How much free space should I have on my Mac hard drive?

The amount of free space you need on your Mac depends on your usage patterns. Generally speaking, having at least free 10-15% is enough storage space for Mac’s smooth work. If you have a large number of files, photos, videos, or applications, you may need more free space to ensure smooth performance. Similarly, if you frequently work with large files or run applications that require a lot of memory, you may want to consider having even more free space available.

Why does my Mac say not enough disk space, but there is?

Even if you don’t store numerous large files on your Mac, your disk may be full due to having many caches and other temporary files. Check also hidden files. You can use MacCleaner Pro to see what’s taking space on your disk.

What should I delete from my Mac?

If you have not enough free storage space on your Mac computer, you could consider deleting the following files: Unused applications; Large and rarely used files that you can move to external storage; Duplicate files; Language files that you don't use; Cache and temporary files; Email attachments that you no longer need; Downloads. You can use MacCleaner Pro to delete all those junk in a few clicks.

June 2, 2025

How to check disk space on Mac

Written by

A content marketer with 10+ years of experience specializing in macOS, focused on creating guides for Mac cleanup and optimization.

Asya Karapetyan

Approved by

The content has been reviewed and approved by our team member, an Apple Certified Support Professional, who provides technical support to Nektony’s users.

Alex Holovchenko

Is your Mac running out of space? Learn how to check Mac disk usage and manage your storage to keep your Mac performing at its best.

Contents:

Ways to check hard drive space on Mac
How to manage storage on Mac

Before we start

If you do not have time to explore what’s occupying your Mac hard drive but need to quickly get some free space, use the special software MacCleaner Pro. This all-in-one solution will help you analyze how much storage space you have and clean up all unneeded junk with just one click.

How to check Mac storage usage

macOS offers multiple ways to check disk usage, from simple Finder tools to detailed system reports. Let’s go through the easiest methods to find out what’s filling up your drive.

Video Guide: How to check Mac storage usage

1:59

How to check disk space using System Settings

Open System Settings.
Click General in the sidebar.
Click Storage in the right panel.
You will see the bar chart of what’s taking space on your disk.

Check storage space on Mac using the Get Info panel

Before you can check the disk space in Finder, ensure that your hard disks are displayed in its sidebar. Here’s how:

Launch Finder.
Go to the Finder’s Settings.
Switch to the Sidebar tab.
Make your Hard disks visible.

Finder Preferences with Hard disks highlighted

Steps to check your hard disk space in the Get Info window:

Open Finder.
Right-click on your Macintosh HD in the sidebar.
Select Get Info from the context menu.
In the General section, you will find all the information about your Mac disk: volume capacity, the used space, and available storage space.

Check Mac hard drive space using Quick Look

Open Finder.
Select Macintosh HD in the left panel.
Press the Space bar to open Quick Look.
See the storage capacity in the item’s information window.

Use the Finder’s status bar

Also, with Finder, you can view a storage overview using its status bar. To activate it, follow these steps:

Open Finder.
Click View in its top menu.
Choose Show Status Bar.
In Finder, choose Macintosh HD.
You’ll see a small status bar at the bottom of the Finder window showing the selected item’s volume.

Check Mac hard drive space using Disk Utility

You can also check the hard drive space on your Mac with the help of the default Apple application Disk Utility.

Launch Disk Utility. You can find it in the Applications folder or the Launchpad.
Select your Macintosh HD.
View all the information about used and free volume on your disk.

How to check disk space using the System Information app

Open System Information. You can find it using Spotlight.
Click Storage in the left panel.
You’ll see detailed information about free storage and the total capacity of your disk.

How to check disk space using MacCleaner Pro

If you want to go deeper into storage on a Mac, you can use MacCleaner Pro. This app provides a detailed bar chart of what is taking up disk space on your Mac. It also allows you to quickly get rid of system clutter and free up space.

Launch MacCleaner Pro.
In the Overview section, you will find a more detailed bar with information about your Mac’s hard drive.
If you want to free up space, click the Fast Cleanup button.

Maccleaner window with disk usage panel highlighted

Check Mac disk using Terminal

This method is rather for tech geeks who are familiar with the Terminal command line. If you feel not comfortable with the Terminal commands, use one of the methods mentioned above.

Open Terminal.
Type the following command and press Return:

df -h

Copy
Look for /System/Volumes/Data. In this line, you can see the total size, used, and available disk space.

How to manage storage on Mac

Method 1

Apple provides built-in recommendations to manage Mac’s storage. Here is how to find them:

Open System Settings.
Go to the General section.
Click on Storage
Here you will find recommendations that can help you to recover some disk space.

Recommendations section in Manage space window

Method 2

Another way to manage storage on your Mac is to use a special software – MacCleaner Pro. This app provides deep storage analysis and smart cleanup tools to help you free up space effortlessly. Here’s how to use it:

Launch MacCleaner Pro.
Go to the Clean Up section.
You’ll see categories of files that can be removed, including system junk, caches, and duplicate files.
Select unneeded files.
Click Review and Clean Up.
Confirm deleting the clutter.

MacCleaner Pro is a bundle of apps, and it has additional tools like Duplicate Finder, App Cleaner & Uninstaller, and Disk Space Analyzer that you can use to further optimize your storage.