Apps We Love: DaisyDisk Review
Reviews • Dec.19, 2022
DaisyDisk is an app that helps you understand how to use available storage space on your Mac and how to make the most of it and even clear space when you need it the most.
What’s so different about DaisyDisk than other similar tools is that it helps visualize the space available on a Mac with the help of diagrams. During the tests, this feature helped us realize what takes up the most space on our Mac.
However, in this review, you’ll find out how to get started with DaisyDisk and learn everything about the latest features in the 2023 version, so keep on reading!
About DaisyDisk app
DaisyDisk is a more than decade-old app that is made for Mac users who are trying to make the most of their available space.
We all know that Mac storage is fairly limited and that newer devices are harder to upgrade. That’s where DaisyDisk jumps in as a storage space analyzer.
With this app, users can learn what takes up the most space on their Mac and how to easily delete it. What’s most important is that DaisyDisk visualizes the storage in diagrams which really helped us learn what takes the most space in only less than a minute.
The latest version introduces compatibility with M1 & M2 Macs, cloud support, Ventura OS support, and more.
What’s new in DaisyDisk 2023
In the upcoming year, you can expect even better compatibility, better connection with cloud storage services, more languages that support DaisyDisk, bug fixes and minor updates, and efficiency that remains at high levels.
Down below, you can see 4 of the most important features we noticed during our tests of DaisyDisk.
Full compatibility with macOS Ventura
The latest version of DaisyDisk is supported by macOS Ventura and we had no problems installing the full version on our Mac that’s running Ventura. DaisyDisk is continuously improving the support and compatibility of the app with the macOS Ventura operating system.
Therefore, DaisyDisk can feel like a native app when you’re running it on a fully optimized Mac. On top of that, when you use DaisyDisk to eliminate excess storage and improve performance by cleaning your storage drive, you can seriously make a positive impact on your Mac’s performance.
Since our Mac was already performing well and we didn’t have many performance-wise issues, we still took full advantage of DaisyDisk to reduce storage space and distribute some of our files on cloud services.
It’s also worth mentioning that DaisyDisk fully supports the Apple M1 chip so you can still expect the app to run as smoothly as ever.
Cloud storage support
Not only can you get your space back using DaisyDisk, but you can also allocate some of the storage to the cloud. This way, you won’t have to delete the files that you might not be using often and yet are hogging your device.
Instead, you get a chance to directly transfer those files to any of the cloud storage services such as DropBox, OneDrive, Box, and Google Drive.
During our tests, we noticed a great thing about cloud storage support which is that DaisyDisk allows you to mount any of the cloud storage services as a disc to your Mac. All we had to do to transfer our files in the cloud is drag and drop the files between our Mac and the mounted storage space.
Improved language support
The most recent language added to support DaisyDisk is Turkish. Therefore, at the time of writing, DaisyDisk supports the following list of languages:
- English
- German
- French
- Italian
- Polish
- Russian
- Ukrainian
- Spanish
- Turkish
- Chinese
- Japanese
We are pleased with the diversity and we’re sure that DaisyDisk will continue to add more languages that support the app in future updates.
Maintenance and quick bug patches
We’ve been using DaisyDisk for a while and one thing we’ve noticed is frequent DaisyDisk updates.
They’re often very light so you might not even notice them at times, yet they either add new useful features or maintenance and bug patches.
Therefore, if you’ve been experiencing OneDrive cloud connection issues, this has been solved in one of the latest updates. Besides that, DaisyDisk often adds bug fixes and tweaks to make sure that the app works natively on macOS devices.
One of the updates even had a noticeable performance improvement and we’re happy to see that DaisyDisk is doing its best to make sure that even the user experience is up to par with the simple yet useful features.
DaisyDisk 2023: A hands-on review
While DaisyDisk doesn’t have any significant interface-wise updates, the latest update is still important because it allows a seamless way of not only controlling your storage on your Mac but also cleaning it up by transferring it to the cloud.
Also, we believe that DaisyDisk is one of the easiest apps you can use on a Mac to control your storage, especially thanks to the visualization which is a huge bonus for an app of this type. Down below, you can find out how you can get started, how to use DaisyDisk to take full advantage, but also what to expect from some of its best features, so keep on reading!
Getting started (Standalone version vs. AppStore version)
To get started, you can either visit the AppStore to find the DaisyDisk or you can visit their official page to download the latest standalone version yourself.
What’s great about downloading the DaisyDisk version from their official websites is that you can even find legacy versions that are ideal for older Macs (in case you are not using the latest macOS).
But what you need to know is that there’s a huge difference between the AppStore version and the version from the official DaisyDisk website. We noticed this during our test and here’s what’s the key difference you should keep in mind.
The stand-alone version (the one you download from the official website) seems to be a lot more powerful than the version you can download from the AppStore. The reason for this is the AppStore’s sandbox which keeps the apps from their full potential for a certain period of time by limiting them in the sandbox for a certain period of time.
Apple is doing this most likely to ensure that the users don’t come across bugs and glitches in the latest versions before the developers catch on to these issues and fix them.
So here’s what a standalone official version can do better than the AppStore version:
- Deleting ‘stuck’ files
- Detecting and showing hidden space
- Purging purgeable space (and detecting the space)
- Scan files as an administrator
- Built-in official updater
- Registration through license key
Using DaisyDisk app
We tested both versions, and no matter which version you decide to download, you’ll still get a very decent experience and performance out of each one. However, it’s highly recommended to download the standalone version directly from DaisyDisk’s website for the improved features that have yet to come in the AppStore version.
