How to Free Up Mac Storage: 12 Methods That Actually Work (2025)

Your Mac storage full notification just appeared again. You've seen it so many times that you could probably recite the message by heart. You delete a few files, empty the trash, and within weeks you're right back where you started, staring at that red storage bar wondering where all your space went.

If this sounds familiar, you're not alone. Mac storage issues affect millions of users, but most people waste time on low-impact solutions while ignoring the biggest space hogs sitting right under their noses. This guide cuts through the noise and shows you exactly which methods actually work, ranked by real-world impact, so you can reclaim dozens or even hundreds of gigabytes in the shortest time possible.

Understanding Your Mac Storage First

Before you start deleting files randomly, you need to see what's actually taking up space on your Mac. This 2-minute diagnostic step will save you hours of guessing.

Here's how to check your storage breakdown:

1. Click the Apple menu in the top-left corner
2. Select "About This Mac"
3. Click the "Storage" tab
4. Wait for the colored bar to fully load (this can take 30-60 seconds)

You'll see categories like Applications, Documents, Photos, Audio, Videos, System, and Other. The colored bar shows you at a glance where your storage is going. Most people are shocked to discover that videos and photos often consume 40-70% of their total storage.

Pay special attention to these high-impact categories:
- Videos: Often the single largest category (20-100+ GB)
- Photos: Can balloon to 50-200 GB if you have years of iPhone photos
- System: Should be 15-30 GB; anything higher suggests cache buildup
- Other: A catch-all that often hides old iOS backups and app data

Now that you know where your storage is going, let's tackle the solutions that actually make a difference.

The 12 Methods That Actually Work

Method 1: Compress Your Videos (50-60% Space Savings)

Impact: EXTREME | Difficulty: Easy | Time: Automatic

If you have any videos on your Mac, this is your single highest-impact move. Videos are storage killers. A single 5-minute 4K video from your iPhone can consume 2-3 GB of space, and most people have dozens or hundreds of these files scattered across folders.

The problem? Most videos are saved in formats that prioritize quality over storage efficiency. Modern compression can reduce file sizes by 50-60% without any visible quality loss to the human eye.

Why this works:
Modern video codecs like HEVC (H.265) deliver the same visual quality as older formats while using half the space. Your videos look identical, but each file shrinks dramatically.

How to do it:
You have two options. The manual route involves using apps like HandBrake, where you need to configure settings for each video. This works but becomes tedious with large libraries.

The smarter approach is using [MediaOptim](/), which automatically compresses your entire video library in the background. Just point it at your folders, and it handles the technical details while you work on other things. Most users reclaim 30-80 GB on their first run.

Real-world example:
A wedding videographer compressed 200 GB of client footage and reclaimed 112 GB of storage in under 2 hours, with zero quality loss visible to clients.

Method 2: Optimize Your Photo Library (40-70% Space Savings)

Impact: EXTREME | Difficulty: Easy | Time: 5 minutes to set up

Your Photos library is probably massive. If you've been using an iPhone for years and syncing photos to your Mac, you could easily have 50-150 GB sitting in that single library file.

The good news? macOS has a built-in feature that can cut this size dramatically without deleting a single photo.

How to do it:

1. Open the Photos app
2. Go to Photos > Settings (or Preferences on older macOS versions)
3. Click the iCloud tab
4. Check "Optimize Mac Storage"

This tells macOS to keep full-resolution photos in iCloud while storing smaller versions locally on your Mac. When you open a photo, the full version downloads temporarily. You keep access to every photo, but your Mac storage usage drops by 40-70%.

Important note: This requires an iCloud+ subscription with enough storage for your full library. If you have 100 GB of photos, you'll need at least the 200 GB iCloud plan ($2.99/month).

Alternative approach:
If you shoot RAW photos or work with high-resolution images, consider converting them to HEIC format, which offers 50% smaller file sizes than JPEG with better quality. MediaOptim can batch-convert entire photo folders automatically.

Method 3: Empty Your Trash (Properly)

Impact: MEDIUM to HIGH | Difficulty: Very Easy | Time: 2 minutes

This seems obvious, but you'd be surprised how many people forget that deleted files still occupy storage until you empty the trash. Even more people don't realize that macOS has multiple trash bins.

Here's the complete trash-clearing process:

Main Trash:
1. Right-click the Trash icon in your Dock
2. Select "Empty Trash"
3. Confirm the deletion

iCloud Drive Trash:
1. Open Finder
2. Click iCloud Drive in the sidebar
3. Click the Recently Deleted folder
4. Click "Delete All" in the top-right corner

Photos Trash:
1. Open Photos
2. Click "Recently Deleted" in the sidebar
3. Click "Delete All"

Mail Trash:
1. Open Mail
2. Click Mailbox > Erase Deleted Items
3. Select each email account and confirm

Many users recover 10-30 GB just by clearing all these hidden trash locations.

