DaisyDisk vs TreeSize (2026): which should you pick?

Pick DaisyDisk if

• Fits if your Mac keeps running out of disk space and you want to see why
• Works for people who want to pay once and cover up to 5 personal Macs

Look elsewhere if

• Skip it if you want a cleaner that decides for you, as it does no automatic cleaning
• Not for you if you need to find duplicate files, since it doesn't do that
• Tight if you plan to stay on the trial, because it can't delete files, show them in Finder or scan cloud storage
• Watch out: deletion is permanent, not a move to the Trash, so a wrong pick is gone for good
• Watch out: the App Store edition can't scan as administrator or purge hidden space, and there's no Windows or iOS version

Pick TreeSize if

• Fits if you need to find what fills a Windows drive
• Works for IT staff who want scheduled storage reports

Look elsewhere if

• Skip it if you use Mac or Linux, as it is Windows only
• Not for you if you want free at work, as the free edition is for private use only
• Tight if you need duplicate search, since that needs Personal at 20.40 EUR a year
• Watch out: prices are in euros and may differ by region

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.

TreeSize

• Windows only; the editions page lists Windows desktop editions.
• Prices are shown in euros on the site and may differ by region; the free edition is limited to private use.
• Duplicate search and usage comparison need a paid edition.

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.

TreeSize

Usage charts

Shows disk use as treemap, pie and bar charts, with a folder breakdown in an Explorer-style view.

Large and duplicate files

Personal and above filter the largest files and search for duplicates.

Many scan targets

Scans local drives, mapped network shares, and cloud or remote targets such as S3, Azure and SharePoint.

Reports and exports

Exports results to PDF, Excel, HTML or CSV, and can send scheduled reports by email.

On-premise only

The vendor says all editions run on-premise and no data leaves the PC.

Portable use

Select editions can run from a USB drive without installation.

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.

TreeSize

• TreeSize Free0 EUR

  Home use only (non-commercial). Treemap chart and PDF reports of disk usage.

• TreeSize Personal20.40 EUR

  per user / year, billed annually

  Adds top-largest-file filter, duplicate search and usage comparison. 14-day trial; a perpetual option exists.

• TreeSize ProfessionalFrom 41.00 EUR

  per user / year, billed annually

  Adds command-line and task scheduler options and custom PDF, Excel and HTML exports. 14-day trial.

• TreeSize Consultant240.00 EUR

  per user / year, billed annually

  Portable licence usable across multiple client systems. 14-day trial.

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.

TreeSize

No public discounts listed.