---
id: mac-storage-basics.why-does-finder-show-a-different-free-space-than-storage-settings
url: https://storagestudio.us/faq/mac-storage-basics/why-does-finder-show-a-different-free-space-than-storage-settings
category: "Mac storage basics"
subcategory: "Checking your storage"
question: "Why does Finder show a different amount of free space than Storage settings or Disk Utility?"
alt_questions:
  - "finder and disk utility show different free space"
  - "available vs free space mac"
  - "why do mac storage numbers not match"
  - "df shows less free space than finder"
  - "free space different in finder and terminal"
  - "mac storage numbers disagree"
short_answer: "Finder and Storage settings count purgeable space (snapshots, cached cloud files) as available; Disk Utility's Free figure and df count only space that is free right now."
tags: ["free space", "purgeable", "finder", "disk utility"]
related: ["https://storagestudio.us/faq/mac-storage-basics/what-is-purgeable-space-on-a-mac", "https://storagestudio.us/faq/mac-storage-basics/how-do-i-check-how-much-storage-my-mac-has-left"]
applies_to: "all"
last_reviewed: 2026-10-01
---

# Why does Finder show a different amount of free space than Storage settings or Disk Utility?

They count different things. Finder and Storage settings usually report **available** space, which includes space macOS *could* free on its own (purgeable space: local snapshots, cached cloud files and caches). Disk Utility can show both **Available** and **Free**, and command-line tools such as `df` show only what is free right now.

So a Mac can say "120 GB available" in Finder while only 70 GB is genuinely free this second — the other 50 GB is held by things macOS will release when it needs room.

This matters when an installer or a big copy checks the *real* free figure and refuses even though Finder looks fine. Storage Studio works from the figure your Mac will actually hand out and, where the two differ, shows both. See [purgeable space](https://storagestudio.us/faq/mac-storage-basics/what-is-purgeable-space-on-a-mac).