SpaceSniffer vs WinDirStat (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, SpaceSniffer and WinDirStat share a 2.8 GPA, both are free, so the choice depends on which features you need.
Checked Oct 9, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
They get the same grade on all five counts.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
SpaceSniffer
Free portable treemap tool that shows what fills a Windows disk
Free
Which one is for you
Pick SpaceSniffer if
- Fits if you want to see at a glance which folders are using your disk
- Works for people who prefer a portable program with typed filters
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you use a Mac or Linux, as no other platform is named
- Too light for you if you want it to clean up junk, since it only reports
- Watch out: the site lists no system requirements
- Watch out: downloads are linked through a mirror called dAppCDN, not hosted on the vendor's own page
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
| 2.8GPASpaceSnifferGood | 2.8GPAWinDirStatGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | AFree for personal and commercial use. Donations are welcome but not required. | 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 | AThe whole program is free, with no limit or trial. | 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 | CA treemap, filters, color tags, live scanning and text exports. It does that job fully, but it is a smaller one: no cleanup or deletion beyond the Windows file menu. | 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 | BPick a drive and the map appears. No store rating is on record. | 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 | DThe context menu support points to Windows, and no other platform is named. | 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 | seeing what fills a Windows disk | 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: SpaceSniffer and WinDirStat. How we grade
Price against what you get
SpaceSniffer has no paid plan and scores 2.0 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. WinDirStat has no paid plan and scores 2.0.
On this chart the two sit in the same place: the same score for the same starting price. Of the other desktop utilities on the chart, none scores higher than SpaceSniffer 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
- WinDirStat is open source, according to its own site.
- SpaceSniffer also covers file management.
In commonFree planWindowsDisk cleanup
At a glance
| SpaceSniffer | WinDirStat | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free | Free |
| Starts at | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Free for personal and commercial use. The vendor welcomes donations but does not require them. | 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 |
| Windows | ||
| Made by | Uderzo Software | WinDirStat Team |
| Price read from | uderzo.it | windirstat.net |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Oct 9, 2026 |
Worth knowing
SpaceSniffer
- It analyzes and reports; the vendor's pages describe no cleanup or deletion tools beyond the Windows file menu.
- The vendor's pages are short and the site lists no system requirements; the Windows context menu support points to Windows only.
- Downloads are linked through a mirror called dAppCDN rather than hosted on the vendor's own page.
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
SpaceSniffer
- Treemap view
- Folders and files appear as blocks sized by how much space they use. One click opens a block for detail and a double click zooms to it.
- Filter field
- Type criteria such as *.jpg, >2years or a color tag to limit the view; a leading pipe excludes matches. Filters can be combined.
- Color tags
- Mark files red, yellow, green or blue with keyboard shortcuts to keep track of what was examined, and filter by tag.
- Live scanning
- You can navigate while the scan runs, and the view updates if the file system changes during a scan.
- Export module
- Produces text reports of the result, and the layout of the report can be customized.
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
SpaceSniffer
SpaceSniffer$0
Freeware for personal and commercial use; donations are optional.
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, SpaceSniffer or WinDirStat?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both SpaceSniffer and WinDirStat are free to use.
Which has a free plan, SpaceSniffer or WinDirStat?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both SpaceSniffer and WinDirStat have a free plan.
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.