Find and Remove Duplicates
The bad news is that duplicate files are eating up space on your Mac potentially causing your Mac to slow down and perform poorly. The good news is that there is an easy way to get rid of duplicate files with just a couple of clicks. The easy way is to use the best duplicate file finder for Mac.
There are a number of apps to find and delete the duplicate photos, videos, music files, documents and other types of duplicate files on a Mac. They vary in performance, ease of use and more. In this article, you will find a list of them along with a review for each.
What makes a reliable duplicate file finder for Mac?
Capability of identifying duplicate files
Aug 30, 2021 Our website provides a free download of Duplicate File Finder 6.14.4 for Mac. This Mac download was checked by our antivirus and was rated as safe. Duplicate File Finder for Mac relates to System Tools. This software for Mac OS X is a product of Nektony. Duplicate Files Fixer. Exact Duplicates: Yes Similar Files: No Automatic Cleanup: Yes System Requirements: Mac OS X 10.7 or later Overview: Duplicate Files Fixer, also called Duplicate Finder and Remover on the Mac App Store, is a flexible tool that lets you remove duplicate photos, documents, archives, and other files quickly and accurately.
- Jun 08, 2021 Free download link. Ashisoft Duplicate File Finder can compare files byte by byte, so it can find true duplicate files regardless of filename. It has a free edition and a pro edition. Both allow you to look for various types of duplicates such as duplicate music files, pictures and videos.
- Get more free disk space by removing unnecessary duplicate files and folders from your Mac. Remove duplicate files on any mounted disk or folder. Use Duplicate File Finder FREE to find and remove duplicate files. Get the PRO version to delete duplicate folders, merge similar folders, mass select duplicates and more.
- Duplicate files finder os: mac free download. GrandPerspective GrandPerspective is a utility application for macOS that graphically displays the disk usage of your.
A duplicate file finder is an app designed to detect duplicate files. Such apps use particular algorithms to compare files and identify the duplicates. Different apps may use different algorithms. For example, the algorithm PhotoSweeper uses can only handle images, resulting in its inability to find other types of duplicates. Easy Duplicate Finder uses SHA-256, which is a bit slow. Cisdem Duplicate Finder uses a combination of algorithms, leading to high performance in the detection of various types of duplicate files.
Safe support for Photos and iTunes (now Music)
Unlike on Windows where photos and music files are stored in normal folders, the photos and songs on your Mac are typically stored in Photos Library (managed via Photos app) and iTunes Media (managed via iTunes app) respectively. The fact is that many duplicate file finders for Mac will consider Photos Library and iTunes Media normal folders when searching for duplicates in the two places. As a result, they will damage your library or cause the loss of files or related data. To safely delete these duplicates, you need to use an app designed for Photos and iTunes.
There are other criteria to consider. The two ones above are the most important.
The best duplicate file finders for Mac
#1 Cisdem Duplicate Finder
Compatibility: macOS 10.10 or later, including Big Sur
Cisdem Duplicate Finder is the best of its kind due to its high performance, safety, ease of use, etc.
Thanks to the advanced algorithms it uses, the app can quickly identify true duplicate files by content and find duplicate photos, audios, videos, Word documents, PDFs, presentations, archives and other types of duplicate files on your Mac and external storage devices (e.g., external hard drives, SD cards and more). It also finds near-duplicate photos, which is a plus for making the app a great duplicate photo finder for Mac.
Designed for Photos and iTunes, Cisdem Duplicate Finder will scan your Photos Library or iTunes Media, display the found duplicates for you to view, and remove the unwanted duplicates from within the Photos app or iTunes app with your permission, just like a human would when removing photos or songs. Your Photos Library and iTunes Media will be safe and unaffected except being duplicate-free.
Once the app finishes scanning Photos, iTunes or Mac folders for duplicate files, it will display the detected duplicates in its results window for you to easily view and preview. What’s more, its smart Auto-Select feature will automatically select duplicates for you to mass delete with a single click. Click the Delete button, and now all dupes are gone! If not satisfied with auto-selection, you can manually select or use the selection rules provided.
