Which fits your needs?
Disk Inventory X: Users interested in the classic treemap or its community successors.
SquirrelDisk: People wanting a free open-source GUI across desktop systems and remote storage.
Features, pricing, and workflow
Scroll across to compare
| Feature | Disk Inventory X | SquirrelDisk |
|---|---|---|
| Best fit | Users interested in the classic treemap or its community successors. | People wanting a free open-source GUI across desktop systems and remote storage. |
| Visualization | Treemap; features depend on X, Xs, or Y | Sunburst, treemap, file list, and duplicates |
| Platforms and requirements | Original X 1.3: macOS 10.13–10.15; Xs/Y requirements differ | macOS, Windows, Linux |
| Pricing and editions | Original X is free under the GPL; Xs and Y are independent community projects. | Free; AGPL-3.0 source published on GitHub. |
| Open source | Yes | Yes |
| Native macOS UI | Yes | Cross-platform interface |
| Cleanup workflow | Check the selected project’s manual; X, Xs, and Y do not share a guaranteed cleanup contract. | Collector offers Trash, permanent removal, secure erase, or backup before deletion. |
| Reports and portability | Check export support in the exact X, Xs, or Y build. Retain its scan records separately; no direct import into NullDisk is documented. | The current overview does not establish an interoperable scan-report format. Preserve paths, duplicate decisions, and remote source settings separately. |
Disk Inventory X: what stands out
A good fit for users interested in the classic treemap or its community successors.
Disk Inventory X: strengths
- Treemap visualization of disk usage
- Xs updates the original codebase for Apple Silicon
- Y is a separate Swift/SwiftUI rewrite
Considerations
- The original X, revival Xs, and rewrite Y are different apps
- Compatibility and features depend on the chosen build
- Check each project’s current release and signing instructions
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 Disk Inventory X?
A good fit for users interested in the classic treemap or its community successors. Original X is free under the GPL; Xs and Y are independent community projects.
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.