Better served by GrandPerspective
Choose GrandPerspective if you want a free, open-source tree map of your disk and prefer to pick the large files yourself.
All comparisons
COMPARE · 09 / 12
GrandPerspective or macleanup.
An open-source utility under the GPL that draws disk usage as a tree map and lets you delete files and folders from the view.
Last checked
PRICES AS READ2026-11-07
GrandPerspective
Sourceforge download$0
Free
Mac App Store$2.99 once
Same app; the page says the App Store copy supports distribution costs
macleanupFree$0 always
Pro$4 a month
or $36 a year
Team$3 a seat a month
from 3 seats · $30 a seat a year
Plan names as each maker writes them
Who each one serves better.
Better served by macleanup
Choose macleanup if you want the known space-wasters found by category, caches, logs, orphaned app data and stale builds, each previewed as a list of paths before you confirm.
Feature by feature.
Each GrandPerspective answer is what its own pages state; follow the source to read it. Our answers come from the script and the app.
| What | GrandPerspective | macleanup |
|---|---|---|
| Clears caches | Not stated on the pages we checked | Yes Sections 3, 5 and 19. |
| Clears logs | Not stated on the pages we checked | Yes Section 7. |
| Finds orphan files from removed apps | Not stated on the pages we checked | Yes Section 12. |
| Uninstalls apps | Not stated on the pages we checked | Yes Section 21, moved to the Trash. |
| Disk usage map | Yes source | Partial A text report from section 26. No visual map. |
| Free to use | Yes source | Yes The command line has no limit. The app has a Free plan with a monthly run limit. |
| Mac App Store or notarised | Yes source | No Not notarised by Apple and not on the Mac App Store. |
| Open source | Yes source | Partial The command line is MIT and public. The desktop app source is private. |
Where macleanup falls short.
Read these before you choose it.
- Not notarised by Apple, and not on the Mac App Store. The first time you open the app, macOS stops it and you choose Open Anyway in Privacy & Security. GrandPerspective states one or the other. The steps
- A text disk report, not a visual map. Section 26 prints folder sizes for your home folder and
~/Library. GrandPerspective states a disk map. - No undo. Sections 12, 21 and 24 move items to the Trash. Anything else deleted directly needs a backup to recover. What gets deleted
- A run limit in the app. The Free plan gives 15 real runs a month on each Mac. The command line has no limit.
- The app's source is private. The command line is MIT licensed and public; the desktop app is not.
Moving from GrandPerspective.
The guide maps what you use there to numbered sections, with a preview before anything changes.