Written by
Sherry Song
Summary: This article presents a selection of the top 7 duplicate photo remover options, conducting tests and comparisons to assist you in choosing the best one that suits your needs. Evaluate their pros and cons to select your wanted one to remove/delete/clean your duplicate photos on a Mac. Free download iBoysoft MagicMenu to remove duplicate photos on your Mac.
In the digital age, managing and organizing our ever-growing collection of photos has become a paramount task. Duplicate photos not only clutter storage space but also make it challenging to locate specific images.
It's a trouble that many Mac users face and struggle with as best they can. Fortunately, several tools and applications are designed to simplify the process of finding and deleting duplicate photos on Mac.
This overview will delve into the best/free duplicate photo removers/finders/cleaners for Mac in 2023 and make comparisons among them, offering a comprehensive guide for you seeking effective solutions for duplicate photos.
Free/Best Photo Duplicate Removers for Mac Overview Table
| Overall Score | Need Download | Compatibility(macOS) | Strengths | Limitations | |
| The Duplicates feature in the Photos App | No | 13 & 14 | Built-in | Not real time | |
| Finder | No | 14 & later | Built-in | Incomplete delete | |
| Gemini 2 | Yes | 14 & later | Work with Photos and folders | Slow scanning | |
| iBoysoft MagicMenu | Yes | 14 & later | Find duplicate photos within a few clicks, accurate duplicate photo checking | Not for phones | |
| Cisdem Duplicate Finder | Yes | 14 & later | Side-by-side preview | Slow scanning | |
| Photo Sweeper | Yes | 14 & later | Multiple viewing modes | Constant crashes | |
| Disk Drill | Yes | 14 & later | Recover feature | Only work with folders |
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Note: Firstly we systematically evaluated two dozen duplicate photo removers, and only 7 of them stood out. We employed macOS14, macOS 12, macOS10.14, and OS X10.11 to access factors such as compatibility, duplicate photo removal speed, and accuracy of finding duplicated photos.
Lastly, the descriptions provided in this post regarding the 7 best apps to remove duplicate photos on Mac and their performance in removing/deleting/cleaning duplicate photos are characterized by objectivity, truthfulness, and reliability.
Mac duplicate photo removers test summary
| 🔢Number of tested duplicate photo removers | 7 |
| 📅Total test period | 10 days |
| 💻The device we used to test | MacBook Pro(Intel), Mac mini |
| 💻Tested macOS versions | macOS14, macOS12, macOS10.14, OS X10.11 |
The Duplicates feature in Photos
The native Photos app on Mac comes equipped with a duplicate detection feature, streamlining the process for users who prefer an integrated solution. Nonetheless, should you already process duplicate photos in your Photo Library, you have the option to manually remove duplicate photos using the Photos app.
- Pros:
- Free
- Included with macOS
- Detect very similar duplicate photos
- Cons:
- Only available for macOS13 later
- Fail to mass delete
- Long time detection
Overall reviews
Photos app in macOS 13 or 14 can automatically detect duplicate photos as you create new ones. This function on a Mac enables the convenient removal of duplicate photos and videos from the folder or the Library.
But the weakness is you have to remove them manually in the Photos app. And even sometimes the duplicate photos will not appear in time, it takes hours or even days for Photos to scan and analyze your photo library.
Editor's Review: For Apple users, the Photos app offers uncomplicated sharing and full access to your images on your various devices, giving you a sense of fun personalization, and artistic pleasure. -tomsguide.com
Finder
Finder includes a function to locate duplicate photos on your Mac with the New Smart Folder option. Smart Folders offers an intelligent method to organize and find duplicate photos.
- Pros:
- Free
- Included with macOS
- Find photos of the same name quickly
- Cons:
- Only available for macOS 10.14later
- Can't find different names but duplicate photos
Overall reviews
Finder on Mac provides an easy way to find duplicate photos with the same name, offering an alternative for those who prefer managing duplicates directly through the file system.
However, there is a worry that too many duplicate photos can't be deleted at the same time or completely delete the duplicate name with different names.
Editor's Review: Finder is the way you interact with the file system on your Mac, its many amazing features will lead to a more efficient workflow and save you time while doing daily tasks. -makeuseof.com
Gemini 2
Gemini 2 is a dedicated duplicate photo remover for Mac users. With its good scanning algorithms, it quickly identifies and helps users eliminate duplicate photos, optimizing storage space. It can dig through scan results and pick the files to erase.
- Pros:
- Identify identical or similar photos
- Work with Photos and folders
- Regular reminders
- Real-time detection
- Cons:
- Limited cleaning in free trials
- Image preview may experience some lag
- Consume more system resources
- Cannot select in one folder
- Slow scanning
Overall reviews
Gemini 2 can quickly scan your duplicate files specializing in a singular task, which accomplishes this task with greater speed and precision. It proves to be an ideal solution for freeing up space.
However, if you are working within a tight budget, opting for a more comprehensive file cleaner not only duplicate ones, maybe you should think twice.
