Filelight vs Folder Size

Filelight helps users find disk space to free by showing usage as concentric rings. It scans local, remote, or removable disks and displays details about files and folders; users can delete selected files or folders from the application. Scans can cover files and folders, including external drives, but Filelight does not show application sizes. Users can exclude chosen folders, remote filesystems, or removable media from scans. For remote filesystems such as NFS or Samba mounts, the handbook warns that scanning can generate high network traffic. Filelight integrates with the Dolphin, Konqueror, and Krusader file managers, and it supports configurable color schemes and scanning and appearance settings. It can also be launched from a command line with a folder name to scan that folder. Linux users can install it through Discover or another AppStream store, a distribution package manager, or Flathub. Filelight is free, with a free plan, and runs on Linux and Windows.

Folder Size analyzes Windows storage to identify large files and folders and display disk usage in bar and pie charts. It scans local and external drives, USB and flash drives, SD cards, NAS, SAN, and network shares. A File Explorer right-click menu can start a scan of a folder and its subfolders. Results include lists such as largest, oldest, newest, empty, and longest-path items, with export to Excel, CSV, or XML. The application also lets users cut, copy, paste, delete, and move files or folders. Scan data can be saved and loaded later to compare results over time. The maker says scans run locally and data such as file names and folder sizes are not uploaded. A free plan is available. Personal costs 24.95 USD as a one-time fee for a license that never expires; Professional costs 39.95 USD as a one-time fee and adds command-line automation. The listed requirements include Windows 11, 10, 8.1, 8, 7, or Windows Server 2008 or newer, at least 1 GB RAM, and 10 MB of disk space. Folder Size cannot scan symbolic links.