head to head · open source
BleachBit vs squirreldisk
BleachBit has 7,012 GitHub stars, 455 forks, 313 open issues and last shipped today. squirreldisk has 1,840 stars, 82 forks, 18 open issues and last shipped yesterday. BleachBit leads on adoption by 281% (7,012 vs 1,840 stars). BleachBit is written in Python under GPL-3.0; squirreldisk is written in Rust under AGPL-3.0. BleachBit has attracted 6% as many forks as stars, squirreldisk 4%. BleachBit was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (cross-platform, linux), so they are genuine substitutes rather than adjacent tools.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| BleachBit | squirreldisk | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 7.0K | ★ 1.8K |
| License | GPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Python | Rust |
| Last push | 2026-09-29 | 2026-09-28 |
| Forks | ⑂ 455 | ⑂ 82 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick BleachBit if
- You weight community size — 7.0K stars and counting
- You want the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick squirreldisk if
- You want the squirreldisk feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Rust
- You evaluated both and squirreldisk fits your workflow better
About BleachBit
BleachBit is a free, GPL 3.0 system cleaner written in Python that deletes files on Windows and Linux to free disk space and protect privacy, made for desktop users and administrators who want a cross platform alternative to commercial cleanup tools.
read the full BleachBit overview →
About squirreldisk
SquirrelDisk is a free, open source disk usage analyzer for macOS, Windows and Linux that shows what fills a disk, a server reached over SSH or cloud storage in an animated sunburst or treemap, for anyone who needs to find and clear that space.
read the full squirreldisk overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is BleachBit or squirreldisk more popular?
BleachBit has 7,012 GitHub stars and squirreldisk has 1,840. BleachBit has the larger community by that measure.
Are BleachBit and squirreldisk free?
Both are open source. BleachBit is licensed under GPL-3.0 and squirreldisk under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between BleachBit and squirreldisk?
BleachBit is written in Python and squirreldisk in Rust. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, BleachBit or squirreldisk?
Choose BleachBit if you want the larger community (7,012 stars) or its GPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose squirreldisk if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.