Method 4: Clean Your Downloads Folder

Impact: MEDIUM | Difficulty: Very Easy | Time: 5-10 minutes

Your Downloads folder is a storage black hole. Every PDF, disk image (.dmg file), installer, and random file you've downloaded in the past year is probably still sitting there, forgotten.

Here's how to clean it effectively:

1. Open Finder and click "Downloads" in the sidebar
2. Click the Date Modified column to sort by date
3. Scroll through and delete these common space wasters:
- Old .dmg installer files (safe to delete after installing apps)
- Duplicate downloads (often ending in -1, -2, etc.)
- Old PDFs you've already read
- Archived files you've already extracted
- Screenshots you no longer need

Pro tip: Set up automatic Downloads folder cleaning:
1. Right-click your Downloads folder
2. Select Get Info
3. At the bottom, you can configure automatic deletion of old files

Most people recover 5-15 GB from this folder alone.

Method 5: Uninstall Unused Applications

Impact: MEDIUM | Difficulty: Easy | Time: 10-15 minutes

Applications aren't just the app icon you see. Most apps come with supporting files, frameworks, caches, and data files that can multiply the actual storage footprint by 5-10x.

For example, Adobe Creative Cloud apps often consume 3-5 GB each, but their cache files can add another 10-20 GB. Games are even worse, with many modern titles using 50-100 GB.

How to uninstall properly:

For most apps:
1. Open Finder and go to Applications
2. Drag unwanted apps to the Trash
3. Empty the Trash

For stubborn apps (Adobe, Microsoft, etc.):
Look for an official uninstaller in the app's folder, or download a free tool like AppCleaner, which removes apps plus all associated files.

Which apps to target:
- Games you finished months ago
- Trial software you never upgraded
- Old versions of apps (if you upgraded)
- Duplicate utilities (multiple photo editors, etc.)
- Apps you installed once and never opened

Check your Applications folder right now. You'll probably find 5-10 apps you completely forgot existed.

Method 6: Clear System and App Caches

Impact: MEDIUM | Difficulty: Moderate | Time: 15-20 minutes

Cache files are supposed to speed up your Mac by storing temporary data. In reality, they often just accumulate into multi-gigabyte storage hogs that slow everything down.

Safe caches to clear:

Browser caches:
- Safari: Preferences > Privacy > Manage Website Data > Remove All
- Chrome: Settings > Privacy > Clear browsing data > Cached images and files
- Firefox: Preferences > Privacy & Security > Cookies and Site Data > Clear Data

App caches:
1. Open Finder
2. Press Command+Shift+G
3. Type: ~/Library/Caches
4. Review folders and delete caches from apps you use frequently (Adobe, Slack, Spotify, etc.)

System caches (advanced):
Navigate to /Library/Caches (without the ~) and carefully delete cache folders. Be cautious here—some system caches are regenerated automatically, but deleting the wrong ones can cause issues.

Warning: Don't delete everything blindly. Focus on large folders from apps you recognize. When in doubt, skip it.

Most users recover 3-10 GB from cache clearing, sometimes much more if you use creative software.

Method 7: Find and Remove Duplicate Files

Impact: LOW to MEDIUM | Difficulty: Easy with tools | Time: 10-20 minutes

Duplicates happen more often than you think. You download a file, can't find it, download it again. You import photos from your camera, forget, and import them again. You work on a document in multiple folders.

Over time, these duplicates can consume 10-40 GB or more.

How to find duplicates:

Manual method (free but tedious):
Search for file types in Finder and sort by size to spot obvious duplicates.

Smart method (recommended):
Use a duplicate finder tool. Some reliable free options include:
- Gemini 2 (free trial, then paid)
- dupeGuru (free and open source)

These tools scan your drive, identify exact duplicates based on content (not just filename), and let you delete them safely with a few clicks.

Pro tip: Be especially careful with photos. Some "duplicates" might be edited versions. Always preview before deleting.

Method 8: Compress Audio Files

Impact: LOW to MEDIUM | Difficulty: Easy | Time: Varies

If you have a music library with thousands of songs, especially if you ripped CDs years ago in uncompressed formats like WAV or AIFF, you're wasting significant storage.

Modern compressed audio formats like AAC or HEVC audio deliver essentially identical quality at 50-70% smaller file sizes.

How to compress audio:

For music libraries:
Most streaming services now offer high-quality streaming, so consider whether you need local copies at all.

