--- title: "Storage Studio and macOS Storage settings" url: https://storagestudio.us/wiki/compared-with-macos-storage-settings category: "Compared with macOS" tags: ["free up space", "comparison", "macos"] summary: "macOS's Storage settings show what fills your Mac and suggest ways to tidy it. Storage Studio adds moving things to an external drive, safe cache clearing and a recoverable way to remove things. They work well together." updated: 2026-10-01T05:32:20.000Z --- # Storage Studio and macOS Storage settings macOS's Storage settings show what fills your Mac and suggest ways to tidy it. Storage Studio adds moving things to an external drive, safe cache clearing and a recoverable way to remove things. They work well together. macOS has its own storage tools, and they're a good place to start. Storage Studio doesn't replace them — it adds ways to free space that macOS doesn't offer, chiefly moving folders and apps to an external drive while keeping them reachable. ## What macOS does In **System Settings → General → Storage**, macOS shows a bar of how your disk is used, split into categories such as Applications, Documents and Photos. Underneath are its recommendations, which can include: - **Store in iCloud** — keep files in iCloud and only recent ones on the Mac. - **Optimise Storage** — remove films and TV programmes you've already watched in the TV app. - **Empty Trash Automatically** — remove items that have been in the Trash for 30 days. Many of the categories can be opened to review what's in them and delete things you no longer need. ## What Storage Studio adds - **Moving instead of deleting.** Folders and apps can move to your [external drive](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/glossary-external-drive), leaving a [shortcut](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/glossary-shortcut) so they still open from the same place. See [Move, Merge or Relocate](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/move-merge-or-relocate) and [Moving an app](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/moving-an-app). - **Offloading apps** you rarely use, ready to restore later — see [Offloading and restoring an app](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/offloading-an-app). - **Clearing caches safely** with [Smart Care](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/smart-care) and [Free Up Space](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/free-up-space) — only folders an app rebuilds by itself. - **Finding what grew.** [Storage Inspector](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/storage-inspector) shows folder sizes, and [Where Did My Space Go](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/where-did-my-space-go) shows what changed over time. - **Local snapshots.** The **Local Snapshots** window shows how much space [local snapshots](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/glossary-local-snapshot) are holding. - **Other cloud accounts.** Files in your cloud folders can be made [online-only](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/glossary-online-only-file) in one go. - **A way back.** Things Storage Studio removes rest in the [Recycle Vault](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/recycle-vault) for about six months. ```mermaid %% caption: Which tool fits which job flowchart TD A[Your Mac is short of space] --> B{What do you want to do?} B -->|Keep files in iCloud or tidy the TV app| C[macOS Storage settings] B -->|Delete things you are sure you no longer need| C B -->|Keep things but move them off the Mac| D[Storage Studio] B -->|Find out what grew and clear caches safely| D ``` *Flowchart — Which tool fits which job. Outline:* - Your Mac is short of space - leads to What do you want to do? - What do you want to do? - Keep files in iCloud or tidy the TV app: leads to macOS Storage settings - Delete things you are sure you no longer need: leads to macOS Storage settings - Keep things but move them off the Mac: leads to Storage Studio - Find out what grew and clear caches safely: leads to Storage Studio ## Using both There's no conflict between them. The free-space figure Storage Studio shows counts space the same way Finder does, including [purgeable space](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/glossary-purgeable-space), so the two tell the same story. A sensible routine is to accept the macOS recommendations that suit you, then let Storage Studio move what you want to keep but don't need on the Mac itself. See also: [Freeing up space: the options](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/freeing-up-space-overview) · [What Storage Studio does](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/what-storage-studio-does) - **What's the best app to free up space on a Mac?** If you want space back without losing files, the best approach is "move, don't delete." Storage Studio relocates big apps and folders to an external drive (with a shortcut left in place so they still open), reclaims space macOS is holding in old snapshots, and keeps cloud files online-only — all… (https://storagestudio.us/faq) - **How do I free up space on my Mac?** Empty the Trash, clear app caches, remove old downloads, and move large apps and folders you rarely use to an external drive. Storage Studio does all of this in one tap with Tuhi — it clears caches and rarely-used files, reclaims old local backups, and keeps cloud files online-only, previewed… (https://storagestudio.us/faq) - **How do I get more storage on my Mac without deleting my files?** Pair your Mac with an external SSD and offload what you don't need on the startup disk. Storage Studio moves large apps, folders, and media to the external drive and leaves a shortcut in the original spot, so you reclaim space while keeping every file — nothing is deleted. (https://storagestudio.us/faq) - **Is it safe to clear the cache on a Mac?** Yes — app caches rebuild automatically, so clearing them safely reclaims space; the only risk is deleting the wrong thing by hand. Storage Studio clears only known-safe caches and rarely-used files, shows a preview first, and never touches your personal files without asking. (https://storagestudio.us/faq)