DaisyDisk vs Pearcleaner
We give DaisyDisk a 2.8 GPA and Pearcleaner a 3.2, out of 4.0. Pearcleaner 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 | 3.2GPAPearcleanerVery 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. | AFree, from the GitHub releases page or Homebrew. The license, Apache 2.0 with the Commons Clause, stops anyone selling it or a modified version. |
| 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. | AEvery feature is free and there's no paid tier. Nothing is held back for an upgrade. |
| 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. | AUninstalls with related files, an orphaned file search, and a small monitor that cleans up when an app hits the Trash. Then there are managers for Homebrew, PKG installers and services, an Update All button, and tools that strip unused languages from apps. For an uninstaller, that's a lot. |
| 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. Drag an app in or pick it from a list, and a Finder extension adds uninstalling to the right-click menu. It does need Full Disk Access, plus a privileged helper for system folders. |
| 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. The support table lists macOS 13 Ventura through 26 Tahoe, and macOS 27 doesn't appear in it. It works with Homebrew and Steam, and has a command line and deep links for automation. |
| Best for | seeing what's eating your Mac's disk space | free Mac uninstalls that take the leftovers too |
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 Pearcleaner. How we grade
Where they differ
- DaisyDisk starts at $9.99 one-time purchase (lifetime license). Pearcleaner is free.
- Pearcleaner 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 | Pearcleaner | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free |
| Starts at | $9.99 one-time purchase (lifetime license) | Free |
| Free plan | None | The whole app is free, from the GitHub releases page or Homebrew. Its license, Apache 2.0 with the Commons Clause, prohibits anyone from selling it or a modified version. |
| 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. | Alin Lupascu |
| Price read from | daisydiskapp.com | github.com |
| 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
Pearcleaner
- Mac users who want leftover files removed when they uninstall an app
- Homebrew users who want packages and app updates in one window
- People who want a free cleaner whose source code they can read
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.
Pearcleaner
- Development is on hold: the README says work stopped at the end of 2025 and that issue replies, pull request reviews and new releases are paused indefinitely.
- macOS only. The support table lists macOS 13 Ventura through 26 Tahoe; earlier versions are unsupported and macOS 27 does not appear in it.
- It needs Full Disk Access to search for files and a privileged helper to act on system folders.
- The developer calls the license source-available and fair-code rather than open source: the Commons Clause bars selling the app.
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.
Pearcleaner
- App uninstall with related files
- Apps are dragged in or picked from a list or grid view, with badges for web and iOS apps, and a Finder extension adds uninstalling to the right-click menu.
- Orphaned file search
- A separate search looks for orphaned files. Search sensitivity is adjustable, and directories can be included in or excluded from searching.
- Sentinel Monitor
- A small background monitor, listed at about 2 MB of RAM, starts a cleanup automatically when an app is moved to the Trash.
- Homebrew, PKG and services managers
- Built-in views manage Homebrew packages, PKG installers, plugins and services, and an apps updater has an Update All button with progress shown in the toolbar.
- Slimming installed apps
- Prunes unused app translations, keeping only preferred languages, and strips unneeded architectures from universal apps without the lipo binary from Xcode tools.
- Command line and deep links
- The app has command-line support, including a command that lists orphaned files, plus deep links for automation, and it can export app bundles and file lists.
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.
Pearcleaner
Pearcleaner$0
Every feature, with no paid tier. It needs Full Disk Access to search for files and a privileged helper for actions on system folders.
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.
Pearcleaner
No public discounts listed.