For audio files you must keep locally:
Use MediaOptim to batch-compress audio files automatically, or use iTunes/Music app to convert songs to AAC format (File > Convert > Create AAC Version).

Realistic impact:
If you have a 30 GB uncompressed music library, compression can reduce it to 10-15 GB.

Method 9: Delete Old iOS Backups

Impact: MEDIUM to HIGH | Difficulty: Easy | Time: 3 minutes

Every time you connect your iPhone or iPad to your Mac, iTunes or Finder might create a complete backup. Each backup can be 10-50 GB, and you might have multiple old backups sitting there from devices you don't even own anymore.

How to delete iOS backups:

1. Open Finder (macOS Catalina or later) or iTunes (older systems)
2. Click on your connected device, or go to Preferences > Devices
3. You'll see a list of backups with dates
4. Select old backups (especially from old devices)
5. Click "Delete Backup"

Before you delete:
Make sure you have a recent iCloud backup, or create a fresh backup if needed.

Most users recover 15-40 GB from old backups.

Method 10: Investigate the "Other" Storage Category

Impact: LOW to MEDIUM | Difficulty: Moderate | Time: 20-30 minutes

When you check your storage breakdown, you might see a large "Other" category. This is macOS's catch-all for files it can't categorize, and it can balloon to 20-50 GB or more.

What's usually in "Other":
- Cache files
- Logs
- App support files
- Browser data
- Old Time Machine snapshots
- Partially downloaded files

How to reduce "Other" storage:

Clear old Time Machine snapshots:
```bash
tmutil listlocalsnapshots /
tmutil deletelocalsnapshots [snapshot-date]
```

Use a storage analyzer:
Download a free tool like DaisyDisk* or *OmniDiskSweeper to visualize what's in "Other" and delete large files safely.

Check these hidden locations:
- ~/Library/Application Support (app data)
- ~/Library/Logs (old log files)
- ~/Library/Mobile Documents (cloud file caches)

Method 11: Move Large Files to External Storage

Impact: HIGH (instant) | Difficulty: Easy | Time: Varies

Sometimes the best way to free up space isn't deleting files—it's moving them off your Mac entirely.

Best candidates for external storage:
- Old project files you need to keep but rarely access
- Video archives
- High-resolution photo RAW files
- Old tax documents and records
- Software installers and disk images

How to do it right:

1. Get a reliable external drive (SSD for speed, HDD for budget)
2. Create organized folders on the external drive
3. Move (not copy) large files and folders
4. Verify files transferred correctly before deleting originals
5. Keep the drive connected if you need regular access, or back it up

Pro tip: For files you need occasionally but not daily, consider cloud storage like iCloud Drive, Dropbox, or Google Drive with selective sync enabled. This keeps files accessible without consuming local storage.

Method 12: Optimize Time Machine Backups

Impact: MEDIUM | Difficulty: Moderate | Time: 5 minutes setup

Time Machine is essential for backups, but it can consume enormous amounts of space if configured incorrectly, especially if you're backing up to the same drive you're trying to clear.

How to optimize Time Machine:

Exclude unnecessary folders:
1. Open System Preferences > Time Machine
2. Click Options
3. Add folders to exclude:
- Downloads folder
- Cache folders
- Virtual machines
- Any folders you sync to cloud storage

Use a dedicated external drive:
Time Machine works best on a separate external drive. If you're backing up to your main drive's APFS snapshots, this can consume 20-50 GB.

Thin old backups:
Time Machine keeps hourly backups for 24 hours, daily backups for a month, and weekly backups until the drive fills up. Consider using a larger backup drive to avoid constantly recycling old backups.

Storage Recovery: Method Impact Comparison

Here's how these methods compare in real-world storage recovery:

| Method | Typical Space Recovered | Difficulty | Time Required | Frequency |
|--------|------------------------|------------|---------------|-----------|
| 1. Compress Videos | 30-100+ GB | Easy | 1-3 hours (automatic) | Once, then as needed |
| 2. Optimize Photos | 20-80 GB | Easy | 5 min + sync time | Once |
| 3. Empty All Trash | 5-30 GB | Very Easy | 5 minutes | Weekly |
| 4. Clean Downloads | 5-15 GB | Very Easy | 10 minutes | Monthly |
| 5. Uninstall Apps | 10-50 GB | Easy | 15 minutes | Quarterly |
| 6. Clear Caches | 3-10 GB | Moderate | 15 minutes | Monthly |
| 7. Remove Duplicates | 5-20 GB | Easy | 15 minutes | Quarterly |
| 8. Compress Audio | 10-30 GB | Easy | 30-60 min (automatic) | Once |
| 9. Delete iOS Backups | 15-40 GB | Easy | 5 minutes | Quarterly |
| 10. Clean "Other" | 5-15 GB | Moderate | 30 minutes | Quarterly |
| 11. Move to External | Unlimited | Easy | Varies | As needed |
| 12. Optimize Time Machine | 10-30 GB | Moderate | 10 minutes | Once |

The Right Order for Maximum Impact

Don't tackle these methods randomly. Here's the strategic order that delivers the fastest results:

Phase 1: Quick Wins (30 minutes)
Start here if your Mac storage is critically full right now.

