Comparison

WheelClick vs every middle-click app

Every way to bring middle click back to macOS, side by side — the same verified facts as the individual comparison pages, in one table.

macOS has never shipped a native middle click, so a whole family of third-party apps fills the gap. Each app below also has its own page with the full story — pick a column and follow its link for the one-on-one comparison and an honest “which one fits you”.

Ranked, for one job

Thirteen attributes and seven apps do not reduce to a score. Any number would only be hiding which attribute someone decided mattered most, so here is the order argued instead — and the assumption it rests on, because changing it changes the order: you want a middle click, on a Mac running macOS 13 or later. Every entry says what it loses on, not only what it wins on.

1. 1

   WheelClick by this site's author

   The most complete of the dedicated apps, and the only one with a free tier: three-finger click and tap cost nothing, permanently, and $4.99 adds everything else. Autoscroll, per-app rules and swipes exist here and mostly nowhere else.

   Against it: macOS 13 and later only. On an older Mac it is not an option at all.

2. 2

   Middle

   The strongest paid alternative and the one to buy if this list did not exist. Both devices, drag synchronized to the physical touch, and a developer whose other app (Rectangle) earned a lot of trust.

   Against it: Roughly $8 with a 7-day trial, no swipes, and per-app rules have been an open request on its own tracker since 2024.

3. 3

   MiddleClick by this site's author

   Free, GPL, and reaches back to macOS 10.13 — further than anything else here. For the two gestures it was written for, on a Mac too old for the rest of this list, nothing beats it.

   Against it: Finished: no new features and no support. It is a known-good stopping point, not a live project.

4. 4

   MiddleTouch

   The same trackpad gestures as Middle at a third of the price, and it reaches back to macOS 10.15 — four releases further than WheelClick goes.

   Against it: Trackpad only, and there is no trial, so the first way to find out is to buy it. Being the App Store option is no longer an edge: WheelClick is there too, at the same $4.99, with the same sandbox cost to Magic Mouse support.

5. 5

   MiddleDrag

   Free, MIT, and good at exactly two things: a three-finger tap for middle click and a three-finger drag. Readable and forkable, which none of the paid ones are.

   Against it: macOS 15 and later, which rules out most Macs in use, and trackpads only.

6. 6

   Multitouch

   A real gesture engine where middle click is one binding among many. If your list of wishes is longer than this page, start here rather than with anything above.

   Against it: $16 and a configuration session to get one gesture that the apps above ship switched on.

7. 7

   BetterTouchTool

   The most capable software on this page by a distance, and the answer half the internet gives to any Mac customization question. It is last here only because of the question being asked.

   Against it: Buying the most configurable tool on the platform to get one mouse button is the long way round — and the setup is yours to do.

Two of those seven are by the person who wrote this page, and one of them is first. That is worth distrusting on sight — so every claim behind the order is in the table below, cell by cell, with the competitors' own materials as the source. Read it and put them in a different order; the facts are the same either way.

Every attribute, side by side

Cells marked “Not documented” mean the app’s own materials don’t state it either way — we would rather leave a blank than publish a guess about someone else’s app. Every cell here — ours and theirs — was re-verified against each vendor's own current materials on 31 August 2026. If something has gone stale since, tell us and it gets fixed.

One-on-one comparisons: vs MiddleDrag · vs Middle · vs MiddleTouch · vs Multitouch · vs BetterTouchTool · vs MiddleClick