Which fits your needs?
DaisyDisk: Mac users who want a sunburst, cloud connections, and snapshot tools.
SquirrelDisk: People wanting a free open-source GUI across desktop systems and remote storage.
Features, pricing, and workflow
Scroll across to compare
| Feature | DaisyDisk | SquirrelDisk |
|---|---|---|
| Best fit | Mac users who want a sunburst, cloud connections, and snapshot tools. | People wanting a free open-source GUI across desktop systems and remote storage. |
| Visualization | Sunburst and file list | Sunburst, treemap, file list, and duplicates |
| Platforms and requirements | macOS | macOS, Windows, Linux |
| Pricing and editions | One-time license; free trial. Check vendor pricing and direct/App Store edition differences. | Free; AGPL-3.0 source published on GitHub. |
| Open source | No | Yes |
| Native macOS UI | Yes | Cross-platform interface |
| Cleanup workflow | Collector stages items, then permanently removes them after confirmation and a cancellation countdown. It does not use macOS Trash. | Collector offers Trash, permanent removal, secure erase, or backup before deletion. |
| 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. | The current overview does not establish an interoperable scan-report format. Preserve paths, duplicate decisions, and remote source settings separately. |
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
SquirrelDisk: what stands out
A good fit for people wanting a free open-source GUI across desktop systems and remote storage.
SquirrelDisk: strengths
- Live maps and a staged removal collector
- Content-based duplicate search
- SSH and rclone-backed cloud storage
Considerations
- Uses a cross-platform Rust interface rather than SwiftUI
- Permanent deletion and secure erase require deliberate review
- Cloud/SSH actions depend on provider and remote-system support
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 SquirrelDisk?
A good fit for people wanting a free open-source GUI across desktop systems and remote storage. Free; AGPL-3.0 source published on GitHub.
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.