DiskPrune · Compare
Mac disk space analyzers, compared without the launch candy
Most people searching this are not shopping for eight charts. They have a 80 GB System Data number, a Docker.raw they cannot explain, or DerivedData from last year’s Xcode. Here is what each tool actually is.
The short version
- DaisyDisk — best sunburst on Mac. ~$9.99, 5 Macs, notarized. Weak on why a byte exists. Collector cleanup.
- DiskBuddy — eight visualizations, lifetime license, launch pricing. Unsigned as of September 2026. Packaging is the product.
- DissectMac — free notarized treemap. No DiskPrune-style cleanup path.
- CleanMyMac — subscription suite. Aggressive cleanup marketing. See DiskPrune vs CleanMyMac.
- DiskPrune — storage autopsy, named developer locations, plan → dry run → Trash only. $19 lifetime. Notarized build not published yet.
Table
| Feature | DiskPrune | DaisyDisk | DiskBuddy | DissectMac | CleanMyMac |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $19 lifetime | ~$9.99 lifetime, 5 Macs | $9 launch / $49 list, lifetime | Free | Subscription |
| Native Mac app | SwiftUI, macOS 14+ | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Notarized | Not yet — Open Anyway until Gate 5 | Yes | No (unsigned as of Sep 2026) | Yes | Yes |
| How you see the disk | Storage autopsy + categories | Sunburst (category-defining) | Eight charts | Treemap | Dashboard |
| Explains why bytes exist | Core product | Weak | Weak | Weak | Marketing copy |
| Cleanup | Plan → dry run → TOCTOU → Trash → receipt | Collector | Staged claims | None | Aggressive |
| APFS snapshots | Inspect only | Shows hidden space | Marketing claim | No | Often overclaims |
| Docker.raw | Protected | Not a promise | Not a promise | Not a promise | Risk |
| Permanent delete | Architecturally forbidden | User-driven | Claims staged | n/a | Yes |
| Scan | Free | Paid app | Paid app | Free | Limited without subscription |
What “analyzer” should mean
A sunburst is a map of size. A treemap is a map of size. Eight charts are eight maps of size. None of them tell you that Docker.raw is a sparse image you must not trash, that a local snapshot is inspect-only, or that moving a folder to Trash has not yet changed available capacity.
DiskPrune is built in the other direction: understand, then investigate, then review, then move to Trash. The Visual QA screenshots on the home page are the native app, not a web demo.
If your only job is “show me the biggest folder as a daisy,” DaisyDisk already won that category and we will not clone it for v1.