Darktable will be the best free software (also free and open source), look no further. They say it works on MacOS 13.5 and newer.
PS. Focus on learning shutter speed, aperture, and ISO and how you use each one to achieve your goal for that photo and how they balance out. Also focus on developing an eye for composition for your type of photography, ex: landscape, candid, portrait, etc.
There are some really nice film simulations in Rawtherapee under the Colour tab and I would try this first. I personally really like the Polaroid ones.
Another great (and very flexible) option is the G'MIC plugin in GIMP. Go to Colours > Colour Presets and try some out. You can add and configure grain under Filters in GIMP. This might be a good option if you want lots of control and are willing to learn a bit.
Feel free to send me a message - I help people get up and running with free and open source photography software.
Slightly off topic, but this site has a good graphic that explains some photography basics, like how ISO and aperture affect the shot.
please be aware that this is the “Marxist Leninist” Instance, they have set up communities named after all the popular topics to try to draw traffic – but you may get better results elsewhere, like !photography@lemmy.world
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