1. Empty all trash locations (Method 3)
2. Clean Downloads folder (Method 4)
3. Delete old iOS backups (Method 9)

These three steps take under 30 minutes and can easily recover 20-50 GB.

Phase 2: High-Impact Automation (1-3 hours)
These run automatically while you work on other things.

4. Start video compression (Method 1)
5. Enable photo optimization (Method 2)
6. Start audio compression if applicable (Method 8)

Set these running in the background. Come back later to massive space savings.

Phase 3: Deep Cleaning (1-2 hours)
Once you have breathing room, do a thorough cleanup.

7. Uninstall unused apps (Method 5)
8. Clear caches (Method 6)
9. Remove duplicates (Method 7)
10. Investigate "Other" storage (Method 10)

Phase 4: Long-Term Setup (30 minutes)
Configure these once and they'll keep your Mac clean automatically.

11. Set up external storage workflow (Method 11)
12. Optimize Time Machine (Method 12)

Following this order, most users recover 50-150 GB within a few hours.

Common Mistakes That Waste Time

Avoid these pitfalls that people often fall into when trying to free up Mac storage:

Mistake 1: Deleting files you actually need
Always check what a file is before deleting it. If you're unsure, move it to an "Archive" folder on an external drive instead of deleting it outright.

Mistake 2: Ignoring the biggest space hogs
People spend 30 minutes deleting old documents (recovering 500 MB) while ignoring 80 GB of videos. Always check your storage breakdown first and tackle the largest categories.

Mistake 3: Using aggressive "cleaning" apps blindly
Many free "Mac cleaner" apps are either ineffective or potentially harmful. Some delete files that macOS needs, causing stability issues. Stick to manual methods or trusted tools.

Mistake 4: Not verifying before deleting
Especially with duplicates and old backups—always verify you have copies elsewhere before hitting delete. The 5 seconds it takes to verify can save you hours of heartache later.

Mistake 5: Forgetting about cloud services
If you pay for iCloud, Dropbox, or Google Drive, use them. Paying for cloud storage while your Mac is full makes no sense.

Mistake 6: Doing it all at once without a plan
Storage cleanup isn't a one-time event. Set up systems (like automatic Downloads deletion, Time Machine exclusions, and regular compression) so you don't have to do this again in 3 months.

How to Keep Your Mac Storage Clean Long-Term

One-time cleaning is great, but without habits, you'll be back in the same situation within months. Here's how to maintain your newly freed-up storage:

Weekly habits:
- Empty all trash locations
- Quick scan of Downloads folder for obvious deletions

Monthly habits:
- Run video/photo compression on new files
- Clear browser and app caches
- Review and delete recent duplicates

Quarterly habits:
- Uninstall apps you haven't used in 90 days
- Delete old iOS backups
- Review "Other" storage for unusual growth

Set up automation:
- Enable automatic trash emptying for Downloads
- Use MediaOptim to automatically compress new videos as they arrive
- Set up cloud photo optimization so new photos don't fill your drive

Monitor proactively:
Check your storage breakdown once a month. If any category grows unexpectedly (like "Other" jumping from 10 GB to 40 GB), investigate immediately before it becomes a crisis.

Final Thoughts

Mac storage issues are frustrating, but they're also completely solvable. The key is understanding that not all storage solutions deliver equal results. Deleting a few old PDFs might feel productive, but compressing your video library will recover 50-100x more space in the same amount of time.

Start with the high-impact methods—video compression, photo optimization, and clearing hidden trash—and you'll likely recover 50-100 GB in your first hour. Then move into the deeper cleaning methods to reclaim even more.

The methods in this guide aren't theory. They're battle-tested solutions that thousands of Mac users rely on to keep their machines running smoothly without constantly staring at storage warnings.

If you want to skip the manual work on the three most storage-intensive categories (videos, photos, and audio), [MediaOptim](/) handles all of it automatically. Point it at your folders, let it run in the background, and reclaim massive amounts of storage while maintaining perfect quality.

Your Mac deserves to breathe again. Pick one method from this guide and start right now—you'll be amazed how much space you've been wasting.