Top 6 Best iTunes Duplicate Removers for Windows and Mac

Discover the best iTunes duplicate removers, both free and paid, to eliminate duplicates in your iTunes library.

An iTunes user posted this question in the Apple Community: “How do I easily delete thousands of duplicates in my iTunes library?” This user is not alone.

Duplicates in iTunes can be unnecessary and also lead to disorganization. The most effective solution is to use an iTunes duplicate remover to identify and delete duplicates. What are the best duplicate removers available for iTunes? Are there any great free tools for this purpose? Let’s find out.

 

iTunes has a built-in duplicate finder

The iTunes app on your Windows PC or Mac actually has a built-in feature that identifies duplicate songs. The feature is located in the Library option of the File menu. It provides two identification methods.

• Show Exact Duplicate Items: This method finds exact duplicate songs, namely songs that have the same song name, artist, and album name. To access the method, you need to press and hold the Shift (Windows) or Option (Mac) key before opening the File menu.
• Show Duplicate Items: This methods detects both exact and non-exact duplicates. For example, it can find different versions of the same song by the same artist from different albums, such as single, studio, and live versions.

 

A third-party iTunes duplicate remover is required to mass delete duplicates

The built-in duplicate finder feature doesn't help with removal, so you still need to manually select unwanted duplicates one by one for deletion. This can be practical for handling a small number of duplicate tracks.

But what if you have a large library with thousands of duplicates?

This is when you need a third-party iTunes duplicate remover. These tools offer automatic  selection to help you remove duplicates in bulk, saving you from tedious and time-consuming manual work. Below, you will find the tools I’ve tested on Windows, Mac, or both, along with my review of each.

 

Review: The best iTunes duplicate removers

#1 Cisdem Duplicate Finder | Windows & Mac

Cisdem Duplicate Finder is an easy-to-use duplicate file finder and remover for Windows and Mac. It can detect and clean up duplicate audio files, videos, images, documents, archives, and other files.

It can help you easily remove exact duplicate items from your iTunes library.

• Quickly scan your iTunes library for exact duplicates by accurately comparing audio file content, regardless of file names
• Support scanning multiple iTunes libraries
• Preview duplicates with the built-in media player (Mac only)
• Allow one-click removal of all duplicates with features like auto-selection
• Safely remove duplicates by moving them to the Recycle Bin or Trash

In the following steps, I’ll show you how this iTunes duplicate remover works.

1. In iTunes on your PC or Mac, go to Preferences > Advanced to find the location of your iTunes Media folder.

2. Download and install Cisdem Duplicate Finder. Open this tool.

Free Download Windows 10 or later Free Download macOS 10.11 or later

3. Drag your iTunes Media folder into the tool. Click Scan.

4. When the scan is complete, the results window will appears, listing all duplicates found in your iTunes.

(There are three view modes, and Mac users can use the second mode to preview songs if needed.)

5. In each set of duplicates, this tool has already automatically selected all but one item for removal.

You can adjust selections manually or using selection rules if needed.

6. Once all unwanted duplicates are selected, click Delete, then click Yes to confirm.

The deleted items will go to Recycle Bin or Trash. (Mac users need to take an extra step of permanently deleting these items in Trash.)

Now duplicates have been removed and don’t exist anymore. If they still show up in your iTunes as missing items, see this tip to easily remove them all at once.

I've made a video tutorial to walk you through the steps and demonstrate the tip.

Tip

1. In iTunes, choose File > New > Playlist and name the new playlist “All Items”.

2. Drag all songs in your Library into this playlist.

3. Choose File > New > Smart Playlist.

4. In the window that appears, set the first rule. Choose Playlist in the first pop-up menu, is in the second, and Music in the third.

5. Click the Add icon to create a second rule. Set the rule to be Playlist is not All Items. Click OK and name this Smart Playlist “Missing Items”.

7. In the “Missing Items” Smart Playlist, select all items, control-click or right-click, and choose Delete from Library.

8. Click Delete Songs in the message that appears.

Download the free trial of Cisdem Duplicate Finder to easily clean up duplicates

 

#2 Tune Sweeper | Windows & Mac

Tune Sweeper is primarily a deduplication tool for iTunes. It enables you to quickly identify and remove both exact and non-exact duplicate items in your iTunes library. The tool searches for duplicates based on your preferred search criteria, such as matching names, artists, and albums. To perform a search, simply click the Search For Duplicates button in the Intro or Duplicates tab.