Pros
- Quickly find all types of duplicate files on Mac based on content
- Also find near-duplicate images
- Support Mac and external storage devices
- Safely remove duplicates from Photos, iPhoto, Music and iTunes
- Come with 3 preview modes, including a side-by-side mode
- Provide a smart Auto-Select feature and up to 8 selection rules
- Offer 3 deletion methods, including Move to Trash
- Support Apple silicon
#2 Gemini 2
Compatibility: macOS 10.10 or later
In addition to the best duplicate file finder for Mac, there are other great apps available to help rid your Mac of duplicate files. Gemini 2 is one of them. People are often impressed by how good looking the app is. But a beautiful interface can only be the cherry on top. What’s important is the ability to find duplicate files on a Mac.
The app supports finding the double files in normal folders, iTunes and Photos and is capable of detecting duplicate photos, duplicate audios, duplicate documents and some other types of duplicates. It does a good job of deleting duplicate files in folders even the large ones. But it occasionally fails to work when scanning a big Photos Library. In such a case, try to re-scan.
In February 2021, Gemini 2 introduced the Duplicates Monitor feature aiming to better help users get rid of duplicate files by notifying users when new duplicates appear. The feature does what it’s designed for. But it uses lots of CPU and may slow down your Mac.
Pros
- Comes with a beautiful interface
- Scan your Mac for various types of duplicate files
- Support Photos and iTunes
- Let users directly preview files within the app
- Provide an innovative Duplicates Monitor feature
Cons
- Incompatible with macOS 10.9 or earlier
- Expensive
#3 Tidy Up 5
Compatibility: macOS 10.12 or later
Designed by Hyperbolic for “pro users” (as advertised), Tidy Up 5 is a good duplicate file finder for Mac for experienced users. Inexperienced users may find its interface overwhelming and confusing.
Supporting all popular file types such as images, Tidy Up 5 can detect and delete the duplicate files in Mac’s folders and Photos. Although the app offers an option to scan iTunes for duplicate items, it does a poor job. In the test, it failed to find any duplicates, which do exist, in my iTunes.
The app comes with two modes: Simple mode and Advanced mode. New users can start with the simple one. Both modes offer an array of scan options and criteria. Each scan for duplicates requires (at least) a little configuration. Compared to the other best Mac duplicate file finders talked about above, this one is less easy to use.
Pros
- Search for a variety types of duplicate files on Mac
- Find and delete duplicates in Apple Photos on Mac
- Provide 2 modes for users to choose from
- Highly customizable
- Support hard links
Cons
- Don’t support macOS 10.11 or earlier
- Not good at finding duplicates in iTunes
- Not that user-friendly
#4 Easy Duplicate Finder for Mac
Compatibility: macOS 10.6 or later
Easy Duplicate Finder is available for both macOS and Windows. Highly compatible, it works well on a Mac running Big Sur, Catalina, Mojave or High Sierra or even an earlier version.
Its wizard-style interface is simple to navigate and use, guiding users through the whole process of the identification and removal of duplicate files, which is especially helpful for novice users.
This piece of file deduplication software can scan your MacBook Pro, MacBook Air or iMac, etc. for duplicate songs, duplicate photos and more. When the scan is complete, it will give you two options: using Auto Remove to immediately eliminate duplicates or using Manual Review to view duplicates and then remove the unwanted ones. The latter allows you to examine the files you are handling and deleting and is more reliable.
The app excels at looking for the duplicates in iTunes and normal folders. However, when searching for duplicate photos in Mac Photos app, it will return no results or false positives. If you allow it to deduplicate, your Photos Library will get damaged.
Pros
- Capable of detecting common types of file duplicates
- Support iTunes
- Provide an Auto Remove feature for quick duplicate removal
- Very user-friendly interface
Cons
- Relatively slow scan
- Poor support for Mac’s Photos
- A bit expensive
#5 Duplicate Detective
Compatibility: macOS 10.7 or later
This Mac duplicate file finder and remover looks less sophisticated due to its unpolished interface. It actually does a fair job of scanning for and removing duplicate files on Mac.
