If you're an iOS or macOS developer, you've probably searched for "Xcode cleaner" at least once. Xcode's caches, simulators, archives, and device support files can consume 40-150GB of disk space, and Apple doesn't provide built-in tools to manage them. So you turn to third-party apps — but which one actually solves the problem?
In this comparison, we evaluate five tools that developers commonly use to manage Xcode-related disk usage in 2026:
- DiskPort — Purpose-built Xcode storage manager
- DevCleaner for Xcode — Open-source Xcode cleaner
- Cleaner for Xcode — Lightweight Mac App Store cleaner
- CleanMyMac X — General Mac maintenance suite
- DaisyDisk — Visual disk space analyzer
We tested each tool on a 512GB MacBook Pro (M3 Pro) with Xcode 17.2 installed, three active iOS projects, and approximately 95GB of developer-related data.
Feature Comparison Matrix
| Feature | DiskPort | DevCleaner | Cleaner for Xcode | CleanMyMac | DaisyDisk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Storage Visualization | Treemap + list | List view | List view | Category view | Sunburst map |
| DerivedData Cleanup | Per-project | Per-project | All-or-nothing | Partial | Manual only |
| Simulator Management | Full control | Delete devices | Basic | No | No |
| Runtime Management | Yes | View only | No | No | No |
| Archives Cleanup | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Manual only |
| Device Support Cleanup | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Manual only |
| SwiftUI Previews Cache | Yes | No | No | No | No |
| SPM Cache Cleanup | Yes | Partial | No | No | No |
| External SSD Relocation | Yes | No | No | No | No |
| Menu Bar Monitoring | Yes | No | No | Yes | No |
| Auto-Clean Rules | Yes | No | No | Scheduled scan | No |
| Per-Project Breakdown | Yes | DerivedData only | No | No | No |
| Price | Free + Pro $9.99 | Free (open source) | Free | $34.95/yr | $9.99 one-time |
| Mac App Store | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| macOS Version | 14+ | 13+ | 12+ | 13+ | 12+ |
Detailed Reviews
DiskPort — The Xcode Storage Specialist
DiskPort is built from the ground up specifically for Xcode storage management. Where other tools treat developer caches as one category among many, DiskPort understands the internal structure of Xcode's storage footprint in detail.
What sets it apart:
- Treemap visualization: Instead of just listing directories and sizes, DiskPort renders an interactive treemap showing proportional disk usage across all Xcode components. You can see at a glance that simulators are taking 35GB while DerivedData is at 12GB, and click into any segment for details.
- External SSD relocation: This is DiskPort's killer feature. It can move DerivedData, archives, or device support files to an external SSD and create symlinks so Xcode continues working seamlessly. This is a game-changer for 256GB MacBook users who can't delete data but need to free internal storage.
- Per-project storage breakdown: DiskPort maps DerivedData folders back to their source projects, so you see "MyApp — 3.2GB" instead of "MyApp-abcdefghijklm — 3.2GB." It also shows per-project archive sizes, simulator usage, and SPM dependencies.
- SwiftUI Previews awareness: DiskPort is (as of this writing) the only GUI tool that specifically identifies, measures, and cleans SwiftUI Previews cache. Given that Previews cache can consume 20-80GB, this alone justifies switching from other tools.
- Menu bar monitoring: A persistent menu bar widget shows total developer storage usage and alerts you when it exceeds a threshold you set. No need to remember to open the app.
- Auto-clean rules: Configure rules like "delete DerivedData older than 30 days" or "clean Previews cache weekly." DiskPort handles it in the background.
Limitations: DiskPort is focused exclusively on developer storage, so it won't help you find large video files or clean browser caches. Requires macOS 14 or later. The free tier covers scanning and basic cleanup; advanced features (relocation, auto-clean, menu bar monitoring) require the Pro upgrade.
Price: Free for core features; Pro is $9.99 one-time purchase.
DevCleaner for Xcode — The Open-Source Veteran
DevCleaner has been around for years and is a solid, no-frills Xcode cleaner. It's open source (available on GitHub), which means you can inspect the code and trust exactly what it's doing on your machine.
Strengths:
- Clean, simple interface that shows DerivedData, Device Support, and Archives with per-item sizes
- Per-project DerivedData cleanup — you can keep active projects and delete old ones
- Completely free and open source
- Lightweight — small app bundle, low resource usage
Limitations:
- No simulator runtime management (can't delete runtimes, only view them)
- No SwiftUI Previews cache awareness
- No external SSD relocation
- No menu bar monitoring or auto-cleanup
- No storage visualization beyond a simple list
- Development pace has slowed — updates are infrequent
Best for: Developers who want a simple, trustworthy, free tool for occasional manual cleanup of DerivedData and Device Support.
Cleaner for Xcode — The Lightweight Option
Cleaner for Xcode is a minimal Mac App Store app that targets the most common Xcode cleanup tasks. It presents a straightforward list of cleanable items with checkboxes.
