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Disk Census vs GrandPerspective

Beyond the treemap: what’s safe to remove, and why.

GrandPerspective draws every file as a rectangle sized by its space, and leaves the judgement to you. Disk Census also says what each item is, whether it rebuilds itself, and what can go.

Checked · Sources

In short

  • GrandPerspective is a free, open-source treemap of your disk. Disk Census also tags what it finds Safe, Review or Keep, and says what regenerates each item.
  • Disk Census knows developer caches, AI coding agents’ leftovers and duplicates. GrandPerspective shows every file and lets you judge.
  • GrandPerspective moves deleted items to the Trash, and deleting is off until you turn it on. Disk Census deletes permanently, after you approve the exact items.
  • GrandPerspective’s current version needs macOS 14, with older versions for older Macs. Disk Census runs on macOS 12 or later.

Only in Disk Census

What Disk Census does that GrandPerspective doesn’t, going by GrandPerspective’s own pages.

  • It says what’s safe to clear

    Every item is tagged Safe, Review or Keep, with what regenerates it.

  • Developer and AI agent cleanup

    Xcode, Homebrew, npm, Cargo, Go, Python and more, plus the old versions and caches AI coding agents leave behind, with their history kept.

  • Duplicates in the same scan

    Identical files found by content and shown side by side, from the same scan as everything else.

  • A command line for scripts and agents

    census ships inside the app with JSON on every command, so scripts and AI agents see what the app sees.

Side by side

Each GrandPerspective fact links to where it was read. “Not stated” means GrandPerspective’s site doesn’t say either way.

Disk Census and GrandPerspective, side by side. Checked 9 October 2026.
Disk CensusGrandPerspective
Seeing where space went
PartlyEach folder is drawn as a bar of its largest items. There is no treemap.
YesA treemap: every file is a rectangle sized by its space, coloured by type, folder, age and more.Source
Saying what’s safe to remove
YesEvery item is tagged Safe (rebuilds itself), Review (costs time or data to restore) or Keep, and the tag says what regenerates it.
Not stated on their siteIts site doesn’t mention cleaning advice.
Developer caches and build output
YesCaches and build output of Xcode, Homebrew, npm, pnpm, Yarn, Bun, Cargo, Go, Gradle, CocoaPods, Swift Package Manager, pip, uv, Poetry, conda and more, with node_modules, target and .venv folders grouped by project.
Not stated on their siteIts site doesn’t mention developer caches.
AI coding agents’ leftovers
YesOld versions, caches, temporary files and logs of Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, Windsurf, Zed, Warp, Kiro, Antigravity, Goose and more. History, settings, credentials, plugins and skills are never offered.
Not stated on their siteIts site doesn’t mention AI agents.
Duplicate files
YesSets of identical files by content, side by side. The last copy of a set can never be deleted.
Not stated on their siteIts site doesn’t mention duplicates.
Where deleted items go
Deleted permanently, never to the Trash, and only after a person approves the exact items. Every confirmation says so.
To the Trash. Deleting is turned off by default, and turned on in Preferences.Source
Saving and exporting scans
Yescensus ships inside the app, at the same version, with JSON on every command and stable exit codes.
Scans save as compressed XML to reload later, and views export as an image or as tab-separated text.Source
Open source
NoNot open source.
YesFree under the GNU General Public License.Source
Requirements
macOS 12 or later, on Apple silicon and Intel. Mac only.
Version 3.8.1 needs macOS 14 or later. Older versions run on Mac OS X 10.5 to macOS 13.Source

Price

Disk Census’s price is live. GrandPerspective’s is as its site showed it on 9 October 2026.

Disk Census

Launch offerSave 60%

Regular price $10Launch price $3.99

One-time, for up to 3 Macs, with every future version. Limited seats, offer ends soon. Then it’s $4.99.

GrandPerspective

Free

Open source under the GNU GPL from SourceForge, or $2.99 on the App Store with automatic updates.

Checked · Source

Launch prices, by copies sold

  1. $3.99Save 60%First 100 copiesNow
  2. $4.99Save 50%Next 150 copies
  3. $6.99Save 30%Next 250 copies
  4. $10Regular priceAfter the launch

Checkout by Stripe. Sold through Link, which sends your receipt. Prices in US dollars, tax included. Refund policy

When GrandPerspective is the better pick

  • You want it free and open source: GrandPerspective is GPL-licensed.
  • You think in pictures: its treemap shows every file at once, coloured by type, folder or age.
  • You want to save a scan and reload it later, export it as an image or text, or schedule scans with AppleScript.
  • Your Mac runs macOS 11 or earlier: GrandPerspective keeps older versions for it.

Questions

Is Disk Census a good GrandPerspective alternative?

If you want to clean as well as look, yes: it tags each item Safe, Review or Keep and knows developer caches and AI agents’ leftovers. If you want a free, open-source picture of your disk, GrandPerspective is exactly that.

Does Disk Census draw a treemap?

No. Disk Census shows each folder as a bar of its largest items, and lists the biggest files, apps and caches in their own views.

Do GrandPerspective and Disk Census use the Trash?

No. GrandPerspective moves deleted items to the Trash, once deletion is turned on in its Preferences. Disk Census deletes permanently, after you approve the exact items, and checks each one again first.

Sources

Every fact about GrandPerspective was read on its own pages on . Spot something out of date? Write to support@diskcensus.com.

GrandPerspective is a trademark of its owner. Disk Census isn’t affiliated with it.

Other comparisons

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macOS 12 or later · Intel and Apple silicon