"File encryption app" covers more ground than it sounds like. Sending one encrypted file to a colleague, keeping a working vault of documents you open every week, and locking an entire drive are three different jobs, and the tool that's best at one is often the wrong choice for another.
This is a practical comparison of the Mac tools people actually reach for across all three, what each one is genuinely good at, and which to pick for what you're actually trying to do.
What actually matters in a Mac file encryption tool
Before the tools, the questions worth answering first.
1. What are you actually encrypting — one file, a folder you use daily, or the whole disk? A tool built for sending a single file is the wrong shape for a vault you open every day, and the reverse is just as true.
2. Are you sharing it, or keeping it? Some tools are built to hand an encrypted file to someone else. Others are built to keep files locked away for yourself, with a viewer so you never have to decrypt them back to a normal folder to use them.
3. Is the cipher actually named? "Bank-level" and "military-grade" are marketing phrases. AES-256, stated plainly, with the mode named (GCM or XTS), is what to look for.
4. What happens if you're forced to hand over access? Almost nothing in this category answers this. It's worth knowing which tools have even a partial answer before you need one.
5. Does it survive a reinstall or a lost password? A tool with no recovery mechanism is a reasonable trade for maximum security, but only if you know that going in.
The comparison
| Best for | Cipher | Shares with others | Under coercion | Platforms | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vaultine | A vault you use daily | AES-256-GCM | No, built to keep not send | Decoy Vault + Duress Vault | Mac, Windows, iPhone, Android |
| Cryptomator | Encrypting a cloud folder | AES-256 (custom scheme) | Indirectly, via shared cloud folders | None built in | Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone, Android |
| Encrypto | Sending one file to someone | AES-256 | Yes, built for it (Mail, AirDrop, Messages) | None | Mac, Windows |
| VeraCrypt | Whole-volume, technical control | AES, Serpent, Twofish, cascades | No | Hidden volumes (manual) | Mac, Windows, Linux |
| macOS FileVault | Protecting a lost/stolen Mac | AES-XTS | No | None | Mac only |
| Disk Utility encrypted image | A single encrypted container | AES-128/256 | Movable as a file, not built for sharing | None | Mac only |
The rest of this post is the detail behind that table.
Vaultine
The right shape for files you open often rather than files you send once. Each file is encrypted with AES-256-GCM on the device, and the built-in viewer opens photos, videos and PDFs without ever writing them back to disk — nothing decrypted, nothing cached by Finder, nothing to accidentally leave unlocked in a Downloads folder.
It's built to keep, not to send: there's no "encrypt and email this to someone" flow, because that's a different job. What it adds instead is a Decoy Vault that shows prepared harmless files on a second code, and a Duress Vault that wipes the real vaults on a third — a genuine answer to being forced to unlock it, which almost nothing else in this comparison has. Free covers one vault, up to 10 files, no time limit; Pro is $1.99 a month, $14.99 a year, or $39.99 once for lifetime.
Cryptomator
Open source and built around a specific job: encrypt a folder that lives inside a cloud provider, so the provider itself only ever sees ciphertext. It reaches more cloud providers than most alternatives — Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive, iCloud Drive, S3 and WebDAV — and its desktop apps for Mac, Windows and Linux are entirely free.
It's not built for sending a single file to someone else, and there's nothing in its design for the coercion scenario. Its mobile app also requires a paid unlock after a 30-day trial. The full breakdown, including what its own recent reviewers report about vaults failing to open after updates, is in Vaultine vs. Cryptomator.
Encrypto
The right tool when the job is genuinely "send this one file securely," not "keep a vault." Encrypto wraps any file or folder in AES-256 encryption, lets you attach a password hint instead of sending the password itself, and shares the result through Mail, AirDrop, Messages or a service like Dropbox — working the same way on both Mac and Windows, so the person receiving it doesn't need to be on the same platform.
It's free, has no ads, and is a genuinely good single-purpose tool. It has no vault concept, no viewer, no mobile app, and nothing for the coercion scenario, because none of that is what it's for.
VeraCrypt
The deepest technical option here: free, fully open source, with a choice of AES, Serpent, Twofish and cascades of the three, in XTS mode. It mounts an encrypted container as a virtual disk, so once it's open, your files behave exactly like files on any other drive — for better control and for worse exposure to whatever else is running.
Its hidden volumes are a real, well-regarded form of plausible deniability, the closest thing on this list to Vaultine's Decoy Vault. There's no phone app, no built-in viewer, and no recovery if you forget your password. The full comparison is in Vaultine vs. VeraCrypt.
macOS FileVault and Disk Utility encrypted images
Both are already on your Mac and worth knowing the difference between. FileVault encrypts the entire startup disk — real protection if your Mac is lost or stolen while off, no protection at all once you're logged in. A Disk Utility encrypted disk image is closer to a single encrypted container: password-protect a .dmg or .sparsebundle, and it behaves like its own drive when mounted, with AES-128 or AES-256.
Neither has a viewer, a mobile companion, or anything for the coercion scenario, and an encrypted disk image is unreadable on a Windows PC without extra software. They're free and already installed, which makes them a reasonable baseline — not a replacement for a tool built around daily use.
So which one
If you're keeping a working set of files you open regularly, and want the same vault on your phone with a real answer for coercion, that's Vaultine.
If you're encrypting a folder that lives in the cloud across the widest set of providers and platforms, Cryptomator is the stronger open-source fit.
If the job is sending one encrypted file to someone else, Encrypto is built exactly for that and costs nothing.
If you want full control over the cipher on one desktop Mac, and you're comfortable with manual setup, VeraCrypt is free and excellent at it.
If you just want your whole Mac protected if it's lost or stolen, turn on FileVault — it's already there, and it isn't trying to be anything more.
Getting started
The fastest way to pick is to name the job first: send once, keep daily, or protect the whole disk. Our post on what to look for in a secure folder alternative covers the cross-platform angle in more depth if Windows is also in the picture, and Decoy Vault vs. Duress Vault covers the coercion case most of this list skips. You can try Vaultine's free tier at vaultine.app.
