Although there are still fewer statistical analysis software for Mac than for Windows, we’ve looked at the best statistical software for Mac, including cloud and on-premise solutions.
No matter what you do, being able to effectively interpret statistics and market research is essential for making better business decisions or forecasts.
Statistical analysis is becoming increasingly important to the global economy, and the use of statistical software is expected to grow at a rate of at least 9% annually through 2025.
What are the best statistics software for Mac? There are now some very powerful Mac statistics software for analyzing statistics and research on macOS, many of which are cheaper, easier, and better to use than the Windows option.
We also highly recommend you to check out our guide to the best database software for Mac also in order to effectively manage your statistics and get the most out of it.
There are incredibly easy-to-use database creation tools like Knack, which can connect to many of the apps reviewed here and enhance your statistical analysis.
Here’s our selection of the best statistics software for Mac by ranking.
Quick navigation
- 1. Wizard
- 2. Stata for Mac
- 3. XLStat
- 4. JMP
- 5. IBM SPSS Statistics
- 6. Minitab
- 7. GraphPad Prism
- Is there any free statistical software for Mac?
- conclusion
1. Wizard
Mac Statistical Software Download: Wizard is easily our favorite Mac statistical analysis software because it can be done easily without skimping on features and features.
The Wizard looks different from Microsoft Access, but it does almost everything you can do in Microsoft Access, but it’s easier and more user-friendly.
Not to mention the $79.99 for the standard version or $199 for the pro version, which is much cheaper than Access and Stata.
Stata can import Access MDB files as well as DBF, Excel XLS/XLSX, RData/RDS, JSON, SQLite, and more.
Note that if you want to use SPSS, SAS, and Stata files, you can, although you’ll have to upgrade to the Pro version for this (you can either purchase Wizard Pro directly from the Mac App Store or purchase the standard version of Wizard and upgrade within the app by going to the Wizard menu and selecting “Unlock Pro Features”).
We looked at Wizard in more detail in our Wizard for Mac review, it’s the best alternative to Access on Mac, and if you’re looking for a statistical analysis software for Mac that works on macOS and is as powerful as Stata, it ticks all the boxes.
You can see what the Wizard can do in the video below:
2. Stata for Mac
Stata for Mac is the most widely used and well-known statistical software for Windows and Mac. Stata has a powerful point-and-click interface, intuitive command syntax, and extremely fast processing and representation of data.
It’s impossible to cover all the features of Stata for Mac, but they include everything from basic tables and summaries, case-control analysis, ARIMA, ANOVA, and MANOVA to linear regression, time series smoothers, and generalized linear models (GLMs).
The problem is that it also comes with a hefty price, although Stata does offer a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Depending on the version of Stata you need, Stata is priced at $595 per year or $1195 for a perpetual license, depending on the size of the dataset and whether you need an enterprise or personal license.
However, students can get a Stata perpetual license for as little as $89.
You can watch Stata in action below:
3. XLStat
Collection of Best Statistics Software for Mac: XLStat is actually a clever Microsoft Excel add-in that allows you to analyze statistics in Excel on Mac.
If you’re a big user of Excel, it’s a powerful tool for extending Excel capabilities to include statistical analysis. XLStat integrates seamlessly with it and adds another 200 functions and features to Excel.
XLStat saves time because it allows you to modify and automate in VBA routines and dialogs, and prompts you to make it very easy to use.
Note that XLStat works with Excel 2011 to 2016 versions on Mac and is also compatible with PPC Mac.
XLStat is a bit dizzying in terms of the number of editions and pricing.
Speaking of versions, XLStat comes in 7 different versions – Sensory, Marketing, Forecast, Biomed, Ecology, Psy, and Quality, and as the name suggests, they are tailored for statistical analysis in different fields.
It’s impossible to list all the different features and differences here, but all versions include these basic features:
To compare the feature differences between different editions, we recommend that you visit the XLStat comparison page, where you can compare features interactively.
You can also extend all of these capabilities with optional features such as 3D visualization, latent class cluster models, and related component regressions.
