MacPaw saves 3 FTEs by choosing DX versus building
7x + return on investment in DX
MacPaw, the company behind iOS and MacOS utilities like CleanMyMac and Setapp, relies on its 150+ engineers to deliver high-quality software quickly. As the company grew, fragmented metrics and feedback tools—Jira reports, Grafana dashboards, Google Forms—hindered progress. These inconsistent and manual solutions left leadership without a unified view of blockers or priorities.
CTO Vira Tkachenko considered building an internal solution to address the issue, but found the complexity and cost prohibitive. “Replicating what DX offers would have required multiple full-time engineers and data scientists,” she explains. “Even then, it wouldn’t deliver the same usability or insights.”
Using DX, MacPaw was able to achieve 99% response rates on their developer surveys—a level sustained in subsequent snapshots and previously unattainable. Combined with DX’s metrics solution, the platform provided a comprehensive view of blockers impacting developer productivity, which their previous tools couldn’t deliver.
DX’s turnkey integrations with existing systems ensured no disruption to workflows, while transparency built trust among engineers. “We needed a tool engineers would trust—not something they’d view as a top-down directive,” explains Tkachenko. DX’s rapid pace of innovation sealed the decision. “DX is constantly getting better. In just one year, we saw so many new powerful features,” Tkachenko adds. “That evolution was essential to us.
Implementing DX saved MacPaw three FTEs by eliminating the overhead of maintaining fragmented tools. It also improved developer productivity and engagement by identifying workflow issues and aligning teams around the right priorities. “DX empowers our teams to deliver better software faster by giving us the clarity to focus on what truly matters,” Tkachenko notes.
DX is now central to MacPaw’s engineering strategy. Teams use the platform to identify focus areas, and leadership aligns on priorities across the organization. Quarterly working groups tackle cross-team challenges, driving continuous improvements in speed and quality.
As MacPaw scales, DX ensures teams stay aligned, inefficiencies are minimized, and the organization maintains its pace of delivery without compromising quality.
