FolderSizes vs WinDirStat

FolderSizes is a Windows tool for examining file and folder space across local and network storage. It scans local drives, external drives, mapped network drives, UNC paths, and network shares, then presents results as treemap, sunburst, bar, and pie charts. Searches can be narrowed by age, name, attributes, size, owner, date, or depth-related criteria. Reports export to Excel, PDF, HTML, CSV, and XML; recurring scans can also send automated email reports. Disk and folder usage tracking, along with file system snapshots, can show changes over time. The free edition has no time limit and includes four visualizations, reports, advanced search, and scan filtering. The free trial has no feature limitations. A Personal Edition license costs $30 as a one-time purchase and is limited to personal and home network use; a Single-User Pro license costs $60 as a one-time purchase. Pro upgrades include priority technical support and free minor version upgrades. The maker says FolderSizes has been continuously developed since 2003.

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.