XLStat’s pricing is also a bit complicated, but you basically have to choose a private/corporate, academic, student, or campus plan.
Then, you’ll need to decide if you want to pay for a perpetual (i.e., unlimited and perpetual) license, an annual subscription license, or an annual concurrent license (for network administrators to deploy to multiple users).
Annual licenses start at $50 per year for students, $165 for academic staff, and $275 for other users. Perpetual licenses are not available for students, but pricing starts at $395 for academic staff and $695 for other users.
You can try XLStat for Mac for free for 30 days, and after the trial expires, you can continue to use the very limited basic version of XLStat if you don’t upgrade.
4. JMP
What are the best statistics software for Mac? JMP was developed by SAS, one of the largest providers of statistical software for Mac and Windows. JMP actually stands for “John’s Macintosh Project” because it was created by John Sall, one of the co-founders of SAS.
Although originally created for the Mac, JMP’s interface doesn’t really keep pace with the latest version of macOS, but JMP is all about purely analytical power, not looking beautiful on a Mac.
That’s because JMP is a very high-end statistical analysis software designed for the needs of scientists and engineers.
Some of the most notable features of JMP include univariate and multivariate linear and nonlinear analysis, analysis of variance, multivariate ANOVA and ANCOVA, time series analysis, multivariate optimization and Monte Carlo simulations, and hierarchical and k-means clustering.
JMP includes powerful interactive and visual insights that give you plenty of links to drill down into statistics and data.
There are many aspects of JMP, including data cleaning, reliability analysis, statistical modeling and fundamental data analysis.
The range of features and possibilities for data analysis with JMP is one of the most powerful you can find on a Mac, and it takes quite a while to get to grips with the software.
It’s not possible to do everything you can do in JMP here, but we recommend checking out the JNP Features page, which contains videos and screenshots of everything it can do.
For quantitative analysis, JMP is arguably the most powerful statistical software available for the Mac. JMP’s interactive design makes it extremely quick and easy to create powerful theories and spot trends.
The main drawback of JMP is the price, as it is clearly designed for the enterprise sector.
You’ll now have to request a quote to get pricing, but expect to pay around $2000 for an annual license.
Another drawback is that JMP is nowhere near as widely used as SPSS, which means sharing files with others who don’t have JMP difficulties.
5. IBM SPSS Statistics
Mac Statistical Software Download: IBM SPSS Statistics is the most widely used statistical analysis software in enterprise environments, and SPSS for Mac covers the entire analysis process.
This includes everything from planning and data collection to reporting and deployment. SPSS for Mac is made up of different modules that help you figure out ways to increase revenue, beat your competitors, and ultimately make better business decisions.
One of the key features of SPSS for Mac is the Temporal Causal Modeling (TCM) technique, which enables you to upload multiple time series to see which ones have a causal relationship.
It is then very useful in automatically determining the best predictor for each target series.
Geospatial analysis allows you to explore the relationship between data and places.
There is also a spatiotemporal prediction (STP) technique that fits linear measurement models in both 2D and 3D space to help predict how an area will change over time.
You can also use Generalized Spatial Association Rules (GSAR) to create association rules from geospatial attributes.
This can combine data such as location, event type, and time to highlight trends in incidents, such as crime or contagion.
SPSS allows you to program in R using its own integrated development environment. This includes the ability to write R functions using the SPSS Statistics feature as well as the command syntax in R, and then return the results to R.
Although it has to be said that SPSS for Mac does not have the same interactive elements as JMP for Mac, the latest version of the report has been improved with increased interactivity and web server support.
However, one thing that benefits SPSS is that it is generally more agile and faster than JMP.
This is partly because SPSS for Mac writes the data to a text data file, and then the bulk loader script writes the data back to the database, which is useful when working with large datasets.
SPSS has 4 pricing plans. The Basic plan is cheaper than JMP at $1,170 per user per year, but then goes up significantly by more than $1,500 up to Standard and beyond. All versions have features such as read/write text, Excel, SAS, etc.; No size limit, descriptive statistics, data preparation and plotting, R/Python support, bivariate statistical programs, factor and cluster analysis, linear and ordinal regression, and basic reports exported to Microsoft Excel and PDF
The Standard Edition includes drag-and-drop interactive tables on top of this linear, nonlinear, ordinal, logical, and 2SLS regression that can be exported to Microsoft Excel and PDF, as well as generalized linear modeling and survival analysis.
