How to sort folders by size in Windows 10

Stay in this article if you have been wondering how to sort folders by size in Windows 10. We store a ton of files on our computers.

From images and videos to documents and music, computers provide a great way to keep everything organized.

On Windows 10, as you would expect, you can store files, organize them into folders, search a particular file, sort files according to various filters, and a lot more.

However, there is one limitation that just doesn’t seem right: if you want to sort folders by size, Windows 10 mysteriously does not allow that.

While you can sort files by size, you can’t do the same with folders. Many people have tried to make sense of why this is not allowed but to no avail.

Regardless, there are many ways you can bypass this limitation. Usually, people go for third-party software that allows you to sort folders by size Windows 10.

This can come in handy in several scenarios. If you want to find a particular folder that has been clogging up your disk space, you can do that using this feature.

It is also useful when you are looking for a particular large folder where you usually keep all your large files but you can’t seem to remember its name.

There are many more such scenarios where this simple feature could be a life-saver.

So, since Windows operating system does not give you the tools, let us take a look at some nice software that allows you to do it.

How to sort folders by size in Windows 10
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How to sort folders by size in Windows 10

Folder Size by MindGems

Folder Size by MindGems is a great freeware that first performs a scan of your hard drive and then tells you the respective file size and folder size of all the files and folders on your computer.

The scan happens really quickly thanks to the highly advanced scan algorithm.

This app also displays the total sizes as a percentage of the overall hard disk space. It does so through pie charts, bar charts, and so on.

It gives you an idea of how much space you have, what files are eating up most of it, your file system structure, and if necessary, how you can clean them up.

If you had been looking for the perfect solution to sort folders by folder size, this is it. It provides you with a report that you can sort to identify the largest files and largest folder.

What’s great about this software is that it also scans the size of every single subfolder on your computer. This does away with the limitation that Windows 10’s native File Explorer has.

The list of features doesn’t end there. Folder Size can also scan virtually all types of files. This includes any hidden files, temporary files, cache files, the system volume information folder, etc..

Makes it a very valuable tool even if your purpose is to just perform a disk cleanup.

What’s more, you can even export the file and folder size into a CSV file. This can be helpful if you are working in a team or trying to troubleshoot a problem using a professional’s help.

Now, let’s look at the steps required to download and install this piece of software on your computer:

First, access Google and type in “Folder Size by MindGems”;
Then, click on the first link that pops up (shown in the image below);

How to sort folders by size in Windows 10

Next, you will be taken to their website which mentions all the features of this software. You can click on the “Download” button to proceed further;

The program files will now be downloaded to your Downloads folder;

You need to double-click on the setup file to start the installation process. Simply follow the on-screen instructions to finish the setup;

Then, open up the application. A window looking similar to File Explorer with just minor differences (as it doesn’t have the typical folder view);

On the upper left-hand side of the application, you will find an option to select the drive. You can click on it and select any drive that you want to scan;
Once done, you can click on the green play button in the menu toolbar. This will initiate the scan process which may take a few minutes depending on the size of your disk drive;

Then, on the left side panel, you will get a list of all the folders in the drive. You can easily sort this list by size by clicking on the “Size” field.

GetFolderSize

This is our second choice to sort folders by their size. It is one of the most compatible pieces of software that you’ll ever see as it supports even Windows Vista, Windows XP, and Windows 2000!

Also, as with “Folder Size” previously reviewed, GetFolderSize is freeware too, meaning that you don’t have to pay anything to download, install, and enjoy its plethora of uses.

Once installed, this software quickly scans your hard disk with its cutting-edge scan algorithm.

When it is done, it lists out all the folders on your computer along with their folder size. This list of the folder size can be downloaded as a text or CSV file.

Again, this can be quite useful at times. So, in that way, it provides a different file explorer experience than the one Windows 10 offers. It essentially shatters the limitation that we talked about above.

You can also perform basic disk cleanup using this software. It provides buttons and shortcuts (like the delete icon) to delete a file or folder. You can check out the rest of the menu for different actions.

Now, let’s take a look at the steps to download and install GetFolderSize on your computer:

To start access Google and type in “GetFolderSize”;
Then, click on the first link that pops up (shown in the image below);

Next, you will be taken to a website that mentions all the features of this software. You can click on the “Free Download” button to proceed further;

The program files will now be downloaded to your “Downloads” folder;

You need to double-click on the setup file to start the installation process. Then, follow the on-screen instructions to finish the setup;

Then, open up the application. A window will pop-up with a lot of different buttons. The user interface of this software is very similar to the previous one. So, it will be quite easy for you to get the hang of it and use it for your needs;

On the upper left-hand side of the application, you will find an option to select the desired drive. You can click on it and select any drive that you want to scan. You can also click on the folder icon next to it to select any specific folder;

Once done, click on the play button next to the search box in the menu toolbar. This will initiate the scan process which may take a few minutes depending on the size of your disk drive;

Then, in the left side panel, you will get a list of all the folders in the drive. You can easily sort this list by size by clicking on the “Size” field, on top of the size column.

SpaceSniffer

SpaceSniffer is a great software that has a unique take on how it displays the folders on your computer. Like the other two apps mentioned above, SpaceSniffer is also freeware.

You can download it for free or choose to donate to the project.

Once you install it and it starts scanning any drive of your choice, you will immediately realize how different it is from the other applications.

It graphically shows the folders that are taking more space. The larger the folder, the bigger its “square representation” is. As it is scanning, you will see the folders being arranged automatically.

So, you can say that it doesn’t sort by size in a conventional way, you can still figure out which folders are taking up a lot of space on your computer.

Now let’s dive into the steps required to download and install SpaceSniffer on your computer:

Open Google and type in “SpaceSniffer”;
Then, click on the first link that pops up (shown in the image below);

Next, you will be taken to a website that mentions all the features of this software. Click on the “Download here” button at the bottom of the page to proceed further;

The program files will now be downloaded to your Downloads folder;

Now you need to unzip the downloaded files. Then, right-click on Spacesniffer.exe, which will bring up a context menu. There, click on “Run as administrator”;

A new window will appear where you can select the drive that you want to scan. Once done, the software immediately starts to arrange the folders based on their size;

After a while, the scan process will be complete and you will be able to easily find the largest folders on your computer.

Wrap Up

While sorting files and finding any large file is extremely easy in Windows 10, things get tricky when you want to proceed the same way with folders.

When you open File Explorer and try to sort folders by size, you will find that option is not available.

This can get quite frustrating if you quickly want to figure out which folders in your computer are eating up most of the disk space.

Ideally, this feature should come as a default in all Windows 10 computers. Unfortunately, it doesn’t.

That’s where third-party software comes in. These allow you to sort your folders by size by scanning any particular drive or large folder.

Doing so can save a lot of time and effort. Although there are many options available, there are three tools of our preference.

These are Folder Size, GetFolderSize, and SpaceSniffer. These simple programs offer all the features that you could possibly need in a file explorer.

In addition to helping you see the file type and file names, they work equally well with folders and their sizes.

Also, since these are freeware, there is no need to second guess and you can simply start using them whenever you feel the need.

Check out some of our other awesome articles:

Table of Contents

How to sort folders by size in Windows 10

Folder Size by MindGems

GetFolderSize

SpaceSniffer

Wrap Up