Top 5 best free software to check disk space on MacBook

The following article will introduce you to the top 5 best free disk space testing software on MacBook. Let’s refer to it to better control the machine capacity!

How to check hard drive space on MacBook

Choose Apple menu > About This Mac and click Storage . Hover your pointer over the colored blocks to see what kind of content is using disk space.

For more information, open Disk Utility by pressing Cmd + Space . From the left panel, select the disk memory level bar to check the space used.

Then click the Info button on the toolbar to show more details like Purgeable space and Available space .

Another possible method is to right-click the Macintosh HD disk icon on the left sidebar in Finder and select Get Info .

You’ll get a detailed breakdown of the space used versus the available space.

Why use extra capacity analysis software on MacBook?

While there are built-in ways to check disk space on your Mac, why use a third-party app? Here are some reasons:

Finder may incorrectly estimate hard links as another copy of the file. Even though hard links don’t take up actual disk space, Finder finds them and results in inaccurate estimates of folder sizes.

APFS, the MacFS file system instead of copying the data updates the metadata and the data on the shared disk. Finder does not understand this mechanism and incorrectly estimates free and used disk space.

Also, APFS snapshots work differently. When Time Machine creates local snapshots, the file system is aware of the changes. But neither Finder nor About This Mac show the space captured by the snapshot, which also causes an incorrect disk space estimate.

The best MacBook capacity testing software today

GrandPerspective

GrandPerspective is a utility application that uses a tree diagram structure to visualize disk space. When launched, the application will ask you to select a folder or drive you want to analyze. A view window displays content in colorful rectangular blocks.

Hover the mouse pointer over a block to display the file name and size at the bottom of the viewing window. You can move the selection from a file to one of the folders and vice versa. Press Cmd + [ and Cmd +] to move up and down in the file hierarchy.

Click a block to lock the selection. You can then take action directly on that block. Press Space for a quick view and click the Reveal button to display the selected file/folder in Finder.

Outstanding advantages:

– You can change the sorting criteria by creation date, extension, file or folder type, and even choose a different color scheme.

– Choose from a list of recently scanned folders to save time.

– Create new filters to refine the view and perform filter tests in different ways. You can choose from sounds, hard links, images, apk content, and more.

– The application allows you to rescan a folder with different settings. Then, open those results in a separate window to compare with the final results.

• Application download link here| Compatible with Macs running macOS 10.9 and later.

OmniDiskSweeper

OmniDiskSweeper is another disk space analyzer for Mac. At launch, select a drive from the list and click Sweep Selected Drive . A new window opens with folders and files displayed in column view.

When the scan is complete, click on the folder and select any files that take up important disk space.

The application uses different colors to group files by size and to show the status of an item. The file sizes marked in green are the smallest files.

The larger file size is changed to dark blue, dark purple, and light purple. Double-click an item to open it in the Finder.

Outstanding advantages:

– The application allows you to scan external drives and drives located in your connected network. If you share a folder located on your PC, the application can even scan the folder.

– The bottom window gives you detailed information about a file, its size and the packages belonging to the file system.

• Application download link here| Compatible with Mac models running Mac OS X 10.4 and later.

Disk Inventory SHOULD

Disk Inventory X is a utility application that gives you an overview of the disk space used on your Mac.

Open the File menu and select any drive or folder you want to analyze. When the scan is finished, the application will generate a graphical map to show the storage space.

The left panel helps you sort the file list based on the colors associated with a particular file type, size, number of files, and file format. Click on any element in the chart to help you identify and locate the largest files.

Outstanding advantages:

– Any selection you make in the tree graph will be synced to the finder-like view. This helps you find the files that take up the most space, no matter where they are on the disk.

– The application sorts the file types in descending order. Each file type has a color used in the tree graph and in all open folders.

– You can view package contents, zoom into folders and hide free space to analyze disk space in different ways.

• Application download link here| Compatible with Macs running macOS 10.13 – 10.15 .

DaisyDisk

DaisyDisk is a beautifully designed disk analyzer that uses a sunburst map to show you an overview of disk space.

When launched, the application will show the mounted disk space with different color patterns. Green means at least half of your disk is empty, while red indicates that you should take action to free your drive.

Click the Scan button and in a few seconds you will see a map with a brief overview in the sidebar. Place your mouse over any segment to see its contents on the sidebar. When you want to navigate to the parent folder, click in the center of the map.

Outstanding advantages:

– The sunburst map helps you separate large files from smaller files, so it’s easy to see details and find out which items are taking up the most disk space.

– If you scan disks as administrator, the application can also reveal more data about hidden files on other drives.

– You can preview any files from the sidebar, then these files them to the collection panel, then delete them conveniently.

• Application download link here| Compatible with Macs running macOS 10.10 and later.

NCDU

NCDU is a command line based disk analyzer with ncurses interface. To get started, you’ll need to install the app through Homebrew on your Mac.

Once installed, open Terminal and type ncdu / to start scanning your drive. Use the arrow keys to navigate through the items. Then press i to view the details of the selected item.

Outstanding advantages:

– You can use different options to enhance disk related information extraction. Navigate to the NCDU homepage for more details.

– The NCDU application easily outputs all the information into an output file. You can then use other file comparison applications to aid in better analysis of your drive usage.

• Application download link here| Compatible with all Mac models.

Above is the article that introduces you to the top 5 best free disk space testing software on MacBook. Hopefully from the above advice, you can manage your machine’s disk space more easily!