There are two things that you probably hate: being late, and your boring alarm clock. And there’s also one thing that you most likely love: Your Mac. Well then why not use your Mac as your own alarm clock, and wake up to your newest iTunes acquisitions?
Whether you want to wake up to the most recent episode of your favorite podcast, or you are simply looking for something to replace your old boring alarm clock, we have something for you.
Alarm Clock Pro
Alarm Clock Pro
Alarm Clock Pro is an alarm app with a lot of features that go from emailing you to performing an Apple script once an alarm is set off. Although it’s a bit expensive, its price is justified by a stopwatch, time zone tool and a calendar to see all your active alarms.
Price: $19.95
Requires: Mac OS X 10.5 or later
Developer: Koingo Software
iTunes Alarm
iTunes Alarm
This is a free and simple app, though not as polished aesthetically. It can have multiple alarms that use music from iTunes through various options like shuffle, playlists and DJ. It also has an option to put your Mac to sleep on a timer.
Price: Free
Requires: Mac OS X 10.4 or later
Developer: Johnna Run
Alarm Clock
Alarm Clock
Alarm Clock is a simple free app that runs discretely in the menu bar from where you can see your active alarms and set new ones or even use its included Stopwatch and Timer. When an alarm is set off it displays a neat window with the time and the buttons.
Price: Free
Requires: Mac OS X 10.4 or later
Developer: Robbie Hanson
iClock
iClock
iClock is a heavy app that replaces the Time and Date sections of the menu bar and allows you to set alarms and add tasks to the calendar from the menu bar. Although it is full of customizable features, it is far from simple and it can be confusing. Unlike most other alarm apps, this one comes with a bunch of preselected alarm sounds to choose from.
Price: $20
Requires: Mac OS X 10.5 or later
Developer: Plum Amazing
TinyAlarm
TinyAlarm
TinyAlarm is a very simple app that sits in your menu bar, where you can easily set up alarms. TinyAlarm does not let you use any sounds other than the ones that come with the app. It has Growl integration that pops up when an alarm is set off and where you can snooze it or stop it. It probably won’t wake you up, but it’s good for reminders.
Price: Free
Requires: Mac OS X 10.4 or later
Developer: Pixelated Software
Timer
Apimac Timer
Like some of the other alarm apps available, Timer triples as a Stopwatch, Alarm Clock and Countdown clock. Timer has a number of options that you can set up for when your alarm goes off, although some of these options are locked to the free users. It can even speak to you!
Price: Free version or Pro version for $24
Requires: Mac OS X 10.4 or later
Developer: Apimac
Aurora
Aurora
Aurora is probably the prettiest of all the alarm apps, but it’s also one of the most expensive. It’s graphical interface makes it easy to use and understand, and it uses iTunes playlists to wake you up. It can also put you to sleep (and your Mac) with it’s timer.
Price: $20
Requires: Mac OS X 10.5 or later
Developer: Metaquark
Awaken
Awaken
Awaken is seemingly a very simple app, but it has enough features to make even the most specific users happy. Although it doesn’t bring anything new, it does plenty and it does it well. It can wake you up to your iTunes music, its own sounds or launch whatever you tell it to launch. Awaken is probably the most convenient and complete app of its kind.
Price: $10 CAD – ~$10 USD
Requires: Mac OS X 10.4 or later
Developer: EmbraceWare
Minutes
Minutes
Minutes is the only one of these apps that works as a widget, and it does it very well! Its interface is almost entirely graphical, but it’s very easy to understand and work with. It can also launch files and use iTunes music, as well as its own sounds. The only real inconvenience with Minutes is the lack of a snooze button, and repeated alarms.
Price: Free
Requires: Mac OS X 10.4 or later
Developer: Nitram Nunca
iRooster
iRooster
iRooster is a simple app that let’s you set up alarms to iTunes playlists, however, it is the same price as Awaken, and compared to it, iRooster lacks a lot of functionality, like the ability to launch applications, put your Mac to sleep or run full screen.
Price: $9.95
Requires: Mac OS X 10.4 or later
Developer: Chimp Software
Conclusion
There are a lot of options that can suit your needs when it comes to alarm clock applications; there are plenty of free apps that would satisfy most people, but if you need features that are more specific then you’ll need to spend a few bucks.
Awaken is a very simple, yet functional app and it isn’t very expensive, but the free version of Timer is also very good and has a lot of useful features. Luckily, most of the paid apps have free trials that you can use to determine whether you need the extra features that they offer or not.
Have fun trying them out, and let us know which you prefer in the comments!