Auslogics Duplicate File Finder Review: A Powerful Tool to Reclaim Disk Space
As a Mac user, you may not give much thought to the files accumulating on your hard drive day after day. But consider this: The average employee wastes up to 4.5 hours per week searching for documents, in part due to digital clutter. What‘s more, nearly identical file content can consume up to 20% of organizational disk space in the form of duplicates.
While Photos, iTunes, and some other Mac apps have built-in tools for flagging duplicates, most of us still end up with redundant files scattered across multiple folders. These sneaky space hogs could be duplicate downloads, email attachments, photo exports, or files copied over from old backups. Tidying up these duplicates manually would be maddeningly tedious.
That‘s where duplicate file finder software comes in. These tools can quickly scan your Mac for identical files and help you trash the copies. I recently had a chance to test drive Auslogics Duplicate File Finder for Mac. In this review, I‘ll share my take on its capabilities, usability, and value compared to other top duplicate eliminators for macOS.
What Auslogics Duplicate File Finder for Mac Does
Auslogics Duplicate File Finder for Mac has a laser focus on one task – finding and removing duplicate files clogging up your Apple computer. It can search for file copies across multiple folders, drives, and even connected network volumes.
The key features Auslogics touts include:
- Fast and accurate duplicate scanning based on file name, extension, size, and/or content
- Supports over 100 file formats, including photos, music, videos, documents, and archives
- Lets you preview found duplicates before deletion to avoid mishaps
- Includes a "Rescue Center" holding tank where you can stash duplicates temporarily in case you need to restore any
- Offers one-click selection of duplicates for faster cleanup
- Shows summary reports of how many files and how much disk space you‘ve cleaned up
User Experience & Interface
Installing Auslogics Duplicate File Finder on my MacBook Pro running macOS 11 Big Sur was a breezy process – just download the DMG file, drag the app icon to Applications, and launch. The interface is attractive and easy to navigate with five main tabs: Duplicate Finder, Rescue Center, Settings, Help, and About.
To start a new scan, you simply select folder locations, choose a scan mode (fast or full), pick your preferred file removal method (delete permanently or move to Trash/Rescue Center), and click the big green Scan for Duplicates button.
During scanning, Auslogics displays a progress bar and statistics on the number of folders/files scanned, duplicates found, and time elapsed. You can also see a live preview of found duplicates. Clicking the Stop button immediately halts the scan, which is handy if you realize you chose the wrong locations.
My only real gripe is that some useful settings are buried in Advanced Options, like auto-select duplicates, auto-close preview window, and skip files smaller than X size. The gear icon isn‘t an obvious way to access these. Built-in user help is also light, with no troubleshooting info specific to Macs.
Duplicate Scan Speed & Accuracy
To test Auslogics‘ scanning chops, I copied a 1GB folder with a variety of file types to four locations on my MacBook‘s 512GB SSD, including the Desktop and Documents folder. I then ran a full disk scan in Fast Scan mode. Auslogics chewed through 347GB of data in about 12 minutes, finding 3,527 duplicate files.
Drilling down, I confirmed it correctly identified the four copies of my test folder. It also flagged some redundant system files that apparently aren‘t excluded by default on Macs like they are on Windows. No false positives though.
Switching to Full Scan mode and scanning just my Home folder, Auslogics took about 8 minutes to process 45GB and found 1,485 duplicates. Interestingly, it located a few more copies of old downloaded files compared to the Fast Scan. So Full Scan is noticeably more thorough but slower.
Next I did a head-to-head comparison with Gemini 2, a popular duplicate cleaner for Mac. Scanning the same Home folder, Gemini 2 was nearly twice as fast at 4 min 30 sec and found 2,515 duplicates – 1,000 more than Auslogics. Gemini 2‘s scan didn‘t flag any system files, avoiding that clutter. It was also more aggressive in grouping together similar files.
Auslogics did an acceptable job of finding real duplicates on my Mac, but it wasn‘t nearly as speedy or intelligent as Gemini 2. I‘d classify its scan performance as good but not exceptional.
Safety & File Removal Process
I give Auslogics props for putting duplicate file safety front and center. After a scan, it doesn‘t select any files for removal by default in case you want to double-check the results first. It also clearly marks the original file in each duplicate group to help you decide which to keep.
When you do click the Remove Selected button, Auslogics pops up a confirmation asking if you want to delete the duplicates permanently or move them to Trash/Rescue Center. The Rescue Center is basically a temporary holding bin where you can review "removed" duplicates before deleting them forever.
While I appreciate these safeguards, Auslogics‘ actual duplicate removal process was clunkier than I expected on macOS. It was slow to respond to my selections and I had to manually empty the Trash to regain the disk space. The removed files also didn‘t show up in the Rescue Center until I relaunched the app. Minor annoyances, but room for improvement.
Price & Value
Auslogics Duplicate File Finder costs $9.95 for a single Mac license, which is on the cheaper end for a premium duplicate cleaner. However, it‘s a perpetual license, meaning you only pay once (not a subscription). That‘s a fair price if Auslogics DFF fully meets your needs.
The free trial lets you scan for duplicates and remove up to 10 files without paying. So you can really try before you buy.
How does Auslogics stack up to other notable duplicate file finders for Mac in terms of bang for buck? See the comparison table below:
| Product | Price | Unique Features |
|---|---|---|
| Auslogics Duplicate File Finder | $9.95 one-time | Rescue Center for temporarily storing duplicates |
| Gemini 2 | $19.95 one-time | Finds similar files in addition to strict duplicates |
| Duplicate Detective | $2.99 on Mac App Store | Cheap but bare bones with slow scans |
| Easy Duplicate Finder | $39.95/year | Pricey but includes file organizer & disk visualization tools |
Among these options, Gemini 2 offers the best value by coupling fast, intelligent scans with an appealingly simple interface. Auslogics DFF is a more affordable alternative with a couple unique perks, but it‘s not the most seamless Mac experience.
The Verdict: Good But Not Great for Mac Users
Overall, Auslogics Duplicate File Finder is a decent utility for finding and removing duplicate files on a Mac. It delivers on its core promise and throws in a couple nice extras like the Rescue Center.
However, it doesn‘t feel fully Mac-native and is a step behind category leaders in looks, smarts, and efficiency. Auslogics scans were slower and caught somewhat fewer duplicates than Gemini 2 in my tests. The removal process was also less elegant.
Auslogics DFF may be worth the $10 if you need a budget-friendly duplicate cleaner and don‘t mind some rough edges. But most Mac users will likely be better served by more polished, Mac-first picks like Gemini 2 or Hazel.
Final Grade: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Methodology: This review was based on hands-on testing of Auslogics Duplicate File Finder for Mac version 1.2.0 on a 2019 MacBook Pro with a 512GB SSD and macOS 11.2. Duplicate scan performance was compared to Gemini 2 version 2.8.6 using the same data set.
