Where the familiar tool went. Built into macOS first; a well-known free app where macOS has no equivalent.
| On Windows | On a Mac | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| File Explorer | Finder | The blue face in the Dock. Sidebar is Quick access. |
| Task Manager | Activity Monitor | Applications → Utilities. ⌥⌘Esc is the force-quit list. |
| Control Panel, Settings | System Settings | menu → System Settings. Use its search box. |
| Notepad | TextEdit, CotEditor | TextEdit needs plain-text mode; CotEditor is the Notepad++ equivalent. |
| Snipping Tool | ⌘⇧5 | Shottr for pinning, scrolling capture and text recognition. |
| Paint | Preview, Markup toolbar | Crop, annotate, sign. Pinta or Pixelmator for painting. |
| Photos, Photo Viewer | Preview, Photos | Select an image and press Space to see it without opening anything. |
| Media Player, VLC | IINA, VLC | IINA plays everything with a Mac interface. |
| 7-Zip, WinRAR | Keka, The Unarchiver | Double-click extracts. Right-click → Compress makes a zip without any app. |
| Programs & Features | Drag the app to the Trash | Leftovers stay in ~/Library. |
| winget, the Microsoft Store | App Store, or each maker's site | Homebrew is the command-line package manager, for developers. |
| Windows Defender | Built in (XProtect, Gatekeeper) | No antivirus needed. The firewall is off by default; turn it on. |
| File History, Backup | Time Machine | Plug in an external disk, say yes. Hourly versioned backups. |
| BitLocker | FileVault | System Settings → Privacy & Security. Turn it on. |
| Windows Hello | Touch ID | |
| Windows Terminal, PowerShell | Terminal (zsh) | Ghostty or iTerm2 for tabs and themes. |
| PowerToys FancyZones | Built-in tiling, macOS 15+ | Halves and corners by dragging; no zones, no chaining. |
| PowerToys Run, Everything | Spotlight | ⌘Space. Finds files by content too. |
| PowerToys Awake | KeepingYouAwake | Or caffeinate in Terminal. |
| PowerToys Color Picker | Digital Color Meter | Built in. |
| PowerToys Text Extractor | Live Text | Select text inside any image; it just works. |
| AutoHotkey | Shortcuts, Hammerspoon, Karabiner-Elements | Shortcuts for automation without code. |
| WinDirStat | Storage settings, GrandPerspective | System Settings → General → Storage. |
| Device Manager, msinfo32 | System Information | Hold ⌥ and click the Apple menu. |
| Registry Editor | The defaults command | Settings are .plist files in ~/Library/Preferences. |
| Task Scheduler | launchd, Shortcuts automations | |
| Sticky Notes, Calculator, Mail, Calendar | Stickies, Calculator, Mail, Calendar | Same names. Notes syncs with an iPhone. |
| Microsoft Office | Office for Mac, or Pages, Numbers, Keynote | Microsoft 365 works the same; Apple's three are free. |
| Edge | Safari, or Edge for Mac | Edge for Mac syncs your Windows bookmarks and passwords. |
| OneDrive | OneDrive, or iCloud Drive | |
| Nearby Share, Phone Link | AirDrop, iPhone Mirroring | Android: LocalSend works both ways. |
| Remote Desktop | Windows App, Screen Sharing | Windows App is Microsoft's new name for Remote Desktop. |
| Windows programs (.exe) | Parallels, UTM, CrossOver | See running Windows programs. |
| Games | Steam, Apple Arcade, GeForce Now | Check the Mac column on Steam; cloud streaming for the rest. |