Identification works by comparing file attributes and allows customization. If you are unsure how to configure it, I recommend starting with the default settings. If you’re not satisfied with the results, you can start experimenting with different options.

This iTunes duplicate remover lists the found duplicates in sets and automatically selects which track to keep in each set based on your preference, allowing you to efficiently remove unwanted items. Optionally, tracks removed from iTunes can be backed up for safekeeping.

Download the free trial of Tune Sweeper 4 to easily clean up duplicates

 

#3 Dupe Away | Windows & Mac

Dupe Away automatically starts analyzing your iTunes for duplicate songs upon opening, which is convenient. It identifies duplicates by comparing default or custom file attributes, which you can customize in the tool’s Preferences. While the comparison can be basic, you should find it useful most of the time.

You can view the identified iTunes duplicates in the results window. The duplicates will be automatically marked as Delete based on your preference. In Preferences, there are options to decide which duplicates to keep and which to delete. For example, selecting the Best Quality option will delete the lower quality track(s) in a set of duplicates. Clicking the Delete Tracks button will eliminate all marked items at once.

In addition, it can scan your iTunes playlists and display any found duplicates in your playlists for removal. Note that duplicates in a playlist are merely duplicate appearances of tracks. Removing a duplicate from a playlist only removes that appearance.

Download the free trial of Dupe Away to easily clean up duplicates

 

#4 iTunes Duplicates Cleaner | Windows & Mac

As one of the best iTunes duplicate removers, iTunes Duplicates Cleaner provides an easy and quick way to clean up duplicate songs and videos in your iTunes library.

When you open this tool, you will be prompted to launch a search for duplicates. If you decline, you can start a search by clicking the Find Duplicates option in the Edit menu, although this option has never worked for me. It identifies duplicates by comparing a few file attributes. While the identification is pretty basic, it should be enough in many cases.

The found duplicates are neatly displayed for you to review. The tool also automatically selects the track(s) to be deleted in each set, but you can adjust the selection manually.

While this tool works quickly and makes getting rid of duplicates a breeze, it may not be the best choice for advanced users due to its limited comparison options and lack of customizability.

Buy iTunes Duplicates Cleaner for Mac to easily clean up duplicates

 

Review: Free iTunes duplicate removers

ManyProg iTunes Duplicate Remover Free | Windows

This free tool can be considered a third-party alternative to iTunes' built-in duplicate detection, since it has a helpful identification feature and a limited removal feature. However, unlike that built-in feature, this tool is customizable.

ManyProg iTunes Duplicate Remover Free offers enough comparison options for users to choose from. I recommended trying the Strong duplicate option first, which finds exact duplicates only. To find songs that are not exactly the same, try the three other options, most of which involve comparing file attributes.

Once the tool finishes comparing tracks in your iTunes library, it will display the detected duplicates in the Search result tab. This tab includes several menus. One of them is called Select automatically, which offer two auto selection options. However, the two options are actually not available in this free tool.

To use this free tool to delete duplicates, you need to browse through all listed items and manually select the unwanted versions in each set. While selecting the checkboxes is straightforward, it can take time if there are many duplicates.

 

AllDup | Windows

AllDup is a free, sophisticated tool with lots of options, some of which can be used for deduplication in iTunes. If you are tech-savvy, you might enjoy exploring its features. However, the interface can be overwhelming and confusing for average users. If you are looking for a simple tool, this tool is definitely not your best choice.

This tool offers a variety of search and comparison methods for comparing items in your iTunes library. To find exact duplicates, you can set AllDup to compare files by content. To detect non-exact ones, you can try the Find similar audio files search method. It may require some configuration and testing to discover the best approach.

Once the search is complete, you will be presented with a different tab, which displays the detected sets of duplicates. For better view, you will need to expand these sets first. You can manually select the redundant versions for removal or use the auto selection feature. The removal feature is somewhat hidden, and it took me a while to find it. Overall, I don’t find this tool to be user-friendly enough.

 

Comparison: Which iTunes duplicate remover suits you best?

 

FAQs

Why do I have two copies of a song in iTunes?

Duplicates in iTunes can be caused by various reasons, such as purchasing songs without realizing you already have them, unintentionally importing the same tracks twice, or iTunes glitches.

What is the best tool for removing duplicate copies?

If you have only a few duplicates, say twenty or less, in your iTunes library, I recommend using the built-in Show Duplicate Items to find them for manual removal. It’s handy and free.

For large iTunes libraries, Cisdem Duplicate Finder could be the best choice due to its ease of use and ability to efficiently remove duplicate audio files in bulk both in and outside of your iTunes library.