You can use it to scan folders and Photos. However, it can’t identify all the duplicates in a given folder or library. Some dupes will be missing. And also, it can’t provide consistent performance. If you want to clean up duplicates in iTunes, this app won’t help. In the test, the duplicate songs it found didn’t even exist in my iTunes.
Pros
- Support all common file types
- Can find the duplicates in Photos on Mac
- Offer an option to create an alias when deleting duplicates
- Easy to use
- Lightweight
Cons
- Incapable of finding all duplicate files in a location
- Can’t work well with iTunes
#6 Duplicate Sweeper for Mac
Compatibility: macOS 10.8 or later
Duplicate Sweeper is another lightweight macOS duplicate file finder and deleter. The app’s minimal interface is easy to use and navigate. Its welcome screen provides users with brief usage instructions. Even someone who is completely inexperienced can easily use it.
The app can only delete duplicate files in the folders on a Mac. In other words, you can’t use it to weed out the duplicates in your Photos or iTunes. Therefore, it may not be desirable for Mac users. But it can be a choice to consider if the duplicate files on your Mac do reside in folders.
Pros
- Able to look for photo duplicates and other common types of duplicates
- Lightweight
- Ease-to-use interface
Cons
- Can’t identify the duplicates in iTunes and Photos
- Sometime fail to detect all dupes
- Limited customization
#7 dupeGuru for Mac (free)
Compatibility: macOS 10.12 or later
There are also free Mac apps available for the removal of duplicate files. What is the best free duplicate file finder for Mac? dupeGuru may be the answer.
dupeGuru is free to use and open source. There is some sort of maintenance, but the app hasn’t been properly updated for years. Therefore, there can be compatibility issues with newer macOS versions.
The freeware app comes with three modes: Standard, Music and Picture, allowing you to look for and delete duplicate pictures, duplicate music files and some others in folders on Mac. It’s not designed for Apple Photos and iTunes. Even though it allows you to scan Photos Library, its deduplication algorithm will damage your library and cause data loss.
Pros
- Completely free to use
- Open source
- Offer 3 modes to handle different types of duplicate files
- Fairly configurable
- Can find certain visually similar pictures
Cons
- Possible compatibility issues
- No support for Photos and iTunes
- Can’t find all dupes in the folder it scans
Free Duplicate File Finder For Mac Os X Downloads
#8 Disk Drill for Mac (free)
Compatibility: macOS 10.12 or later
Disk Drill is actually a data recovery app, but it offers a feature called Find Duplicates. The feature is available in the free and paid versions of Disk Drill, which makes the app available as a free duplicate file finder.
You can find the feature in the sidebar under the Extra tools section. Like dupeGuru, this app can scan only folders for duplicates. To perform a scan, you need to add a folder and click the Start Scan button. There is no instant preview of duplicate files. To preview a duplicate, you need to click the eye icon next to it, which can cause inconvenience when it comes to image duplicates.
Pros
- Free to use
- Easy-to-understand interface
- Scan Mac folders for file duplicates
Cons
- Incapable of detecting all duplicate files
- Can’t scan Photos and iTunes
- Inconvenient preview
How to find and remove duplicate files on Mac with a duplicate file finder
I hope the list and reviews above are useful and helps you do a comparison so as to pick the app you need. This part will show you how duplicate removal software typically works.
1. Download and install the software. Open it.
2. Click the plus icon + to add a folder or drive. Click Scan.
3. Once it finishes scanning for duplicate files, you can view and preview the duplicates. It lets you view by file type.
4. Duplicates are already automatically selected for mass removal.
If not happy with auto-selection, you can select by hand. Or, highlight all items under the All tab with Command-A and then apply a desired selection rule.
5. Click Delete.
6. Click Yes to confirm the deletion. Now the unwanted duplicate files on your Mac are removed.
If you want to remove duplicates from Mac Photos app or iTunes app, it will require a couple of additional steps. Please see the official user guide for details.
