Which fits your needs?
DaisyDisk: Mac users who want a sunburst, cloud connections, and snapshot tools.
NullDisk: Mac users managing local/remote storage, and developers who need Git-aware cleanup or scriptable disk reports.
Features, pricing, and workflow
Scroll across to compare
| Feature | DaisyDisk | NullDisk |
|---|---|---|
| Best fit | Mac users who want a sunburst, cloud connections, and snapshot tools. | Mac users managing local/remote storage, and developers who need Git-aware cleanup or scriptable disk reports. |
| Visualization | Sunburst and file list | Radial map, treemap, and file list; CLI terminal treemap |
| Platforms and requirements | macOS | Mac app: macOS 14+; CLI: macOS, Linux, Windows |
| Pricing and editions | One-time license; free trial. Check vendor pricing and direct/App Store edition differences. | Direct Mac edition free with reminders; optional $9.99 one-time personal license or team seat removes reminders. App Store terms are separate. |
| Open source | No | No |
| Native macOS UI | Yes | Yes |
| Cleanup workflow | Collector stages items, then permanently removes them after confirmation and a cancellation countdown. It does not use macOS Trash. | Review source and action: local Trash, explicit permanent removal, or backup/delete; remote and cloud actions depend on the destination. |
| Reports and portability | The cited overview does not establish a portable scan-report format. Preserve paths or screenshots and check the current manual before migrating. | CLI produces JSON/NDJSON scan reports. Third-party scan files are not directly imported into the Mac GUI. |
DaisyDisk: what stands out
A good fit for Mac users who want a sunburst, cloud connections, and snapshot tools.
DaisyDisk: strengths
- Sunburst navigation with Quick Look previews
- Physical-size accounting for clones and hard links
- Cloud connections and macOS snapshot management
Considerations
- Mac app; no Windows or Linux desktop edition
- Full functionality requires a paid license after trial
- Some capabilities differ between direct and App Store editions
NullDisk: what stands out
A good fit for Mac users managing local/remote storage, and developers who need Git-aware cleanup or scriptable disk reports.
NullDisk: strengths
- Radial and treemap views with local, SSH, and cloud sources
- Git-aware development cleanup for generated output and eligible worktrees
- Native Mac UI plus terminal UI and JSON/NDJSON CLI reports
Considerations
- Desktop GUI requires macOS 14+; Linux/Windows use the separate CLI
- Mac app sends anonymous usage telemetry; no in-app opt-out at this review
- No content-based duplicate finder; allocated bytes are not a guaranteed recovery total
For a useful comparison on your own drive, match the scan root, access permissions, and size mode. Chart style changes how you explore the results; it does not by itself establish measurement accuracy.
Common questions
When should I choose DaisyDisk?
A good fit for Mac users who want a sunburst, cloud connections, and snapshot tools. One-time license; free trial. Check vendor pricing and direct/App Store edition differences.
When should I choose NullDisk?
A good fit for Mac users managing local/remote storage, and developers who need Git-aware cleanup or scriptable disk reports. Direct Mac edition free with reminders; optional $9.99 one-time personal license or team seat removes reminders. App Store terms are separate.
Will both apps show the same size?
Not necessarily. Match the scan root, permissions, exclusions, and logical/allocated-size mode. Hard links, APFS clones, snapshots, sparse files, and cloud placeholders can change totals. A reported size is not a guaranteed amount recovered after deletion.