The Pro edition includes additional features such as advanced data preparation, decision trees and predictions, and single multiple missing value imputation.
Finally, the Premium version includes all of the above plus precision testing, complex sampling, guidance, and SEM capabilities.
SPSS is still the most widely used statistical analysis software for corporate and academic environments on the Mac, but like JMP, it has a steep learning curve and comes at a high price.
Note that there are some issues with the compatibility between SPSS and macOS 10.15 Catalina. IBM will eventually release fixes for these issues, but in the meantime, be aware of this.
You can try SPSS for Mac for free for 14 days here.
6. Minitab
Mac Statistical Software Downloads: Minitab is one of the world’s leading developers of statistical software used in academic institutions and corporate environments.
Unfortunately, there is actually no Mac version of Minitab, but there are various ways to run Minitab on Mac. Many statisticians easily use it by using Parallels, which is the best way to run Windows on Mac.
Alternatively, you can use Minitab Express for Mac, although it’s not as powerful as the full version.
Minitab is a great choice for those who are intimidated by software like SPSS and JMP, as it retains most of the latter’s features, but with a more user-friendly interface.
Minitab will guide you through the statistical analysis process to help you maximize insights and value from your data.
Minitab helps you hone your data analysis by using interactive decision trees to help you choose the right statistical tools for your data, and then constantly asking questions about the type of data you’re analyzing.
Analysis can be performed at the click of a button, but the real strength of Minitab is the way it summarizes the results. It highlights important trends or data so you can reduce manual analysis.
This includes diagnostic reports and report cards to help identify any anomalies or issues in the data you submit.
There are a limited number of graphical outputs in Minitab, but they are concise and to the point. The number of export options is also very limited, but you can export to PowerPoint, Word, and Excel.
There’s also a lighter, cheaper version of Minitab, called Minitab Express, that is available for Mac, but lacks some of Minitab’s more advanced analytics components.
7. GraphPad Prism
What are the best statistics software for Mac? If you’re looking for a complex and varied way to graphically represent statistics on your Mac, GraphPad Prism could be your answer.
Available for Mac and Windows, GraphPad Prism transforms complex statistics into scientific plotting, curve fitting (nonlinear regression), and data organization.
GraphPad Prism was initially aimed at biologists in medical schools and pharmaceutical companies in pharmacology and physiology.
However, prisms are now more widely used by biologists and biology students, as well as by social and physical scientists.
Prism is user-friendly, and with just a few clicks, you can convert your data into charts for presentations, posters, or publications. You can export GraphPad Prism to PowerPoint, Word, TIFF, EPS, JPG, or PDF.
If you’re in the medical or biological field, GraphPad Prism is a more user-friendly, cheaper, and tailor-made statistical analysis software for Mac than any of the above.
It costs $20 per month / $150 per year for academic / $200 for standard and also has a 30-day free trial.
Is there any free statistical software for Mac?
Mac has some free statistical software, but you’ll find that the main problem is the lack of number crunching power and poor usability.
Most of them are open-source or maintained by a community of volunteers, so they are often not updated frequently and lack the resources to make them more user-friendly.
The business of number crunching is complex, and the apps reviewed here are powerful yet easy to use and regularly maintained by the developers.
Best Statistical Software for Mac Collection Conclusion
As we’ve seen, while the PC market is still leading, there’s a lot of statistical software for Mac that means you don’t have to go back to Windows.
Which one you choose depends on how complex you need it to be, how much time you have to learn it, and how popular it is in the industry you work in.
We hope that the knowledge of the best statistics software for Mac will help you in your decision.
If you really can’t live without a Windows-only stats app, we recommend checking out our guide on the best way to install Windows on Mac.
If you have any questions, comments, or experiences with the statistical software presented here, please let us know in the comments below.
