Macly alternative
NoMac vs Macly
Macly rents a dedicated Mac mini M4 by the month with SSH and VNC. NoMac starts a disposable Mac VM for your agent by the second. An honest comparison.
A Mac for your agent, ready in about a minute.
$9.99/month for 5 hours every week · billed by the second · no overage
7-day money-back guarantee on your first purchase. Prices checked 22 September 2026 from public list prices.
What Macly is
A dedicated Mac mini M4 (10-core, 16 GB, 256 GB) with full admin over SSH, VNC or AnyDesk, from about $100 a month or less on longer terms. At the time of writing, individual orders are paused and only bulk orders are accepted.
Macly vs NoMac at a glance
| Macly | NoMac | |
|---|---|---|
| What you rent | Dedicated Mac mini M4 | A macOS VM per session |
| Price | About $100/month, less on long terms | $9.99 or $29.99/month |
| Availability | Bulk orders only at the time of writing | Self-serve |
| Persistence | Yours for the term | Deleted on stop |
| Access | SSH, VNC, AnyDesk | MCP, CLI, REST API and SSH |
| Performance | A whole M4 mini | A VM slice; smaller than a dedicated machine |
Choose Macly when
- ·You want a whole physical Mac mini for yourself, all month.
- ·You want a remote desktop as well as SSH.
- ·You are ordering ten or more machines for a team or a CI farm.
- ·You want a lower daily rate on a six- or twelve-month term.
Choose NoMac when
- ·You need a Mac now and individual orders are closed.
- ·Your Mac time is a few hours a week, so a monthly machine mostly sits idle.
- ·You want Xcode ready on start, not installed by you.
- ·Your agent should start and stop the Mac on its own.
The verdict
A dedicated mini is the right buy for all-day use. Macly is a fair price for one, when it is selling them. For bursts of agent work, rent minutes instead.
Try it in two minutes
Keep Macly for what it does best, and give your agent a Mac for everything else. From your project directory:
npm install -g @nomac/cli nomac login nomac start --json nomac sync . nomac ssh -- xcodebuild -list nomac stop --json # or let Claude Code drive it claude mcp add nomac -- npx @nomac/cli mcp
Or give your agent nomac.app/install and it sets itself up.
Questions
What is the best Macly alternative for AI agents?＋
NoMac is built for coding agents: a fresh macOS VM with Xcode and root, started and driven over MCP, CLI, REST API or SSH, billed by the second from weekly hours. It is the better fit when an agent needs a Mac in short bursts. Macly is the better fit when you want a whole physical Mac mini for yourself, all month.
How much does NoMac cost?＋
$9.99 a month for 5 hours every week, or $29.99 a month for 25 hours every week. Ready time is billed by the second after a one-minute minimum; queue and setup are free. There is no overage. 7-day money-back guarantee on your first purchase.
Can Claude Code, Codex or Cursor use NoMac?＋
Yes. Add the MCP server with one command (claude mcp add nomac -- npx @nomac/cli mcp), or use the hosted MCP endpoint from a cloud sandbox. The agent can start a Mac, run commands, read output and stop it.
Do I need an Apple Developer account?＋
Not to start a Mac, compile, run tests or use the iOS Simulator. Signing and TestFlight uploads need your own Apple Developer membership, as on any Mac.
What happens to my files when I stop?＋
The VM and everything on it is deleted, including anything your agent installed and any credentials you sent. Pull what you need first with nomac pull, rsync or scp.
Stop paying for a Mac that waits for you.
Full macOS with Xcode and root, over MCP, CLI, API or SSH. Billed by the second, deleted when you stop. $9.99 a month, or $29.99 for 25 hours a week.
Get your agent a Mac7-day money-back guarantee on your first purchase. Cancel anytime.