DaisyDisk vs OnyX
We give DaisyDisk a 2.8 GPA and OnyX a 3.2, out of 4.0. OnyX grades higher on the free plan. They get the same grade on value for money, features, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
DaisyDisk
Visual disk space analyzer and cleanup tool for Mac
Free trial · from $9.99 one-time
How we grade them
| 2.8GPADaisyDiskGood | 3.2GPAOnyXVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | A$9.99 once buys a lifetime license for up to 5 personal Macs, with minor updates included and a 30-day money-back guarantee. No subscription. That's cheap even among pay-once utilities. | AIt's free. Titanium Software says all its applications are free and fully usable for as long as you want. It calls them donationware, and the PayPal donation is optional. |
| Free plan and trial | CThere's no free plan, but the trial has no time limit and needs no card. It's a look-don't-touch trial, though. It can't delete files, show them in Finder, scan as administrator or scan cloud storage, and it shows purchase reminders. | AThe complete utility is free, with no registration and no license key. There's no paid edition, so there's no limit to hit. |
| Features | AA sunburst map of any disk or folder, a Collector to gather what you'll delete, Quick Look previews, hidden and purgeable space revealed, and scans of Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive and Box. One job, done fully. It won't find duplicate files, and it does no automatic cleaning. | ADisk and system file checks, maintenance tasks, cache cleaning, hidden settings for the Finder, Dock and Safari, and an app uninstaller. It includes what the vendor ships separately as Maintenance and Deeper. For Mac housekeeping, that's the whole job. |
| Ease of use | BNo rating is on record to go by, so a B. You browse a map and drag things to a collector, with 5 seconds to cancel a delete. The vendor quotes 12-20 seconds to scan an APFS SSD startup disk. Just remember that deleted files are gone for good. | BNo store rating on record, so a B is as high as we go. It replaces Terminal commands with buttons, which is the point. But each major macOS version needs its own build, and the vendor warns against running one made for an earlier system. |
| Platforms and integrations | DMac only, on macOS 10.13 or newer, and the FAQ says there's no Windows or iOS version. It does scan Dropbox, Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive and Box over the network. | DMac only, with no integrations listed. Version 5.1.0 needs Apple silicon on macOS 27, and Intel Macs stop at OnyX 5.0.6 for macOS Tahoe 26. Older builds go back as far as Mac OS X 10.2. |
| Best for | seeing what's eating your Mac's disk space | free Mac maintenance without Terminal commands |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: DaisyDisk and OnyX. How we grade
Where they differ
- DaisyDisk starts at $9.99 one-time purchase (lifetime license). OnyX is free.
- OnyX has a free plan. DaisyDisk does not, though it has a free trial.
- DaisyDisk can be bought with a one-time purchase.
In commonmacOSDisk cleanup
At a glance
| DaisyDisk | OnyX | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free |
| Starts at | $9.99 one-time purchase (lifetime license) | Free |
| Free plan | None | The vendor says all its applications are free and fully usable for as long as you want, with no registration. It calls them donationware; a PayPal donation is optional. |
| Free trial | Free trial with no time limit and no card required; deleting files and several other features stay locked | None listed |
| macOS | ||
| Made by | Software Ambience Corp. | Titanium Software |
| Price read from | daisydiskapp.com | titanium-software.fr |
| Checked | Oct 6, 2026 | Oct 9, 2026 |
Who each one suits
DaisyDisk
- Mac users who keep running out of disk space
- Finding what is behind large System Data or Other storage figures
- People who want a one-time purchase that covers their personal Macs
OnyX
- Mac users who want maintenance and cache cleaning without Terminal commands
- People who want to change hidden Finder, Dock and Safari settings
- Owners of older Macs, since builds exist for many past macOS versions
Worth knowing
DaisyDisk
- macOS only; the current version needs macOS 10.13 or newer, and the FAQ says there is no Windows or iOS version.
- The free trial cannot delete files, show them in Finder, scan as administrator or scan cloud storage, and shows purchase reminders.
- The Mac App Store edition cannot scan as administrator and only detects hidden and purgeable space without revealing or purging it.
- It does not find duplicate files, and deletion is permanent, not a move to the Trash.
OnyX
- macOS only. Each major macOS version needs its own OnyX build, and the vendor warns against running a build made for an earlier system.
- The current version, 5.1.0, requires a Mac with Apple silicon on macOS Golden Gate 27; Intel Macs stop at OnyX 5.0.6 for macOS Tahoe 26.
- Builds for earlier macOS versions are discontinued and will not be updated, although they can still be downloaded.
- It is freeware, not open source: the license allows copying and sharing it but not modifying it for distribution.
Key features
DaisyDisk
- Sunburst disk map
- Scans a disk or folder and draws its contents as a sunburst map that you browse to locate the largest files and folders.
- Fast scanning
- The vendor quotes 12-20 seconds for an APFS SSD startup disk and 6-12 seconds for an HFS+ one, and 3-5 minutes for NTFS, FAT and exFAT volumes.
- Collector and deletion
- Drag items to the Collector, review them, then click Delete, with 5 seconds to cancel. Files are removed permanently, and system folders are not accepted.
- Hidden and purgeable space
- Detects space that regular scanning cannot account for, reveals it by scanning as administrator, and can purge purgeable space and local snapshots.
- Cloud scan
- Connects Dropbox, Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive and Box and scans them over the network like a local disk, without allocating local disk space.
- Quick Look preview
- Pressing Space previews any file with the built-in Quick Look, so you can identify it before deciding whether to delete it.
OnyX
- System file verification
- Checks the startup disk and the structure of its system files, a job that otherwise means typing commands in Terminal.
- Maintenance tasks
- Runs miscellaneous maintenance jobs and rebuilds various databases and indexes. The vendor's separate Maintenance app is a subset of this part of OnyX.
- Cache and file cleaning
- Deletes application, font and system caches and removes certain folders and files that are known to cause problems.
- Hidden settings
- Turns hidden options on or off in the Finder, Dock, Safari and other Apple applications, the same controls the vendor ships separately as Deeper.
- Application uninstaller
- Removes an application together with its related files and folders. The 5.1.1 release in progress lists an improved uninstaller.
- A build for each macOS version
- Version 5.1.0, released on September 15, 2026, targets macOS Golden Gate 27, and older builds stay downloadable for systems back to Mac OS X 10.2.
Plans
DaisyDisk
Lifetime License$9.99
one-time purchase
Stand-alone edition for up to 5 personal Macs. Minor updates and bug fixes are included, with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Mac App Store edition$9.99
one-time purchase (US Mac App Store)
Sandboxed edition without scanning as administrator. The vendor offers App Store customers free migration to the stand-alone license.
OnyX
OnyX$0
The complete utility, including the functions of the vendor's Maintenance, Deeper, CalHash and Schedulizer apps. No registration or license key.
Ways to pay less
DaisyDisk
- Lifetime license
Lifetime license with no subscription
One payment buys a lifetime license with no recurring charges. Minor updates are included, and a paid major upgrade would not invalidate the license.
- Education
Student discounts on request
The pricing page says student discounts are offered and asks buyers to contact the vendor for details.
- Other savings
Corporate and portable IT licenses
Corporate licenses and portable licenses for IT services are available on request, according to the pricing page.
OnyX
No public discounts listed.
