WinDirStat vs WizTree

WinDirStat

• Finding out what is filling a Windows drive at no cost
• Companies that want a free tool: commercial use is allowed
• Administrators exporting CSV or JSON reports from automated scans

WizTree

• Finding what is filling up a Windows or Mac drive
• IT staff auditing drives with CSV exports and command-line scans
• Home users, since personal use is free

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.

WizTree

• The free version is for personal use only; commercial use needs a supporter code priced by the organization's total staff, per site.
• A supporter code covers versions released within one year of purchase. Newer versions need a new code, offered at 50% off.
• WizTreeMac needs macOS 12 or later, has no equivalent of the Windows MFT scan and cannot yet scan MTP devices such as Android phones.
• The free version shows a Donate button, adds a donation message to exports and comes with no support.

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.

WizTree

Direct MFT scanning on Windows

On NTFS drives the Windows version reads the Master File Table straight from the disk, which needs administrator rights, and falls back to standard scanning elsewhere.

Visual treemap

Draws every file and folder as a block sized by the space it takes, so large files and large collections of small files can be spotted at a glance.

Largest and duplicate files

File View lists every file and folder in order of size. Duplicates are found by name, size and optionally date, and shown under the file they match.

File search

A search filter in File View finds files by name or type, with wildcard searches such as *.mp3 and regular expressions.

CSV export and import

All or selected file data can be exported to a CSV file or copied to the clipboard, and exported CSV files can be imported again to track changes over time.

Command line

CSV exports and MFT dumps can be run with command-line parameters, which the vendor suggests for automated auditing of drives.

WinDirStat

• WinDirStat$0

  The complete app as x64, x86 and ARM64 installers, portable archives, a Microsoft Store package, or through winget, Chocolatey or Scoop.

WizTree

• Free Version$0

  Personal use only: scanning, tree view, treemap, file search, CSV export and duplicate finder, with a Donate button and no support.

• Supporter: Individual$25

  one-time purchase, perpetual, 1 year of upgrades

  Allows commercial use, removes the Donate button and the donation message from exports, and adds standard support.

• Supporter: Business (up to 100 staff)$100 to $500

  one-time purchase per site, by total staff

  Micro (up to 5 staff) $100, Small (up to 20) $200, Medium (up to 50) $350, Large (up to 100) $500. Covers all staff devices at one site.

• Enterprise (single site)$750

  one-time purchase, perpetual, 1 year of upgrades

  Unlimited use for organizations with more than 100 staff at a single location, with priority support.

• Enterprise (multi site)$1,800

  one-time purchase, perpetual, 1 year of upgrades

  Unlimited use for organizations with more than 100 staff working from more than one location, with priority support.

WinDirStat

No public discounts listed.

WizTree

• Lifetime license

  Perpetual supporter code

  Supporter codes do not expire: a code keeps working on any WizTree version released within one year of the purchase date.

• Other savings

  50% off renewal licenses

  Existing supporter code holders get 50% off the regular license fee when they buy a renewal license, after verifying their email address and code.

• Nonprofit

  Discounts for non-profit organizations

  The purchase page says discounts are available for non-profit organizations such as schools, universities, charities and government agencies.