St. Clair Software

What St. Clair Software does

St. Clair Software is a privately-held, founder-led developer of native macOS utility software, founded in 1996 and based in Denver, Colorado. The company builds and maintains five standalone Mac applications: Default Folder X (file dialog enhancement), App Tamer (CPU and battery management with Apple Silicon efficiency-core optimization), HistoryHound (cross-browser history and bookmark search), Jettison (automatic disk ejection before sleep, including NFS volumes), and Go64 (32-bit application identification). Core technology is native macOS development using Cocoa, Xcode, and Interface Builder, with applications running natively on both Intel and Apple Silicon Macs across macOS 10.13 through the macOS 27 Golden Gate developer beta.

The company's revenue model is one-time perpetual software licenses priced between $6.95 and $39.95 per single-user seat, with volume discounts for purchases of two or more licenses and site/educational licensing available on request. There is no subscription model and no institutional funding; the business is bootstrapped. Distribution runs through a direct e-commerce storefront powered by FastSpring and, for select products (Jettison, HistoryHound), through the Mac App Store. Marketing relies on a company blog, beta testing programs, and organic social presence on Mastodon, BlueSky, and X.

St. Clair Software serves primarily individual Mac users, with secondary reach into small businesses via volume and site licensing. The team size is small (11-50 employees, founder-led), and customer relationships are dispersed across a long-tail of end users rather than concentrated in enterprise accounts. The company has remained continuously operating since 1996, maintaining annual product updates and proactive compatibility with Apple's macOS release cycle.

Name

St. Clair Software

Legal name

St. Clair Software

Website

https://stclairsoft.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1996

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

St. Clair Software is a privately-held, founder-led developer of native macOS utility software founded in 1996, selling one-time perpetual licenses for five Mac applications (Default Folder X, App Tamer, HistoryHound, Jettison, Go64) to individual users and small organizations via direct website and Mac App Store.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Denver

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Software Licenses: One-time perpetual license purchases for each application. Customers pay once and receive the license for version 6.x with free updates until the next major release. Upgrade pricing available for users upgrading from older versions. No subscription model.
2. Volume Licensing: Discounts available for quantity purchases (2+ licenses) at reduced per-seat pricing. Site licenses and educational discounts available for organizations upon request.
3. Upgrade Licenses: Paid upgrades for users who purchased prior to cutoff dates. For example, Default Folder X 6 upgrade is free for purchases on or after March 1, 2023, $9.95 for Sept 2022-March 2023 purchases, and $19.95 for earlier purchases.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

St. Clair Software develops and sells native macOS utility applications that extend productivity and system management on Apple computers. Its portfolio includes Default Folder X (Open/Save dialog enhancement), App Tamer (background CPU and battery management), HistoryHound (cross-browser history search), Jettison (automatic disk ejection before sleep), and Go64 (32-bit application identification).

Product overview

St. Clair Software develops a suite of five macOS utility applications: Default Folder X (file dialog enhancement), App Tamer (CPU/battery management), HistoryHound (browser history search), Jettison (disk ejection management), and Go64 (32-bit app identification). The products are standalone utilities that operate independently without a unified platform architecture. All products are native macOS applications supporting both Intel and Apple Silicon Macs, with typical pricing of $14.95-$39.95 per single-user license.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Default Folder X Enhances Open and Save dialogs in macOS by adding folder previews, hierarchical menus for favorites and recent folders, Finder-click folder navigation, and quick search functionality. For individual Mac users who frequently save or open files.
• App Tamer Automatically slows or pauses background applications to reduce CPU and battery consumption, with Apple Silicon efficiency core management, CPU hog detection, and Time Machine backup acceleration. For Mac users seeking better battery life and performance.
• HistoryHound Searches browser history and bookmarks across multiple web browsers (Safari, Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Brave, Arc, Opera, Vivaldi, Orion, Floorp, and others) to quickly find previously visited web pages. For Mac users who want unified browser history search.
• Jettison Automatically ejects external drives before Mac sleep and remounts them on wake, preventing disk ejection errors and supporting NFS network volumes. For Mac users who frequently connect and disconnect external drives.
• Go64 Identifies 32-bit applications that need to be replaced before upgrading to 64-bit macOS versions. Scans and lists applications that may not work on newer macOS. For Mac users preparing for macOS upgrades.

Named customers4 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration24 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• pair NetworksminorOthersWeb hosting provider for stclairsoft.com website. Services enable the company's online presence and product distribution.
• FastSpringcoreOthersPayment services provider powering the company's e-commerce store. Handles payment processing, regional tax compliance, and order fulfillment for software licenses.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• MacPaw: Developer of popular Mac utilities including CleanMyMac, Setapp, and others. Comparable Mac utility portfolio targeting individual Mac users; a larger, venture-backed counterpart of the same business model.
• Panic Inc. Established Mac software publisher behind Coda, Nova, Transmit, and other native macOS apps. Comparable as a multi-product Mac-native developer with a loyal community, direct sales, and a similar brand-led, indie identity.
• Bare Bones Software: Veteran Mac developer of long-running utilities and creative tools (BBEdit, Yojimbo, TextWrangler). Comparable on longevity, deep macOS roots, perpetual-license monetization, and multi-product indie operation.
• Bjango: Australian indie developer of macOS design and system utilities including Skala Preview, iStat Menus, and remote apps. Comparable as a small, multi-product Mac utility studio with deep platform expertise.
• Objective Development: Developer of LaunchBar and other macOS productivity utilities. Comparable as a small, profitable Mac utility developer with a flagship productivity product and similar pricing tiers.
• The Iconfactory: Independent developer of Mac and iOS apps (e.g., Twitterrific, Linea, Tot). Comparable as a small, design-forward indie Mac software studio with a multi-product portfolio.
• Rogue Amoeba: Long-standing indie developer of macOS system and audio utilities (Audio Hijack, Loopback, Farrago, SoundSource). Highly comparable: profitable, independent, multi-product Mac utility portfolio sold via direct website, deep macOS engineering expertise.
• Many Tricks: Small independent developer of macOS utilities (Moom, Name Mangler, Witch, Leech) sold via one-time perpetual licenses. Closely mirrors St. Clair Software's profile: small team, multi-product Mac utility portfolio, direct website sales, and similar price points.
• SweetP Productions: Small indie developer of macOS utilities including MacFamilyTree and other consumer-focused Mac apps. Comparable as a niche Mac utility developer selling through direct channels.
• Koingo Software: Indie developer of macOS utilities such as MacPilot and other system tools. Comparable on portfolio breadth, perpetual-license model, and target audience of individual Mac power users.

Market position

Strengths3 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/stclairsoft

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about St. Clair Software