Strengths:
- Very simple to use — open, check boxes, click clean
- Covers the basics: DerivedData, archives, device support, module cache
- Free
- Small app footprint
Limitations:
- DerivedData cleanup is all-or-nothing — you can't selectively keep active projects
- No simulator management at all
- No SwiftUI Previews cache cleanup
- No monitoring or automation
- No per-project visibility
- Limited recent development activity
Best for: Developers who want the absolute simplest cleanup tool and don't need granular control.
CleanMyMac X — The General-Purpose Suite
CleanMyMac is the most well-known Mac maintenance tool, and it does include some developer cache cleanup. However, it approaches Xcode storage as a small part of a much larger cleaning suite.
Strengths:
- Comprehensive Mac cleaning beyond just Xcode (system junk, mail attachments, photos cache, etc.)
- Detects some Xcode caches under its "System Junk" and "Developer Junk" categories
- Menu bar monitoring for overall disk health
- Malware scanning and app uninstaller bundled in
- Polished UI with good onboarding
Limitations:
- Xcode-specific coverage is shallow. It finds DerivedData but doesn't offer per-project control. It doesn't manage simulators, runtimes, archives, device support, or Previews cache individually.
- No understanding of Xcode's internal structure — it treats developer caches the same as any other app cache.
- Expensive: $34.95/year subscription. For a developer who only needs Xcode cleanup, this is significant overhead for minimal Xcode-specific value.
- Can be overly aggressive with "cleaning" suggestions that aren't relevant to developers.
Best for: Developers who want a general Mac maintenance tool and are willing to pay the subscription. Not recommended as a standalone Xcode storage solution.
DaisyDisk — The Visual Explorer
DaisyDisk isn't an Xcode cleaner at all — it's a general-purpose disk space visualizer. It shows a beautiful sunburst diagram of your entire disk, letting you drill into any directory to find large files and folders.
Strengths:
- Gorgeous, intuitive sunburst visualization of entire disk
- Can discover space hogs anywhere on your system, not just in Xcode directories
- Useful for understanding where disk space goes at a high level
- One-time purchase, no subscription
- Fast scanning
Limitations:
- No Xcode awareness whatsoever. It shows
~/Library/Developer/as raw directories. You need to know which folders are safe to delete — DaisyDisk won't tell you. - No cleanup automation or smart deletion
- No simulator management, no DerivedData-specific features
- You can navigate to a folder and "collect" it for deletion, but there's no safety net for accidentally deleting something important
- Doesn't understand symlinks or external SSD relocation
Best for: A complementary tool for visualizing overall disk usage. Useful for finding non-Xcode space hogs (large video files, forgotten downloads). Not a replacement for an Xcode-specific cleaner.
Head-to-Head: Common Scenarios
Scenario 1: "My Mac Says I Have 5GB Free"
Best tool: DiskPort. You need to quickly identify the biggest Xcode storage consumers and clean them. DiskPort's treemap shows you exactly where the space is going. One-click cleanup of DerivedData + old simulators + Previews cache typically recovers 30-60GB. DevCleaner is a solid free alternative but misses Previews cache and SPM cache.
Scenario 2: "I Want Automated, Hands-Off Management"
Best tool: DiskPort (Pro). Auto-clean rules run in the background, and the menu bar monitor alerts you before you hit critical thresholds. CleanMyMac offers scheduled scans but its Xcode coverage is too shallow to be reliable for this purpose.
Scenario 3: "I Have a 256GB MacBook and Need to Offload Data"
Best tool: DiskPort (Pro). External SSD relocation is a feature no other tool in this comparison offers. Moving DerivedData and old archives to an external drive while keeping Xcode working seamlessly is the difference between managing a 256GB machine and suffering on one.
Scenario 4: "I Just Want to Free Up Space Once, For Free"
Best tool: DevCleaner. It's free, open source, and handles the core cleanup tasks (DerivedData, device support, archives) competently. DiskPort's free tier also covers basic scanning and cleanup, so you could try both and see which interface you prefer.
Scenario 5: "I Want to Understand My Entire Disk, Not Just Xcode"
Best tool: DaisyDisk + DiskPort. Use DaisyDisk for the full-disk overview and to find non-developer space hogs. Use DiskPort for the Xcode-specific deep dive and cleanup. They complement each other well.
The Verdict
If you're a developer who primarily needs Xcode storage management, the choice comes down to your requirements:
- For comprehensive, ongoing management: DiskPort is the clear winner. It covers more Xcode-specific categories than any other tool, offers features no competitor has (relocation, Previews cache, auto-clean, per-project breakdown), and the Pro upgrade is a reasonable one-time cost.
- For free, occasional cleanup: DevCleaner is reliable and transparent. It handles the basics well and the open-source nature builds trust.
- For general Mac maintenance: CleanMyMac is a fine tool for non-developers or developers who want an all-in-one suite, but its Xcode capabilities are too limited to be your primary developer storage tool.
- For disk visualization: DaisyDisk is the best at showing you a complete picture of your disk, but it's a complement to an Xcode cleaner, not a replacement.
The developer storage problem is specific enough that a general-purpose cleaner can't solve it well. You need a tool that understands DerivedData, simulator runtimes, device support versioning, SwiftUI Previews, and the relationships between them. That's exactly what DiskPort was built to do.