By the way, you can also manually eliminate the file duplicates in Mac folders by using Finder’s Find function, which can be a time-consuming and tedious process. Alternatively, it’s possible to find duplicate files on Mac using Terminal, the terminal emulator coming with macOS. But stay away from Terminal if you don’t have some command line knowledge.
Conclusion
Removing duplicate files can help free up storage space, possibly making your Mac run faster. Also, it’s easier to manage files on a duplicate-free computer. The best duplicate file finder for Mac can help you effortlessly, effectively and safely root out duplicates from your Mac, no matter where they reside and how deep they hide. In addition, there are other great apps to consider.
Which duplicate file finder for Mac you are using?
Download Duplicate Photo Fixer Pro and enjoy it on your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, or Mac OS X 10.11 or later. The Ultimate Decluttering Tool, Duplicate Photo Fixer Pro takes no time in identifying any similar looking or exact copies of the photos on your Mac, so you can remove them instantly. Duplicate Photos SweepOff is an ultimate Duplicate Photos Finder that helps you to find all duplicate and even similar photos and easily remove them for an organized Photos collection and to regain valuable space. While searching for Exact Match it also searches for Duplicate Videos on your Mac system. Duplicate Photos SweepOff helps you in. You can download Duplicate Photos Fixer 1.8 for Mac from our software library for free. The software lies within System Tools, more precisely File Managers. Our built-in antivirus scanned this Mac download and rated it as 100% safe. This free software for Mac OS X is a product of Systweak Software. We'll show you about iMyMac PowerMyMac's Duplicate Finder - The best duplicate photo finder Mac 2021. There are a lot of tools out there that help you find duplicate files on your Mac. But why we recommend PowerMyMac is that it scans your entire device for duplicate files and makes a byte-to-byte comparison to check whether they are identical. Duplicate Photo Cleaner - Download. Mac OS X Mojave 10.14; CPU: 400 MHz or higher. With this duplicate photo finder you will be able to find duplicate photos.
Why do you need a duplicate file finder on Mac?
Manually hunting down duplicate files is, by all intents and purposes, an unrealizable assignment. By following standard methods to search duplicates, we can’t use anything besides iTunes to remove duplicate music. Be that as it may, but there’s nothing more annoying than searching to delete duplicate files on Mac.
Be it photographs, audio files, or documents; there are many instances when mistakenly more than 2-3 copies of a single file are often saved on our Mac, consuming chunks of storage space. This can create unnecessary data and take up the storage space on the hard disk. Therefore, we must use one of Mac’s best duplicate finders to find duplicate files on Mac. Visual studio for mac preview 64-bit.
Our Top 3 Choices
Duplicate Files Fixer
| Best choice (Recommended) |
Disk Drill
| Best choice |
Cisdem Duplicate Finder
| Best choice |
Top 10 Best Duplicate File Finder for Mac in 2020
To free your Mac from the duplicates, you need to install one of the macOS duplicate file finders. Here is the list of the best duplicate file finder and cleaner apps for Mac:
1. Duplicate Files Fixer
Duplicate Files Fixer is the best duplicate finder for Mac. You can recover a lot of disk space by removing multiple file copies from your Mac. Duplicate Files Fixer removes these files effortlessly.! It will give you a quick yet accurate scan irrespective of the volume of files you have. Not just this, you need not worry about retrieving files, in case you want to. Duplicate Files Fixer gives you the option to backup all your files before you delete them. It is one of the best duplicate file cleaner software available, making your lives easier by taking care of all duplicate files and folders of your Mac.
Available on: Windows, Mac, Android
Free Duplicate File Finder For Mac Os X 2020
2. Disk Drill
Disk Drill is one powerful duplicate file remover tool which takes care of all the shadow copies within the blink of your eye. This macOS duplicate file finder comes with additional features for making the task easier for you. One of the most important features of this tool is file recovery, which allows you to recover files that you accidentally delete. You can restore all erased files in an instant while the software scans all your system drives. All sorts of deleted pictures, music, and files can be recovered easily with Disk Drill.
