Disk Drill vs WinDirStat (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, WinDirStat grades higher than Disk Drill: 2.8 against 2.6 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 9, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
Disk Drill grades higher on features and platforms. WinDirStat grades higher on value for money and the free plan. They get the same grade on ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Disk Drill
Data recovery app for Mac and Windows with free disk tools
Which one is for you
Pick Disk Drill if
- Fits if you need one recovery after a deleted folder or a formatted card
- Works for people who want to see what is recoverable before paying
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want to recover files without paying, as free is scan and preview on Mac and capped at 100 MB on Windows
- Watch out: every PRO purchase is non-refundable except where consumer law says otherwise
- Tight if you need more than 3 devices, as a PRO licence covers one user on up to 3
- Watch out: deep scans of Mac system disks rely on a kernel extension the app installs
- Pricey if you only need it once, since a year is $49
Pick WinDirStat if
- Fits if a Windows drive is full and you want to see why without paying
- Works for companies that need a free tool, since commercial use is allowed
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you're on a Mac or Linux, as it only runs on Windows
- Not for you if you're counting on it to bring back deleted files, since recovery is only an attempt on local NTFS, exFAT and FAT drives
- Not for you if you can't run apps as administrator, because the fast NTFS scan needs that
- Watch out: only Windows 7 through 11 and Server 2008 R2 through 2025 are supported
How we grade them
| 2.6GPADisk DrillGood | 2.8GPAWinDirStatGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | BPRO Lifetime is $69 once, under two years of what the category's middle subscription costs. The yearly option is $49, which is mid-range for the category. | AIt costs nothing and you just download it. Free software under the GNU GPL v3 or later, and the site says you can use it free of charge in personal or commercial settings. |
| Free plan and trial | CThe free edition scans and previews but, on Mac, does not recover; the Windows page says up to 100 MB. The disk health, cleanup and duplicate tools are free. | AThe complete app is free, as an installer, a portable archive, a Microsoft Store package or through winget, Chocolatey or Scoop. There's no paid edition to be nudged towards. |
| Features | BRecovers from drives, cards, cameras and RAID, reads Time Machine, and adds disk health, cleanup, duplicates and backups. Nothing in the listing is missing from the job. | CScans drives, shares and MTP devices, then shows the biggest files, file types, treemaps, sunbursts and flame graphs, finds duplicates by content and exports CSV or JSON. It does disk usage fully, and that's a small job; the file recovery is described only as an attempt, on local NTFS, exFAT and FAT. |
| Ease of use | BNo rating on record. You install it and run a scan, though deep scans on Macs need a kernel extension it installs. | BNo store rating on record, but nothing needs setting up: install it, point it at a drive, read the picture. The one thing to know is that the faster NTFS scan only kicks in if you run it elevated. |
| Platforms and integrations | CMac and Windows desktop only. No phone app, web version or published integrations. | DWindows only, built and tested for Windows 7 through 11 and Server 2008 R2 through 2025. One operating system, and the site itself sends Mac and Linux users off to GrandPerspective and QDirStat. |
| Best for | getting back deleted files on a Mac or PC | finding what's filling a Windows drive for free |
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: Disk Drill and WinDirStat. How we grade
Price against what you get
Disk Drill starts at $4.08 a month when paid by the year and scores 2.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. WinDirStat has no paid plan and scores 2.0.
Disk Drill scores higher, and starts $4.08 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other desktop utilities on the chart, 1 scores higher than Disk Drill for less, and none scores higher than WinDirStat for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Disk Drill can be bought with a one-time purchase.
- WinDirStat is open source, according to its own site.
- Disk Drill also covers file management.
At a glance
| Disk Drill | WinDirStat | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free |
| Starts at | $49 per year, or $69 one-time | Free |
| Free plan | Disk Drill Basic scans storage and previews every recoverable file; the Windows page says it recovers up to 100 MB for free. Disk health, cleanup, duplicate finder and backup tools are included in the free edition. | The whole app is free software under the GNU GPL v3 or later. The site says it can be used free of charge in personal or commercial settings. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Made by | CleverFiles Inc. | WinDirStat Team |
| Price read from | cleverfiles.com | windirstat.net |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Oct 9, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Disk Drill
- Unlimited recovery needs PRO; the Mac page describes the free edition as scan and preview only.
- All PRO purchases are non-refundable except where consumer law requires a refund, according to the vendor's FAQ.
- A PRO license covers 1 user on up to 3 devices; business use is allowed, and larger teams get a custom Enterprise quote.
- On Macs, deep scans of system disks rely on a kernel extension the app installs.
WinDirStat
- Windows only; the site points Mac and Linux users to other open-source tools such as GrandPerspective and QDirStat.
- It is developed and tested for Windows 7 through 11 and Windows Server 2008 R2 through 2025; other versions are not supported.
- The accelerated NTFS scan needs the app to be run elevated.
- File recovery is described as an attempt and covers only local NTFS, exFAT and FAT drives.
Key features
Disk Drill
- File and partition recovery
- Scans drives, SSDs, memory cards, USB sticks, cameras and RAID arrays for deleted files and lost partitions, and previews results before recovery.
- Time Machine and snapshots
- On Mac it reads Time Machine backup disks and local snapshots as extra places to find overwritten files.
- Disk health monitoring
- Free S.M.A.R.T. monitoring watches connected disks for signs of trouble.
- Cleanup and duplicate finder
- Shows what is using disk space and finds duplicate files in several locations.
- Byte-to-byte backups and recovery drive
- Creates disk and partition images and a bootable USB drive for recovery.
- Data protection
- With protection enabled, recovery of protected files is free, according to the vendor.
WinDirStat
- Scanning
- Scans multiple folders, drives, network shares or MTP devices in one pass. Running elevated speeds up scans of local NTFS drives.
- Disk usage views
- Shows the largest files and file types alongside treemaps, sunbursts and flame graphs, and compares logical with physical sizes.
- Search and duplicates
- Searches by name, size, type or owner. Duplicates are found by comparing content hashes, with optional sparse hashing for probable matches.
- Reports and monitoring
- Scan snapshots can be saved and reopened, reports exported as CSV or JSON, scans automated, and file-system changes watched.
- Cleanup and recovery
- Runs cleanup tools on selected items and can attempt to recover deleted files from local NTFS, exFAT and FAT drives.
- Permissions and storage analytics
- Inspects permission entries and estimates storage tier costs from file sizes and modification ages.
Plans
Disk Drill
Basic$0
Scan and preview recoverable files, plus the free disk health, cleanup, duplicate finder and backup tools.
PRO One-Year Subscription$49
per year, renews yearly
Unlimited recovery on Mac and Windows, all updates while subscribed, 1 user on up to 3 devices.
PRO Lifetime License$69
one-time
Same as the subscription, with updates included permanently. Shown as $69 against a crossed-out $119 with no end date given.
WinDirStat
WinDirStat$0
The complete app as x64, x86 and ARM64 installers, portable archives, a Microsoft Store package, or through winget, Chocolatey or Scoop.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Disk Drill or WinDirStat?
As of Nov 12, 2026, WinDirStat is cheaper to start with: it is free, against $4.08 a month when paid by the year for Disk Drill. Disk Drill starts at $49 per year, or $69 one-time, and WinDirStat is free.
Which has a free plan, Disk Drill or WinDirStat?
As of Nov 12, 2026, both Disk Drill and WinDirStat have a free plan.
Which platforms do Disk Drill and WinDirStat run on?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Disk Drill lists a macOS app. Both list a Windows app. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.