Managing disks
Upon opening the DaisyDisk, we were greeted with a very simple interface that listed all of our storage drives.
At the time of testing, we only had one storage drive (SSD) which is internal storage on our MacBook, so it’s good to see that you can get down to the core of your files and even check your system files as well.
However, you can connect an external disk or connect a cloud storage and it’ll be displayed in one list.
From there, we were able to scan our drive which only took a minute or so for a 256GB SSD drive.
From there, storage visualization is displayed according to your data and storage so you can manage your storage efficiently.
Managing storage space
Managing storage space was one of our favorite parts of testing the DaisyDisk. It’s because this part is simplified so that anyone without any prior experience with such a tool can use it and fully understand their storage space.
You don’t only get the storage amount and see how much is taken by your files with a list of types of files that take the most of your space, yet you also get a colorful diagram that displays all these categories.
Therefore, at a glance, you can know exactly what color takes the most space and when you click on it, you get a chance to see the name of the specific app, folder, or part of your storage that is represented by a diagram and a color.
What we like the most is that you can see specific files and folders, and the list is always from biggest to smallest, and at the end, there’s always a “smaller objects” section which you can get into if you’d like to clear smaller files.
If not, you can focus on the largest files and folders to clean the most space in one go. We also find the drag & drop feature super useful since it keeps everything visual and you quickly get to manage your data visually.
Connecting cloud storage services
Besides storage drives that are automatically displayed in the simple and minimalistic interface, in the latest DaisyDisk update, you get to connect your cloud storage drives such as OneDrive, DropBox, Google Drive, and a couple of others.
It’s worth mentioning that we found the feature to scan a specific folder very useful for people who don’t want to scan the whole drive yet only want to use DaisyDisk’s capabilities for a very specific part of their drive.
Next to the Scan Folder button is the smaller arrow which opens the list of “Connect” dropdown menu where you can choose between connecting Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive, and Box accounts.
The whole process is well integrated with the services to accommodate DaisyDisk users and once you set up your account, it’ll always be listed in the DaisyDisk starting menu.
User interface and ease of use
Not only is DaisyDisk efficient but it’s also made in a way that it accommodates users of any experience level.
Its easy approach and the super minimalistic interface is user friendly. We were positively surprised by how easy and quick DaisyDisk is to use and you can get started in only minutes without having to learn how the tool works at all.
Instead, you only follow the processes which are simplified and we have felt that features are well designed into the interface. We didn’t feel overwhelmed and yet all the features were available to us at a touch of a button.
What’s most significant about DaisyDisk’s interface is the colorful (candy-colored) wheel which represents all your data. It is engaging, visually appealing, and makes data easy to understand.
At a quick glance, you get to choose how much data you have and what takes up most of your storage. Therefore, you quickly get to delete any data of your choice by dragging and dropping the “slice of pie” to the deleted folder.
DaisyDisk also integrates some of Mac’s system features right into the tool so you can quickly get more info on your storage disk, show files in Finder, and more.
DaisyDisk on other devices
During our tests on Mac, we really wondered if users on other operating systems such as Windows can benefit from this simple yet efficient tool.
Unfortunately, we came to the conclusion that only macOS users are lucky since DaisyDisk is not available on Windows and other operating systems.
Instead, you’ll have to find third-party tools that would most likely work in a similar way to DaisyDisk. Some of the ones we came across during our test include WinDirStart which is worth checking out.
How about DaisyDisk pricing?
DaisyDisk comes with a free trial that lasts for 30 days, but the full license which gives you full access to its features is pretty affordable.
It costs about $12.63 and it gives you access to the latest version. However, if you are running a Mac with an older macOS version, you can still purchase the license and use it on any of the DaisyDisk legacy versions.
These legacy versions are provided by DaisyDisk to support older Macs, and even though they’re no longer receiving updates, they’re super useful and can still be used to efficiently manage your storage.
Is DaisyDisk safe?
DaisyDisk is very safe and it has been approved by Apple so you can find it on the AppStore. Also, if you consider the developers’ past, you’ll conclude that they’ve been around for a very decent time and even the app itself has been in use for slightly over a decade.
And considering that DaisyDisk only helps you get a clear view of your storage and data, it won’t be able to delete any important files, and you’ll always be asked to confirm at least two, or even three times in some situations before your files are deleted.
On top of that, there’s a “basket” where you can drag and drop all files you’d delete and then you get to review these files before hitting the permanent delete button.
Is DaisyDisk worth it?
Even though DaisyDisk didn’t introduce too many features, it’s a very well-balanced tool that provides a smooth and minimalistic user interface that’s very friendly to learn and use.
With the storage visualization, and the ability to add various types of storage and use it even on an integrated Mac storage, you get a chance to see your storage from a different view and take action to free up your space, allocate it elsewhere (such as to the cloud storage services), and get an insight of how you use your available storage.
Mac users got super lucky with this efficient yet very affordable app that can help in various aspects of storage so purchasing the full license is highly recommended!
Therefore, after closely reviewing and testing DaisyDisk, we can conclude that it is very well worth it, especially considering how useful it is, simple to use, and most importantly, affordable!
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