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Utilities · head to head

Rclone vs WinDirStat

Rclone logo

Rclone

Utilities

Command line sync and mount tool for around 70 cloud storage providers

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
WinDirStat logo

WinDirStat

Utilities

Windows disk usage analyser that shows where space went as a colour-coded treemap

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Rclone sync deletes files at the destination to make it match the source, so one transposed argument between source and destination can wipe a backup and there is no undo.; WinDirStat it walks the directory tree rather than reading the NTFS master file table, so a full scan takes minutes where WizTree takes seconds on the same drive.
  • They diverge on capability: Rclone covers Unified backend model, WinDirStat covers Treemap visualisation.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Rclone and WinDirStat actually diverge.

Attributes where Rclone and WinDirStat differ
AttributeRcloneWinDirStat
PlatformsWindows, macOS, Linux, FreeBSD, DockerWindows

Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (Open source, no licence fee), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Utilities).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Rclone

  • Unified backend model
  • Crypt overlay
  • FUSE mount
  • Bisync
  • Server-side transfers
  • rclone serve

Only in WinDirStat

  • Treemap visualisation
  • Three linked views
  • Multithreaded scanning
  • Cleanup actions
  • Any filesystem
  • GPL licensed

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Rclone

  • Migrating tens of terabytes between two object storage providers without staging on local disknot WinDirStat
  • Encrypted offsite backup to a cheap provider that you do not want reading your filenamesnot WinDirStat
  • Mounting an object bucket for a media server that expects a filesystem pathnot WinDirStat
  • Nightly one-way sync from an on-premises NAS to cloud storage as a second copynot WinDirStat

WinDirStat

  • Finding what filled a Windows system drive when the usual suspects are not responsiblenot Rclone
  • Auditing a shared or network drive where files are spread across thousands of foldersnot Rclone
  • Environments where licence terms forbid personal-use-only freeware on company machinesnot Rclone
  • Explaining disk usage visually to someone who will not read a list of folder sizesnot Rclone

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Rclone

  • Sync deletes files at the destination to make it match the source, so one transposed argument between source and destination can wipe a backup and there is no undo.
  • Google Drive throttles the shared default OAuth client, so large jobs stall until you register a private API client ID, a step that is documented but easy to miss until a migration is already days behind.
  • Millions of small files hit per-provider request ceilings rather than bandwidth limits, which makes transfer time nearly impossible to estimate from data volume alone.
  • The FUSE mount is not a real filesystem; applications that expect POSIX locking, partial writes or fast directory listings will behave badly or corrupt state on network interruption.
  • Support is a community forum and a single principal maintainer, so an organisation that needs contractual response times on a data movement tool has no vendor to buy that from.

WinDirStat

  • It walks the directory tree rather than reading the NTFS master file table, so a full scan takes minutes where WizTree takes seconds on the same drive.
  • The version most users have installed is the 2007 build, and because it was dormant for so long, search results and download mirrors still point at it.
  • It is Windows only, so a mixed estate needs a different tool for macOS and Linux machines.
  • There is no scheduling, reporting or export for fleet use, so it answers a question on one machine at a time rather than monitoring storage across an organisation.
  • Hard links, junctions and deduplicated volumes can be counted in ways that make the totals disagree with what Windows reports, which causes confusion on servers.

Pricing, plan by plan

Rclone

Free
  • RcloneFree
    • MIT licence with no paid edition
    • All backends and features included
    • Single static binary, no runtime dependencies

WinDirStat

Free
  • WinDirStatFree
    • GPL licensed
    • Commercial use permitted
    • No paid edition or feature gating

Which should you pick?

Choose Rclone if

  • You need unified backend model.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Windows, macOS, Linux, FreeBSD, Docker.
  • You also want crypt overlay.
Rclone review

Choose WinDirStat if

  • You need treemap visualisation.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Windows.
  • You also want three linked views.
WinDirStat review

Questions people ask

Is Rclone or WinDirStat better?
Neither clearly leads. Rclone starts at Free and WinDirStat at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Rclone or WinDirStat?
Rclone starts at Free and WinDirStat at Free.
Does Rclone or WinDirStat run on more platforms?
Rclone runs on Windows, macOS, Linux, FreeBSD, Docker. WinDirStat runs on Windows.
Can I use Rclone for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Rclone best used for?
Rclone is most often used for migrating tens of terabytes between two object storage providers without staging on local disk, encrypted offsite backup to a cheap provider that you do not want reading your filenames, mounting an object bucket for a media server that expects a filesystem path, nightly one-way sync from an on-premises nas to cloud storage as a second copy. Of those, migrating tens of terabytes between two object storage providers without staging on local disk and encrypted offsite backup to a cheap provider that you do not want reading your filenames are not what WinDirStat is typically brought in for.
What can Rclone do that WinDirStat cannot?
Rclone covers Unified backend model, Crypt overlay, FUSE mount, Bisync. WinDirStat covers Treemap visualisation, Three linked views, Multithreaded scanning, Cleanup actions.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Rclone: Does rclone cost anything at scale?

The software does not. Your storage provider bills egress and API requests, and a failed transfer that retries pays those charges twice.

WinDirStat: Is WinDirStat still maintained?

Yes. It was dormant from around 2007 until new maintainers resumed development and released the 2.x line with multithreaded scanning and current Windows support.

Rclone: Can I use it as a backup tool?

It copies and syncs but does not do versioned incremental backup by default. Use it under a backup tool, or use its own crypt and backup-dir options deliberately.

WinDirStat: Can I use it at work?

Yes. It is GPL licensed with no personal-use restriction, which is the practical advantage over free-for-personal-use alternatives in this category.

Rclone: Why is my Google Drive transfer so slow when my link is fast?

You are almost certainly rate limited on the shared OAuth client. Create your own client ID in Google Cloud Console and configure the remote to use it.

WinDirStat: Why is it slower than WizTree?

Different method. WizTree reads the NTFS master file table directly; WinDirStat traverses directories, which is slower but works on any filesystem, including network shares.

WinDirStat: Does it run on macOS or Linux?

No. Separate projects exist with similar treemap interfaces, but WinDirStat itself is Windows only.

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