Comparison
WheelClick vs MiddleTouch
Two ways to bring middle click back to macOS — here’s what actually differs.
macOS has never shipped a native way to middle-click, middle-click-drag, or autoscroll the way Windows and Linux users take for granted — anyone who switches platforms and loses that muscle memory ends up searching for a third-party fix. WheelClick and MiddleTouch are two independent answers to that same gap, built by different developers with different approaches; neither is a copy of the other. Below is an honest, attribute-by-attribute comparison so you can pick the one that fits how you work.
MiddleTouch is by Ryan Hanson (the developer of Rectangle) — its site is here. MiddleTouch is the Mac App Store edition of Ryan Hanson’s middle-click work: the same trackpad gestures as his app Middle, at a lower price. Because App Store sandboxing blocks the private framework Magic Mouse touch data requires, it is trackpad-only for gestures, and its own listing points Magic Mouse owners at Middle instead — which is to its credit.
Side by side
| MiddleTouch | WheelClick | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $4.99 one-time | $4.99 one-time Three-finger click & tap free forever |
| License | Closed source | Closed source |
| Free trial | No | 14 days No account needed |
| Free tier | No Paid, and no trial either | Free tier Three-finger click and tap, permanently — no account, no countdown |
| macOS support | macOS 10.15 (Catalina) and later | macOS 13 (Ventura) and later |
| Input method | Not documented Not stated. Being an App Store build, it is sandboxed | Public Accessibility API (CGEventTap) One exception: Magic Mouse touches, which no public API exposes. Those come from a separate unsandboxed helper, in the direct build only |
| Trackpad | Yes | Yes |
| Magic Mouse | No No touch gestures on it — but its own listing says fn+click works with any mouse | Yes Paid — touch gestures in the direct build; fn+click everywhere |
| Middle-click-drag | Not documented | Yes Opt-in Middle-Drag plugin for CAD, plus a configurable modifier-key + click (paid) |
| Autoscroll | Not documented | Yes System-wide, opt-in (paid) |
| Swipe gestures | No | Yes Three-finger swipes (paid) |
| Per-app rules | Not documented | Yes Per-app allow and ignore lists (paid) |
| Where bugs go | Public issue tracker rxhanson/Middle-Community on GitHub, which carries MiddleTouch issues too | Public issue tracker WheelClick-Community on GitHub |
| Last release | 1.13, 11 June 2026 Its App Store listing | 1.1.4, 26 August 2026 GitHub Releases |
| Distribution | Mac App Store | Mac App Store, direct download, Homebrew The App Store build has no Magic Mouse gestures — the same sandbox limit every App Store app hits |
| Maintenance | Active | Active Five releases in August 2026 |
Cells marked “Not documented” mean MiddleTouch’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 was re-verified against MiddleTouch’s own current materials on 31 August 2026; if something has gone stale since, tell us and it gets fixed. Comparing more than one alternative? See the full comparison — WheelClick and every middle-click app in one table.
Which one fits you
Pick MiddleTouch if your Mac runs macOS 10.15 to 12 — three releases WheelClick does not reach. Installing from the App Store is no longer the deciding factor it was: WheelClick is on the App Store too, at the same price, and both builds lose Magic Mouse touches to the same sandbox.
Pick WheelClick if you use a Magic Mouse, want autoscroll or middle-click-drag, want to try before buying (MiddleTouch has no trial), or want the two core gestures free forever rather than paid.
Either way you end up with a middle click your Mac should arguably have shipped with — see why macOS never did.
Three-finger click and tap are free forever — no trial needed for those.
More comparisons: vs MiddleDrag · vs Middle · vs Multitouch · vs BetterTouchTool · vs MiddleClick · all of them at once