DenseDrive

Compression that survives

Only for Mac

Free · In‑App Purchases

Mac

Built on FSKit, so the compression lives in the file system itself — a rewritten file comes back compressed instead of quietly growing back to full size. macOS can already compress files on disk. What it cannot do is keep them compressed. Compress a folder with the built-in mechanism, or with afsctool, and the saving is real — until something writes to a file. Then that file is stored uncompressed again. For photos it does not matter. For a build cache, a dependency tree, a database dump, a log, a VM image — anything a program writes to — the space you saved comes back over the following week. DenseDrive puts the compression inside the file system instead. Every write is compressed as it happens, so a rewritten file is compressed again, without you doing anything. The disk shows up in Finder like any other, and opens with a double click. WHAT IT DOES FOR Measured on real data, honestly, including the case where it does nothing: node_modules, 14,885 files 4.05x smaller a working data folder 3.38x smaller installed games and video 1.01x smaller That last line is not a typo. Media is already compressed, and no compressor will change that. If your disk is full of video, photos, music and games, DenseDrive will hand you back about half a gigabyte per hundred and spend five minutes of every CPU core doing it. Do not buy it for that. Buy it if your disk is full of things a program writes: caches, dependency trees, dumps, logs, exports, virtual machines. IT CAN ALSO ENCRYPT Each block is compressed first and then encrypted with AES-256. The disk name and the file names are hidden too. This is not a security product and does not pretend to be one: for encryption alone there are free, audited, cross-platform tools, and they are better at it. What none of them do is compress. A compressed and encrypted disk in one place is the part that is ours. A forgotten password means the data is gone. There is no recovery, no back door, and no support request that can help. Write it down. HOW IT BEHAVES - Disks are ordinary files you can copy, move and back up - A disk takes only the room actually used, not the size you declared - Spotlight indexes the contents, so search works - Everything happens on your Mac: no account, no cloud, no telemetry - Works offline BEFORE YOU START macOS keeps third-party file systems switched off until you allow them. After installing, you will need to turn the DenseDrive extension on once, in System Settings, under General > Login Items & Extensions. The app walks you through it on first launch and tells you when it is done. Until that switch is on, no disk will open. FREE UP TO 8 GB Disks up to 8 GB are free, with no time limit and no reduced features. The point is that you measure DenseDrive on your own data before paying, rather than trusting a number in a store listing. Bigger disks need the full version: one purchase, no subscription.

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The developer, Denis Bardin, indicated that the app’s privacy practices may include handling of data as described below. For more information, see the developer’s privacy policy .

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    Information

    Seller
    • Denis Bardin
    Size
    • 1.2 MB
    Category
    • Utilities
    Compatibility
    Requires macOS 26.0 or later.
    • Mac
      Requires macOS 26.0 or later.
    Languages
    • English
    Age Rating
    4+
    In-App Purchases
    Yes
    Copyright
    • © 2026 Denis Bardin
  • Privacy Policy

    • Supports

    • Family Sharing

      Some in-app purchases and subscriptions may be shareable with your family group when Family Sharing is enabled. Learn More