Editor's Review: Editor's Review: Gemini 2 recognizes duplicate folders, images, music, documents, and videos on your Mac, aiding in the liberation of space by securely removing them. -macworld.com
iBoysoft MagicMenu
iBoysoft MagicMenu is a versatile tool designed to customize and enhance the right-click context menu on Mac, allowing users to easily access and manage duplicate photos through a simple right-click. You can sort the search results by creation date, and clean up plenty of duplicate photos with just one click.
- Pros:
- Easy operation
- Show the file size of the photos
- Preview and select by date
- Warning before deleting
- High security for data permission
- Quick scanning
- Other practical functions
- Cons:
- No phone support
How to remove duplicate photos with iBoysoft MagicMenu:
- Free download and launch iBoysoft MagicMenu.
- Click Extension on the main interface from the left sidebar and find the Utility section.
- Click the download button next to the Similar Photos extension to install and add it to your right-click menu, then right-click the folder that contains duplicate photos.
- Choose Similar Photos from the context menu.
- When it completely scans, preview the duplicate photos and select, then click Clean up the selected files.
Overall reviews
iBoysoft MagicMenu is one of the professional and Apple-trusted software for all Mac users to scan and preview similar photos in the selected folder just through the right-click menu.
Moreover, this duplicate file finder operates seamlessly on Macs equipped with M1, M1 Pro, M1 Max, or M2 chips. With this best app to remove duplicate photos on Mac, you can efficiently scan your Mac startup disk or network drive and swiftly and securely identify duplicated images, videos, audio, documents, archives, and other files within a few clicks.
Editor's Review: iBoysoft MagicMenu serves as a Mac right-click enhancer, offering various useful functions such as creating new files, removing duplicates, completely uninstalling apps, and so on. -setapp.com
Cisdem Duplicate Finder
Cisdem Duplicate Finder is designed to locate various duplicates across Mac. It is capable of scanning for duplicate photos within the Photos app and other folders. Offering three view modes, it allows users to conveniently preview photos side by side and access detailed photo information.
- Pros:
- Categories duplicates by file type
- Scans by file name or file content
- Convenient side-by-side image preview
- Cons:
- No exclusion list
- No extra features
- Similar photos might not really be similar
- Long scan time
- No warning before final removal of files
Overall reviews
Cisdem Duplicate Finder scans Macs for duplicate photos and similar photos and it can find two twin files in iTunes and Photos folders. You can set the similarity level based on the identification works.
However, this app may find files that differ further, which will cause a lot of potential insecurity. Accidentally deleting different photos is an irretrievable loss.
Editor's Review: Cisdem Duplicate Finder ensures 100% accuracy, helping you find duplicates that have identical content regardless of name, and display them in an easy-to-understand report. -sourceforge.net
Photo Sweeper
Photo Sweeper is a rapid and effective application designed to remove identical or similar photos. Its user-friendly interface simplifies the task of deleting duplicates, making it a straightforward process.
- Pros:
- Side-by-side comparison
- Flexible comparison settings
- Support Capture One and Adobe Lightroom Classic
- Multiple viewing modes
- Cons:
- Constant crashes reported
- Can be a bit overwhelming with all the settings
- Rare and minor updates
- Can't store multiple sessions but only the previous one
Overall reviews
Photo Sweeper provides ample photo information and various options for viewing and selecting duplicates for removal, allowing users to detect and delete duplicates and identical photos grouped together on Macs.
However, it fell short of removing a specific set of duplicate photos during our testing. And it will keep the last session when you close the main window so you can't save sessions to bring up again.
Editor's Review: If you have many identical or similar copies of photos, wasting space or making it difficult to find the best version, Photo Sweeper can sort that mess. -macworld.com
Disk Drill
While primarily known for data recovery, Disk Drill is also a duplicate photo remover on a Mac. This tool is capable of identifying duplicates and offers additional functionalities, making it a well-rounded solution for Mac users.
- Pros:
- Other functions such as junk removal and data recovery
- Auto Select options
- Can find and remove duplicates from online storage accounts
- Cons:
- Not for Photos app
- Little customization
- High price
- A bit complicated tool
Overall reviews
Disk Drill provides a useful tool named Find Duplicates, which can find various duplicates on a MacBook. During the test, it successfully and easily detected all duplicates at an impressive speed.
But it's important to note that it does not function with the Photos app, therefore, if your duplicates are located in the Photos app, this app is not applicable. Moreover, it lacks convenience in terms of previewing your duplicate photos.
Editor's Review: Disk Drill is a great data recovery tool with the extra feature of a duplicate finder, and it will be convenient to recover if you delete duplicates accidentally. -macpaw.com
Conclusion
From the listed 7 duplicate photo removers on Mac, by evaluating their features, cost-effectiveness, compatibility, usability, security, and other factors, you can select the one that aligns with your requirements. Notably, iBoysoft MagicMenu distinguishes itself with its robust functionalities. Feel free to download it at no cost to remove your duplicate files now.
After understanding the best/free photo duplicate removers for Mac and one of them helps you remove your duplicates successfully, share it with others.
