Files, backup and storage4 picks
The best disk space and uninstaller apps for Mac
DaisyDisk is the disk cleaner most Mac users should buy, and GrandPerspective is the best free way to see what fills your drive.
DaisyDiskPick it if your Mac keeps saying the disk is almost full and you need to see why.$9.99 onceDaisyDisk shows your whole drive as a clickable ring map so the biggest space hogs stand out, for $9.99 once. GrandPerspective does the same job free, with a block map instead. AppCleaner is the free pick for removing apps along with their leftover files, and CleanMyMac suits people who want 1 scan to clear junk without digging.
How we chose
- 1Seeing which files take the most space
- 2Removing apps with their leftover files
- 3One-time price or yearly fee
Compare at a glance
Tap a name to jump to its write-up.
| App | Price | How you pay | Mac | App Store | Developer | Setapp | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DaisyDisk | $9.99 once | Pay once | Too few ratings | ||||
 GrandPerspective | Free, open source | Free | Too few ratings | ||||
 AppCleaner | Free | Free | Too few ratings | ||||
 CleanMyMac | From $9.95 | Subscription | Too few ratings |
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The picks, in order
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Pick it if your Mac keeps saying the disk is almost full and you need to see why.
The free trial already scans your whole drive and draws it as a clickable ring map, so you can find what is eating your space before you pay anything. Deleting from inside the app needs the $9.99 license, which covers up to 5 personal Macs, protects system files and breaks down the vague System Data number in macOS. GrandPerspective draws a similar map for free, but DaisyDisk's rings are much easier to drill into.
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Pick this if you want the same answer as DaisyDisk for free and don't mind a plainer block map.
Free from SourceForge or $2.99 on the Mac App Store, this open source app draws your whole disk as a map of blocks sized by how much space each file takes, so the biggest space hogs stand out at once. The $2.99 only buys automatic updates, which makes the free download the cheapest way in. The current version needs macOS 14 or later, with older builds linked on the same page.
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Pick it if you try lots of apps and want each one gone with its caches and settings files.
Dragging an app to the Trash leaves its caches, settings and support files behind. AppCleaner finds those leftovers when you drop the app onto its window, lets you check the list and deletes everything in 1 click, for free. Pearcleaner, also free, adds a scan for leftovers from apps you already deleted, so it suits people who want more than a drop target, and AppCleaner 3.7 needs macOS 15 or later.
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Pick this if you'd rather run 1 scan for junk, malware and old files than hunt through folders yourself.
If your Mac keeps warning about full storage and you don't want to hunt for files yourself, CleanMyMac's Smart Care scan clears system junk, checks for malware and flags big forgotten files in one go. It now cleans iCloud Drive, Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox and Gmail too. At $39.95 a year it costs far more than the free AppCleaner or Pearcleaner, which cover uninstalling, so Setapp is the cheaper route if you already subscribe.
Head to head
Stuck between 2 of these? Each comparison lines up price, devices and who should pick which.
