OmniDiskSweeper, GrandPerspective or Disk Inventory X: Which Still Works on a Current Mac

If you want a free disk analyzer on a current Mac, start with GrandPerspective for a map or OmniDiskSweeper for a sorted list. Disk Inventory X is the one to be careful with: its own site still lists macOS 10.13 to 10.15 as the supported range. All three answer the same question, which folders hold the space, and none of them tells you whether a folder is safe to delete.

The three at a glance

OmniDiskSweeper: the plain list

Omni describes it as showing "the files on your drive, largest to smallest", with buttons to Trash or open them. There is nothing to learn, which is why people keep recommending it. Click into the biggest folder, then the biggest folder inside that, and you reach the answer in a few clicks.

A list has one weakness: it shows one folder level at a time, so a thousand medium files spread across a project are harder to notice than one large file. Omni's download page lists older builds by macOS version, so if you are on an older system, take the build that matches it.

GrandPerspective: the free treemap

Each file is a rectangle whose area matches its size, and files in the same folder sit together. Big rectangles stand out at once, including the kind of file you would never think to look for. The cost is that placement inside a folder is otherwise arbitrary, so it takes a minute to get used to, and you often hover to find out what you are looking at.

The project's site says the free SourceForge download and the paid App Store listing are the same app, and the App Store version adds automatic updates and helps fund development. Its latest release needs macOS 14 or later, and the site keeps an older release for macOS 11 to 13.

Disk Inventory X: read this before installing

Old guides still point to Disk Inventory X first. Its own site lists version 1.3 for macOS 10.13 to 10.15, and a request on the project's issue tracker asks for an Apple silicon build and reports Apple's warning that it could not verify the app is free of malware.

Community projects called Disk Inventory Xs and Disk Inventory Y try to carry it forward, per a Mac Power Users thread. They are not the original author's releases, and their activity has been uneven, so check the latest release date first. On a current Mac, GrandPerspective gives you the same kind of map with less doing.

Looking for WinDirStat on a Mac? It is a Windows program. GrandPerspective is the closest free equivalent, and the Windows side is covered in our Windows disk analyzer comparison.

What to do once you find the big folder

The tool's job ends at the path. Before you delete anything:

1. Work out who owns it. ~/Library/Application Support/<App> belongs to that app, and this guide covers which parts can go.
2. Check the number another way, with du -sh on the path or Get Info in Finder. Analyzers can disagree on the same folder, and the reasons are usually clones, hard links and sparse files.
3. Move it to the Trash, keep it there until the app still works, then empty the Trash. Space only comes back after that.

If the weight sits in System Data with no path to click, see what System Data really is.

Where Mole fits

Mole's Analyze tab is also a treemap, with single-click drill-down and a breadcrumb starting at the whole disk. A right-click gives Move to Trash or Reveal in Finder, and top-level system and home folders cannot be trashed. It has gaps the free tools do not: it maps the internal disk only, and it skips macOS system areas and local snapshots. It is a paid app, so if all you need is a map once a year, GrandPerspective is the better answer. Mole makes more sense when you also want the cleaning and uninstalling that come after the map.

FAQ

Is OmniDiskSweeper still free?

Omni still offers it for download on its side-project page, with no price listed. Pick the build that matches your macOS version.

Does Disk Inventory X work on Apple silicon?

The project's site lists macOS 10.13 to 10.15 and a request on its tracker asks for an Apple silicon build, so plan on a native alternative rather than relying on it. GrandPerspective runs natively on Apple silicon.

Is GrandPerspective safe?

It is open source under the GPL, and its site says the SourceForge download and the App Store version are the same app. The risk is the same as with any analyzer: it can delete what you point it at, so check what a folder is first.

Which one finds large files fastest?

We have not run a speed test, and a timing on one Mac would not carry over to yours. Choose by how you read: a list if you like sorted numbers, a map if you notice shapes first.