DaisyDisk alternative
See what takes up space — right where you manage your files
DaisyDisk is the classic way to see a Mac's disk at a glance: a focused, beautifully made app. Folia Files asks the same question in any pane. Switch to the size view and folders become bubbles, the biggest first; select what you no longer need, review it, and send it to the Trash.
7 days free with every feature, no account, no card. Then $49.99 once for up to 3 Macs, every future update included — no subscription.
In short
DaisyDisk ($9.99 once for up to 5 Macs, macOS 10.13 or later) is a dedicated disk analyzer: a sunburst map of a whole disk, hidden and purgeable space revealed and administrator scans outside the Mac App Store, cloud storage scanned remotely, and files deleted for good so the space comes back at once. Folia Files ($49.99 once, a full file manager) shows any folder or disk as bubbles by size in any pane (Space Lens), keeps your earlier scans to show what grew, sends what you pick to the Trash with an undo, and adds Mac care: large and old files, similar images, duplicates, cleanup and app uninstall. Choose DaisyDisk for the most detailed map of a whole disk; choose Folia Files to see sizes where you work.
Seeing and freeing space
| Feature | Folia Files | DaisyDisk |
|---|---|---|
| A map of a folder or a whole disk | YesBubbles by size (Space Lens) | YesSunburst map |
| Inside your file manager, in any pane | YesThe size view, ⌘7 | NoA separate app |
| Quick Look preview | Yes | Yes |
| What deleting does | Sends to the Trash, with an undo | Deletes for good after a 5-second countdown |
| Purgeable space | YesShown in Space Lens; freed in Mac care › Performance | YesPurged in the stand-alone edition |
| Hidden space, scan as administrator | No | YesStand-alone edition |
| Scan cloud storage remotely | No | YesDropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive, Box |
| Large and old files, similar images, duplicates | YesMac care › Clutter | No |
| Cleanup and app uninstall | YesMac care | No |
| Price | $49.99 once, up to 3 Macs, updates included | $9.99 once, up to 5 Macs; minor updates included |
| Free trial | 7 days, every feature | No time limit: scan and browse, no deleting |
| macOS | 14 or later | 10.13 or later |
| On the Mac App Store | Coming soon | Yes$9.99, without the administrator scan |
| Languages | 8 | 14 |
What DaisyDisk does better
DaisyDisk does one thing and does it beautifully. Its sunburst map shows a whole disk's hierarchy in a single picture, and it reaches what an ordinary scan misses: it reveals hidden space, scans as administrator, purges purgeable space and finds the macOS snapshots that quietly take room. Since July 2026 it also detects APFS clones, for more accurate sizes, and it scans Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive and Box remotely.
It deletes for good, after a five-second countdown, so the space comes back at once. At $9.99 for up to five Macs, with a free trial that never expires, it is hard to beat: keep it if a full-disk map is what you need.
What you get with Folia Files
Space Lens is a view, not another app: switch any pane to the size view (⌘7) and its folder becomes bubbles, the biggest first, with the list of sizes beside them and the disk's used, purgeable and free space below. Dive in, go back, select what you no longer need, then Review and Delete: it goes to the Trash, and ⌘Z or the Operations history brings it back.
- Each scan is kept, the last 12 per folder: Changes shows what grew or shrank since
- Sizes are the space files really take on the disk, and a scan never wanders onto another disk
- Cloud folders are left out unless you include them, and a folder that does not answer is skipped instead of stalling the scan
- Folder sizes in the detailed list and the tree, so the biggest folders sort first
Beyond the map: Mac care
Mac care › Clutter lists large and old files by type or by age, similar images, old downloads and duplicates found by their content. Cleanup explains each cache, log and developer file before anything goes, and Applications uninstalls apps with the leftovers they scatter in your Library. Everything is reviewed first and goes to the Trash.
Which one to choose
DaisyDisk, if…
- You want the most detailed map of a whole disk
- You need hidden space, administrator scans or cloud storage measured
- You want the space back at once, without going through the Trash
- You want a small, focused app
Folia Files, if…
- You want sizes where you manage your files, in any pane
- You'd rather send things to the Trash, with an undo
- You want to see what grew since an earlier scan
- You also want duplicates, cleanup and app uninstall in the same app
Website edition and Mac App Store
Space Lens, Clutter, Cleanup and Applications are in both editions. In the Mac App Store edition, Folia Files stays inside Apple's sandbox: it measures the folders and disks you open to it in an Open dialog, and asks when it needs one. Freeing purgeable space (Mac care › Performance) is in the website edition, and in the Mac App Store edition with Folia Files Companion (free).
Questions
Once you empty the Trash. What you pick goes to the Trash first, so you can put it back or undo it. DaisyDisk deletes for good after a five-second countdown, which frees the space at once.
Yes. Open the disk in a pane and switch to the size view, or open Space Lens in Mac care and pick the disk. A scan stays on that disk: other disks mounted inside it are not counted.
macOS 14 or later, on Apple silicon or Intel. It is in 8 languages and is sold on its website, and soon on the Mac App Store.
Keep reading
See for yourself, free for 7 days
Every feature, no account, no credit card. Then $49.99, once, every future update included — no subscription.
Prices and features checked on 5 October 2026, on DaisyDisk's website, guide and release notes, and the Mac App Store.