GNOME’s disk usage analyzer for local devices, folders, and online accounts. If you need something different, compare these five options by the job they do. Choose by platform, features, and how you prefer to review files.
Baobab (Disk Usage Analyzer) and NullDisk side by side
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Feature
Baobab (Disk Usage Analyzer)
NullDisk
Best fit
Linux desktop users who prefer a GNOME application with graphical disk analysis.
Mac users managing local/remote storage, and developers who need Git-aware cleanup or scriptable disk reports.
Visualization
Folder tree with ring/treemap graphical views
Radial map, treemap, and file list; CLI terminal treemap
Platforms and requirements
Linux (GNOME)
Mac app: macOS 14+; CLI: macOS, Linux, Windows
Pricing and editions
Free software from GNOME; available through Flathub/distributions.
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
Yes
No
Native macOS UI
Linux application
Yes
Cleanup workflow
Inspect the selected location and use documented file actions or the system file manager.
Review source and action: local Trash, explicit permanent removal, or backup/delete; remote and cloud actions depend on the destination.
Reports and portability
Keep Baobab for Linux desktop analysis. For a terminal on Linux, NullDisk’s CLI can rescan the same filesystem; its Mac GUI does not import Baobab sessions.
CLI produces JSON/NDJSON scan reports. Third-party scan files are not directly imported into the Mac GUI.
Keep your existing records
Keep Baobab for Linux desktop analysis. For a terminal on Linux, NullDisk’s CLI can rescan the same filesystem; its Mac GUI does not import Baobab sessions.
Linux desktop users who prefer a GNOME application with graphical disk analysis. Keep it if that matches your needs. Consider a change for a specific requirement such as a different chart, remote sources, report exports, or development cleanup.
What are free alternatives to Baobab (Disk Usage Analyzer)?
GrandPerspective and SquirrelDisk offer free open-source analysis. OmniDiskSweeper is free on Mac. All direct Mac features in NullDisk are free with reminders; reminder removal is optional. Freeware does not necessarily mean open source.
Do I need to transfer a scan?
No. Keep any historical exports you need and run a fresh scan of the same location. NullDisk does not import these apps’ saved scans or cleanup queues.