3. Cisdem Duplicate Finder
Removing Duplicate files from your Mac can save a lot of space on your system. With Cisdem Duplicate Finder 3, you can remove duplicate files in three simple steps. It compares the file sizes or names and the other aspects such as random parts of content to scan and remove the duplicates deeply. This duplicate finder on Mac classifies the copies into seven different categories, such as Music, Videos, Archives, Packages, and more.
Also Read: 11 Best Free Mac Cleaner Software
4. Mac Clean
In our list of best duplicate file removers for Mac, the next is Mac Clean, a nifty tool that helps you locate and remove duplicate files of your Mac. The app comes in various languages, including English, Spanish, German, French, and Japanese. You can even apply many filters to refine your search criteria according to type, such as songs, pictures, etc.
5. Gemini 2 (19.99$)
Gemini 2 is one easy to use duplicate file finders for your Mac. It uses a fast scanning algorithm to delete duplicate files in Mac. The app lets you preview files before removing them, just like other tools, and supports more than 10 languages. It is one of the best duplicate file finders for Mac.
6. Duplicate Detective
It is another in the list of best duplicate file remover software for Mac. Duplicate Detective has a Robust Search Engine that compares the documents and looks for the copies. Be it photographs, recordings, sound documents, or any file organizer; Duplicate Detective can find any imitations. It channels the documents by size, name, date, and so forth. The client can lessen or increase the minimum duplicate file size with this macOS Duplicate file finder.
7. Dupe Guru for Mac
DupeGuru is one of the best duplicate file removers for Mac that you can use to erase copies in Mac OS X and Windows as well. DupeGuru for Mac is a fantastic duplicate file remover tool that functions admirably to delete duplicate files on Mac. It precisely recognizes copies to help you keep documents sorted out well without duplicate records.
8. Easy Duplicate Finder
With Easy Duplicate Finder, you can recover chunks of storage space by removing all duplicate files in one go. It is one powerful tool to find duplicate files on Mac and remove all sorts of duplicate photos, documents, MP3s, videos, and more. Easy Duplicate Finder comes with a simple, easy-to-use interface, making the process of finding duplicate files on Mac easy. This Duplicate File Cleaner software also features many advanced search methods and algorithms, which makes finding duplicate files way faster than ever.
9. Duplicate Finder – Retrieve and Remove Duplicate Files
Within no time, Duplicate Finder finds all duplicate files on your hard disk. It quickly scans your Mac and presents all the duplicates so you can easily remove duplicate files from Mac. This tool follows a fast scanning process and displays the results into various categories. You can even customize the scanning process and pick from the entire scan option or if you need to scan any particular folder.
10. Duplicate File Finder – best fast free for files:-
It is one nifty duplicate file cleaner tool for Mac, which will remove duplicate files from Mac in a few taps. With its fast scanning algorithms, all the results are displayed based on images, videos, music, archives, documents, and other specific extensions.
Also read: 15 Best Anti-Malware Software For Mac 2019.
So, folks here were the 10 best duplicate file finders and removers for Mac. Still, wondering how to delete duplicate files in Mac?
Grab any of the above-mentioned tools and say goodbye to duplicates!
Frequently Asked Questions –
Q1. What is the best duplicate file finder?
Duplicate Photo Fixer Download For Mac Os X Catalina
The best duplicate finder for Mac is the one that provides accurate results. We have listed some of the best tools to remove duplicate files from Mac. You can select one of them; here, we will recommend using Duplicate Files Fixer for Mac. It comes with the option to Auto-mark the scanned results.
Q2. How do I find and delete duplicate files on my Mac?
To delete duplicate files on Mac, you will need to install one of the best duplicate finders. It is easier to use the tool rather than searching for duplicates manually on the disk.
Q3. Is duplicate file finder safe?
Duplicate Photo Fixer Download For Mac Os X Download
Duplicate file finder is safe for your Mac. You need to get the authentic software for the best results, and you are free from the clutter. Duplicate files are removed only after your approval in Duplicate Files Fixer. Therefore it is safe to opt for this tool.