DaisyDisk: Visualize and Manage Disk Space with Ease

DaisyDisk is a popular disk space analyzer tool designed specifically for Mac computers. It helps you quickly identify and remove large, unnecessary files that are hogging up storage space on your Mac.

DaisyDisk’s intuitive interface presents a visual representation of your disk usage in the form of an interactive map. This colorful map makes it easy to see where your storage space is being used and pinpoint the biggest space wasters.

Key features

• Visual Disk Mapping: DaisyDisk’s unique sunburst diagram provides a vivid and intuitive layout of your storage, breaking down each folder and file into color-coded segments. This visual representation makes it easy to understand which files and folders are taking up the most space, down to the tiniest byte.
• Blazing Fast Scans: DaisyDisk is optimized for speed, scanning your drives significantly faster than many other disk management tools. Thanks to its streamlined approach, you can visualize your storage structure in moments, even on high-capacity drives.
• Quickly Free Up Space: The drag-and-drop feature for deleting files means you can clean up your storage in no time. Simply select unwanted files and drag them to the bottom bar for instant removal, saving you from hunting through Finder for each one.
• Identify Large Files: Quickly pinpoint the largest files and folders consuming storage space on your Mac.
• Drill Down for Details: Zoom in on specific folders to identify hidden files and unnecessary data.
• Enhanced Google Drive Integration: DaisyDisk regained its verified status for Google Drive, providing users with seamless access to their cloud storage within the app. This feature is particularly helpful for anyone juggling both local and cloud storage and looking to manage both spaces efficiently.
• Apple Silicon Support: DaisyDisk has been optimized for Apple Silicon, ensuring smooth performance on M1/M2 Macs and M3-ready, and delivering a seamless experience for all macOS users, whether on Intel or Apple Silicon hardware.

DaisyDisk: 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 offers a single-purchase license at $9.99 without requiring subscription feescosts about $9.99. 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.

What’s new in the latest releases

DaisyDisk regularly updates to improve performance and add new features. Here are some highlights from recent updates:

• Version 4.26: Enhanced support for the latest macOS Sequoia updates and overall performance improvements.
• Version 4.25: Bug fixes and minor feature updates to ensure a smoother user experience.

With each update, DaisyDisk continues refining its core functionalities, making it a reliable tool for managing your storage on any macOS version.

Who is DaisyDisk for

Whether you’re a creative professional managing large files, a power user with extensive data requirements, or simply someone looking to keep their Mac organized, DaisyDisk is a fantastic choice. It’s particularly useful for users with limited SSD space, where every gigabyte counts.

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!

Fore more details, visit official DaisyDisk website.