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DaisyDisk vs Tidy My Mac
DaisyDisk is the best-known disk space analyzer for the Mac. Here is what it shows and costs, what it leaves out, and how it compares with Tidy My Mac's Disk Map.
macOS 26 Tahoe or later · No credit card · Everything runs on your Mac
The short answer: DaisyDisk does one job very well: it maps any disk, including external drives, network shares and cloud storage, as a ring chart you click into, and lets you delete what you find. It costs $9.99 once, for up to five Macs. It doesn't find duplicates or junk, remove apps or protect the Mac. Tidy My Mac's Disk Map covers the startup disk only, but comes with large files, duplicates, a junk cleaner, an uninstaller and antivirus in the same app. If you only want to see where your space went, DaisyDisk is excellent value.
| Feature | Tidy My MacCleanup + security | DaisyDiskDisk space analyzer |
|---|---|---|
| Price and trial | ||
| First year | $19.99 | $9.99once |
| Years after | $59.99a year | Nothingmajor upgrades often free |
| Covers | 1 Mac | Up to 5 Macsthat you own |
| Free trial | 7 daysno card | Free trialno time limit, some features locked |
| Disks it maps | The startup disk | Any diskexternal, network, Time Machine |
| Cloud storage | Not scanned | Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive, Box |
| Runs on | macOS 26 Tahoe or later | macOS 12 or later |
| Sold in | This site only | Its site and the Mac App Storefewer features in the App Store |
| Clean up | ||
| One scan for the whole Mac | YesCleanup and security score | No |
| Junk and cache cleaner | YesIncludes developer junk | No |
| Large and old files | Yes | PartlyBiggest items in each folder |
| Visual disk map | YesTreemap | YesSunburst map |
| Duplicate files | YesMatched byte for byte | No |
| Similar photos | Yes | No |
| Applications | ||
| Uninstaller that removes leftovers | Yes | No |
| App updates | YesSecurity fixes first | No |
| Startup items and launch agents | YesWith boot time | No |
| Protection | ||
| Real-time antivirus | YesNew files in Downloads and Desktop | No |
| Malware scan on demand | YesQuick, Normal and Deep | No |
| Ransomware protection | YesBy behavior and decoy files | No |
| Adware and browser hijackers | YesProfiles, policies and proxies | No |
| Per-app outgoing firewall | Yes | No |
| Blocks phishing and malware sites | YesEvery browser and app | No |
| Blocks ads and trackers | YesEvery browser and app | No |
| Scam message checker | YesOn-device, Apple Intelligence | No |
| VPN | No | No |
| Security and privacy checks | ||
| macOS security settings, scored | YesSIP, Gatekeeper, FileVault and more | No |
| Alerts for apps with known vulnerabilities | Yes | No |
| Camera and microphone access | YesGrants and live alerts | No |
| Browser history and cookies cleanup | Yes | No |
| Browser extensions check | YesRated by access, 7 browsers | No |
| Wi-Fi security check | Yes | No |
| System | ||
| CPU and memory monitor | YesPlus battery and SSD health | No |
| Maintenance tasks | YesDNS, Spotlight, font caches | No |
Each vendor's own pricing and feature pages, checked November 3, 2026. Prices change often and many apps sell at a discount; check the vendor's site before you buy. Tell us about anything out of date at info@tidymymac.com and we will fix it. Product names are trademarks of their owners, who do not endorse this page.
What DaisyDisk does
DaisyDisk is made by Software Ambience and has been around since 2010. It scans a disk in seconds and draws it as rings of segments, one per folder, sized by how much space each takes. You click into a segment to go down a level, preview files with Quick Look, and drag what you don't need into a collector at the bottom, then delete it all at once.
- It maps any disk the Mac can read: internal and external drives, memory cards, network shares, disk images and Time Machine backups.
- It can scan Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive and Box over the network without downloading them.
- Scanning as administrator reveals space your account can't see, and it shows hidden space, purgeable space and local snapshots, and can delete the last two.
- It reads only file names and sizes, never their contents, and sends nothing off your Mac.
How much does DaisyDisk cost?
$9.99, paid once, with no subscription. A license from DaisyDisk's own site covers up to five Macs you personally own, and its developer says two out of three major upgrades so far have been free. The free trial has no time limit, but some features stay locked until you buy. It is also sold in the Mac App Store, where Apple's rules leave out a few features, such as scanning as administrator; App Store buyers can switch to the full version for free.
Is DaisyDisk safe?
Yes. It never deletes anything automatically, it stops you deleting system files, and it doesn't look inside your files. The usual care applies: a large folder isn't always one you can delete. Before you remove something you don't recognise, look it up, or see what System Data is made of and how to free up space safely.
Where DaisyDisk does more
- Every disk: external drives, network shares and Time Machine backups. Tidy My Mac's Disk Map covers the startup disk only, as your home folder or the whole disk.
- Cloud storage in Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive and Box.
- Purgeable space and snapshots it can delete for you. Tidy My Mac shows how much space they take but leaves them to macOS.
- Price and reach: $9.99 once for five Macs, on macOS 12 and later.
Where Tidy My Mac does more
- Finding what to remove, not just where it is: large and old files, duplicates matched byte for byte, similar photos, and a junk cleaner for caches, logs and developer files. The same scan fills the map and all of these.
- Apps: an uninstaller that finds leftovers, app updates and startup items.
- Protection: antivirus, ransomware protection, a firewall and Web Protection. DaisyDisk has none.
- Put Back: what Disk Map moves to the Trash is listed in the cleanup history, where one click restores it.
Disk space analyzer alternatives for Mac
- macOS itself: System Settings › General › Storage shows broad categories, and the Finder can show folder sizes with View › Show View Options › Calculate all sizes in list view. Neither shows which folder grew.
- GrandPerspective and OmniDiskSweeper are free and show the same information as a treemap or a sorted list, with fewer comforts.
- Tidy My Mac draws a treemap of the startup disk and adds the tools to clear it, in the same app as its security tools.
DaisyDisk's details were checked on its website and in the Mac App Store on November 3, 2026. We make Tidy My Mac, so read this page with that in mind. See the full comparison for CleanMyMac, MacKeeper and the other apps.
Questions about DaisyDisk
If you want to see what fills your disks, yes: it is fast, clear and costs $9.99 once for five Macs. It won't find duplicates, junk or app leftovers for you, so many people pair it with a cleaner.
The trial is free and has no time limit, but some features are locked. The full version is a one-time purchase of $9.99.
GrandPerspective and OmniDiskSweeper are free and show where your space goes. The Finder can also calculate folder sizes in list view, one folder at a time.
Only for external drives, network shares or cloud storage. For the startup disk, Disk Map shows the same and its other tools help you clear it.
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