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With the improvement in the quality of media files, games and software, our computer systems are becoming hungrier for more storage space with every passing day. No matter how huge your system’s hard drive is, you’re eventually, going to see the low storage error.
When that time comes, you can either delete the unrequired data or move the big files to an external hard drive to free up some disk space. And for this purpose, you’ll need the help of a disk space analyzer tool that’ll show all your data in an easy to understand format and help you manage it.
So, let’s check out my top picks of 10 best disk analyzer software for Windows to free up storage in your PC.
1. WinDirStat
It may not be one of the most beautiful tools, but is definitely one of the most reliable disk analyzers you’ll ever find. WinDirStat is a fast analyzer tool that has three default panels to show you information about your hard disk space.
Below you will see a treemap of the data shown in bars of varying size based on their actual size on the hard drive. It makes it very easy to see which type of files are taking the most space.
There is a column on the right listing all the file types along with a treemap bar color to quickly find them in the tree map. And of course, there is a fully intractable file explorer section where you can skim through your data and delete, move and manage it as you please.
Takeaway
- Shows treemap.
- Easy to pinpoint file types and their size.
- Built-in cleanup options.
2. DiskSavvy
DiskSavvy is a highly advanced disk analysis tool that offers great customization options while still being easy to use. Its free version is more than enough for regular users, but if you want to scan TBs of data and require advanced features like network drive support or command line support, then you’ll have to upgrade to the paid versions.
Although it only shows data along with its size, it has a special filters section that lets you see data using handy categorize. Some of these categories include, by extension, modification time, accessed time, creation time, user name a few more. You can also use pie and bar charts, but they aren’t interactive.
Takeaway
- Comprehensive filtering system.
- See top 100 large files.
- Plugin support.
3. SpaceSniffer
It has an interactive interface that makes it very easy to differentiate between files/folders and installable programs. I really liked its touch of animations that make the program look cool, but at the same time help visually pinpoint data easily.
All the data is shown as titles with the name of file or folder written on it. You can double-click on each title to dig deeper and look for large files. You can export the data to a file and also scan external storage devices. I also really liked its “More detail” feature that shows you more details about a selected drive as you click on it.
Takeaway
- Offers great visual representation with animations.
- Easily dig deeper into folders.
- Scan external storage devices.
4. TreeSize
TreeSize has both free and paid versions, but the free version works great if you want something quick and simple. If you are not a fan of tiles, charts or treemaps, then TreeSize free version will definitely attract you.
It simply shows all the folders and files in your drive along with their size written next to them. The data is also arranged from big files to small, so you can easily pinpoint the culprit.
Its paid version for personal use shows 3D charts and treemaps for proper illustration and you it can even pinpoint duplicate files. If you are interested in scanning network drives and servers as well, then you’ll need TreeSize professional version.
Takeaway
- Very easy to use with simple interface.
- Shows data in GBs or percentage.
- Great illustration features in the paid version.
5. GetFoldersize
GetFoldersize is a bit similar to TreeSize free version as it also only shows folders and their size on the hard drive. However, it comes with additional tools as well that you may find interesting.
Apart from the folders panel, there is another panel that lets you see only the files inside the selected folder. Additionally, results in both of the panels can be filtered just by entering file extension or name of the files/folders.
Best of all, it can also scan network drives and list data inside it. One drawback though is that I found GetFoldersize to be very slow as compared to many other tools in this list. And it also has fixed view in GBs, MBs or KBs, so it a little hard to track exact size of too big or too small files/folders.
Takeaway
- It can scan network drives.
- Makes it easy to differentiate between files and folders.
- You can filter results.
6. JDiskReport
JDiskReport has a really sleek interface with many handy features. What I didn’t like about it is that its scanning is so painfully slow, that I didn’t even wait for the whole disk scan. However, it does an eye-opening job of showing details and no other free program can even come close to it.
To start with, it shows all the data in an intractable pie chart with both files and folders size written on it. You can also get a pie chart for file extension types to see which type of files are the problem. Furthermore, there is a really helpful “Top 50” section that shows top 50 large files in any location you select.
On top of that, you can see data by modified time to see which files you don’t use often and get rid of them.
Takeaway
- See top 50 large files.
- Interactive interface.
- Reliable representation using pie charts.
- Built-in themes to change UI look.
7. HDGraph
If you like interactive stuff with animations, then HDGraph might work for you. It draws a circular ring based chart that shows largest data in the middle and then moves outward showing further data inside each folder. You can double-click on each section to further investigate it and the same chart rules will be applied to each section.
The chart is fully interactive and can be customized to your liking, from text to type and size to density. It does a good job of showing data, but it doesn’t let you directly interact with the data itself, which makes things little cumbersome.
Takeaway
- Interactive chart.
- Shows all in-depth information right on the chart.
8. WizTree
Another very simple disk analyzer tool that only shows data in GBs and formats it from large to small files. It is incredibly fast as well (3 seconds in my case) and goes a little further by showing total items, percentage size, total files and folders, and last modified date.
Interestingly, it also has a handy “File view” section that only shows files in a specific area with all the details like size or modified date. Moreover, you can use a search bar to quickly pinpoint required files and interact with them from its interface.
Takeaway
- Show extensive details about the data.
- Very fast processing.
- Handy File view section.
9. TweakNow Diskanalyzer
TweakNow Diskanalyzer has two main sections, General and Summary. The General section simply lists all the data along with file/folder size. However, the Summary is where you can do all the management.
Here it shows 20 of the biggest files located on your hard drive along with a handy category section where you can see data listed by their type.
There is also an interesting section where unused file/folders are listed. If you are not actively accessing any file or folder, then it will be listed here. A really good feature for deleting unrequired data.
Takeaway
- See top 20 biggest files.
- Find out unused files and folders.
10. FolderSizes
FolderSizes is a paid tool ($60 per license) with a 14-day trial, but it’s the best disk analyzer tool you can get. It is a complete disk analyzer tool in terms of both storage type support and features.
To name few of its features, bar chart/pie chart/treemap representation support, disk reports, shows both hidden and revealed data, scan filters, highly customizable search feature, check usage trend, over 15 filters to search for files and a whole lot more.
I also really liked its details feature where you can hover your mouse cursor over a folder to see all the required details to tweak it. Even with all these amazing features, FolderSizes is incredibly fast in processing data and the interface works smoothly.
Takeaway
- Shows extensive details about files/folders.
- Multiple representations of data.
- Customizable search feature.
- Can scan data in network drives and servers.
Final Words
If I have to give the best disk analyzer software tag to any one of them, then FolderSizes deserves it the most. Unfortunately, shelling out $60 just to clean up your PC isn’t something regular users would be comfortable with. Nevertheless, it could be a good solution for businesses and large teams.
For regular users, I’ll recommend WinDirStat or DiskSavvy free version, they both are easy to use and functional.
Enjoy