At a glance
| View | Cleans up | File search | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Broom | 8 views incl. sunburst, treemap | Caches, dev files, duplicates, apps | ✓ |
| DaisyDisk | Sunburst | Manual delete only | — |
| GrandPerspective | Treemap | Manual delete only | — |
| OmniDiskSweeper | Sorted folder list | Manual delete only | — |
| CleanMyMac | Space Lens | Broad maintenance suite | — |
| Finder + Storage settings | Categories | Recommendations | Spotlight |
Free options
OmniDiskSweeper from the Omni Group lists folders sorted by size, and you click down until you find the culprit. It's free and simple. GrandPerspective draws the disk as a treemap where every file is a rectangle sized by how much space it takes. It's open source and free to download from its website.
Both show you where space went, but neither tells you what's safe to delete. That's the part that takes the time.
Paid options
DaisyDisk is the polished sunburst map, one-time purchase, five Macs per license. CleanMyMac is a full maintenance suite with a disk map called Space Lens, sold as a subscription or a pricier one-time license.
Broom is a disk analyzer and cleaner in one scan: eight visual views, instant file search, and a Cleanup list that knows the caches of 260+ apps and developer tools. Everything it removes goes to the Trash, where you can put it back.
What to look for
- Speed. A home folder can hold millions of files. Broom indexes 1.78 million in 8.4 seconds on an M4.
- Full Disk Access. Without it, any analyzer misses Mail, Messages and parts of Library. Grant it in System Settings › Privacy & Security.
- APFS awareness. Cloned files and snapshots share blocks. A good analyzer doesn't count the same space twice.
- Recoverable deletes. Prefer a tool that moves to the Trash over one that deletes outright.
Questions
What's the best free disk space analyzer for Mac?
GrandPerspective (treemap) and OmniDiskSweeper (sorted list) are both free and reliable. Broom shows the same folders in eight views and clears the safe ones too.
Does macOS have a built-in disk analyzer?
Sort of. System Settings › General › Storage shows categories and recommendations, but not which folders are large. A dedicated analyzer shows the actual folders.
Why does my Mac say System Data is huge?
System Data includes caches, logs, iOS backups, simulators and Time Machine local snapshots. An analyzer with Full Disk Access shows which of those folders are big.