together with a countdown timer, and a calendar countdown that counts the times till a selected date. A stop-watch, and the power to create a number of alarms (which I discover a lot less complicated than Apple’s personal Reminders app).
Not all of those instruments will appear important. The instruments for studying and creating barcodes will in all probability solely attraction to a somewhat area of interest viewers, whereas the instruments for creating screenshots and display recordings largely appear to breed the options which are already constructed into the macOS itself.
In spite of some issues that might be added to the apps to be able to enhance them, I see this as a playground of fascinating utilities that’s simple to play with, take pleasure in, and dive into. Sure, you’ll find Apple widgets inside macOS and Internet-based purposes throughout the Web that carry out related capabilities, however it is a well-consolidated library, and it’s enjoyable to look at this develop and evolve over time.
Verdict
It’s a disgrace {that a} comparatively modest piece of software program akin to Toolbox now requires an annual subscription, as that may in all probability deter fairly a couple of potential customers. I do discover Toolbox helpful–however I get it included with my copy of Parallels Desktop, so I don’t must pay an extra subscription charge for it. And, by the way, Parallels Desktop nonetheless supplies an choice to purchase that as a one-time buy with out an annual subscription, so it’s disappointing that Toolbox itself is now subscription-only. And, in fact, there are numerous utilities out there from different builders that present related options. However a minimum of you may obtain the free trial and see how helpful Toolbox is to your personal private work set-up earlier than shopping for.