A Homebrew GUI alternative for Mac, compared with Cork and Applite
Cork and Applite each put Homebrew in a window: Cork covers formulae, casks, taps and services, and Applite is an app store for casks that brings its own copy of Homebrew. Floodtide is an updater rather than a Homebrew front end, and reads Homebrew’s catalogue as one source among several.
Side by side
| App | Price | Pricing model | Updates from | macOS minimum | Verification | Status in October 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Floodtide | £10.99€12.99$14.99 once for 3 Macs; £19.99€23.99$27.99 for 6 (Household) | One-time purchase. The Tide, an optional add-on at £9.99€11.99$13.99 a year, adds hand-researched apps; Floodtide for Teams is £7.00€8.00$9.00 per Mac a year. | Homebrew casks, Sparkle feeds, GitHub Releases, Mac App Store apps (through a privileged helper) and a hand-researched feed of about 2,000 apps | macOS 13 or later, Intel and Apple silicon | Checks the published checksum where there is one, the code signature and the developer’s Team ID; keeps a backup for one-click undo | On sale and maintained; 14-day full trial, scanning stays free after it; in English, French, German and Spanish |
| Cork | €25.00 for a prebuilt copy, with a demo; free if you compile it yourself | One-time purchase for personal use, with future versions included; businesses need a custom contract. Source code on GitHub under a licence based on the Commons Clause. | Homebrew formulae and casks from any tap, and Homebrew services | macOS 14 or later | Runs Homebrew, which checks a cask’s download against its SHA-256 unless the cask turns checking off | Maintained; version 2.0.2 released 14 September 2026 |
| Applite | Free | Free and open source (MIT) | Homebrew casks only, by design, through its own copy of Homebrew or yours | macOS 14 or later | Runs Homebrew, which checks a cask’s download against its SHA-256 unless the cask turns checking off | Maintained; version 1.4.2 released 5 September 2026 |
Facts about other apps are as their own pages stated them on the date above; "not stated" means the sources listed at the foot of this page do not say.
When Cork or Applite is the better choice
- You want a Homebrew front end first and an updater second. Cork is built around Homebrew: it finds and installs formulae and casks, manages taps and services, shows which packages depend on which, and clears Homebrew’s caches. Floodtide is built around keeping installed apps current, from Homebrew and every other source.
- You want to install new apps or set up a new Mac. Applite is a catalogue of casks with categories, search and one-click installs, Brewfile import and export for moving to a new Mac, and removal of an app’s leftover files. Floodtide is built to update the apps you already have.
- You want it free. Applite is free and open source, and Cork is free if you compile it yourself.
What Floodtide does differently
Apps Homebrew did not install
Cork and Applite update what Homebrew manages. Floodtide matches apps you installed by hand against the Homebrew cask catalogue and replaces them from the vendor’s own download, checked against Homebrew’s checksum, without Homebrew on the Mac at all. It reads Sparkle feeds, GitHub Releases and a hand-researched feed of about 2,000 apps as well.
Mac App Store apps, in place
Floodtide updates Mac App Store apps in place through its privileged helper, with no App Store window and no password, alongside everything else in Update All.
A check after the checksum, and undo
Each replacement is also checked against the code signature and Team ID of the copy it replaces, and the old version is kept, so Undo Last Update is one click away. Floodtide runs on macOS 13 or later.
Common questions
Are Cork and Applite free?
Applite is free and open source under the MIT licence. Cork’s source code is on GitHub and it is free if you compile it yourself; a prebuilt copy costs €25.00 once for personal use, with future versions included.
Does Floodtide need Homebrew?
No. Floodtide reads the Homebrew cask catalogue to match apps you installed by hand and fetches each vendor’s own download, and none of that needs Homebrew on the Mac. If Homebrew is there, Floodtide also lists its casks, formulae and taps and upgrades them through brew.
Can I use Cork or Applite alongside Floodtide?
Yes. Floodtide upgrades Homebrew’s casks through brew rather than around it, so Homebrew’s records stay in step whichever app runs the upgrade. Cork or Applite can install and remove packages while Floodtide handles updates from every source.
Which macOS versions do Cork, Applite and Floodtide need?
Cork and Applite both need macOS 14 or later, per their own pages. Floodtide runs on macOS 13 Ventura or later, on Intel and Apple silicon Macs.
Sources
- Cork website: price, demo, macOS 14, business contractshttps://corkmac.app/
- Cork on GitHub: README, the self-compiled version, licencehttps://github.com/buresdv/Cork
- Cork releases: version 2.0.2, 14 September 2026https://github.com/buresdv/Cork/releases
- Applite website: free and open source, macOS 14, built on Homebrewhttps://aerolite.dev/applite/
- Applite on GitHub: README, casks only, MIT licencehttps://github.com/milanvarady/Applite
- Applite releases: version 1.4.2, 5 September 2026https://github.com/milanvarady/Applite/releases
- Homebrew Cask Cookbook: the sha256 stanza and :no_checkhttps://docs.brew.sh/Cask-Cookbook
Compare them on your own Mac
Download Floodtide and let it scan. The list of what is out of date is free, and the 14-day trial unlocks every install. Keep the app you use now until you have put the two lists side by side.