Filelight vs WinDirStat

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.

WinDirStat is a free, open-source disk usage analyzer and cleanup assistant for Microsoft Windows. It scans drives, folders, network shares, and MTP devices, then shows results in a file tree, extension list, treemap, flame graph, or sunburst. Users can compare logical and physical sizes, search by name, size, type, or owner, and compare file content hashes to locate duplicates. Scan snapshots can be saved and reopened; reports can be exported as CSV or JSON, and scans can be automated. The software includes cleanup tools and attempts to recover deleted files from local NTFS, exFAT, and FAT drives. Storage Analytics estimates monthly savings for configurable storage tiers from file sizes and modification ages, but does not move files or configure a storage service. Permission entries can be scanned and exported, though reports do not determine an individual user’s effective access through all group memberships. Downloads include Windows x64, x86, and ARM64 installers, portable archives, and a Microsoft Store package. The project lists support for Windows 7 through 11 and Windows Server 2008 R2 through 2025; other versions are unsupported.