Duplicate files can accumulate over time and take up a lot of space on your PC. It takes time and patient to get rid of them manually. The good news is that a duplicate file finder for Windows 10 can automate the process of finding and deleting duplicate files.
Compatibility: Windows 10, Windows 11
Latest version: 2.7.0, released in April 2022
Our take: An easy-to-use app that automatically finds all duplicate files and lets you delete all duplicates with a single click
Cisdem Duplicate Finder is powerful and easy to use for everyone. This app identifies duplicate files by content and also provides an option to identify by name. It can find duplicate images, audios, videos, documents, archives and all other duplicate files on your Windows PC and external storage devices.
The groups of duplicate files that have been found will be displayed in the results window in the app. There are three view modes, letting you easily view duplicate files.
In each group of duplicate files, Cisdem Duplicate Finder automatically selects all files but one for deletion. This way, all duplicates are selected for you to remove at once. Or, you can choose a desired selection rule. There are multiple selection rules to help you mass select unwanted duplicates.
Compatibility: Windows 11, Windows 10, 8, 7, Vista, XP
Latest version: 7.19.0.37, released in July 2022
Our take: A versatile duplicate file finder and remover
Easy Duplicate Finder allows you to identify duplicate files on your Windows PC by hash and size, name or byte-by-byte comparison. If you want to search for exactly identical files, set this app to do the identification by hash and size.
Easy Duplicate Finder is versatile. It provides different scan modes for different purposes. To find duplicate music files, use the Music Scan mode or iTunes Scan mode. To find duplicate files on cloud storage instead of your computer, choose a scan mode that fits.
Occasionally, this app returns no results after scanning a folder containing duplicate files. In such a case, scan again.
Once the scan is complete, you will be presented with two options: Auto Remove and Manual Review. Clicking the former means that you completely rely on Easy Duplicate Finder to remove the found duplicate files. Going with the latter allows you to handle duplicate files yourself, which is recommended.
Compatibility: Windows 11, Windows 10, 8.1, 8, 7, Vista, XP
Latest version: 23.30.0200, released in July 2022
Our take: A file manager that provides a basic but reliable duplicate file finder feature
XYplorer is a popular file manager for Windows. It’s powerful and feature-rich, helping users efficiently manage files, including duplicate files.
XYplorer’s duplicate finder feature is somewhat hidden. It’s not as straightforward as dedicated software. But once you know how to use it, you will find that it works well.
Access the duplicate finder feature by choosing Edit > Find Files and then clicking the Dupes tab. XYplorer allows you to detect duplicate files by hash and provides four hash algorithms (MD5, SHA-1, SHA-256 and SHA-512) for you to choose from. Any of the four algorithms can do the job.
XYplorer will display the groups of duplicate files that it has found. In each group, select the file that you don’t need and then press the Delete key. Also, there are selection rules to automate the selection and save your time.
XYplorer isn’t worth buying if you only need its duplicate finder feature. It’s a better idea to get a dedicated duplicate file finder for Windows 10.
Compatibility: Windows 10, 8.1 and 7, 32-bit and 64-bit
Latest version: 6.01, released in June 2022
Our take: A PC cleaner that comes with a basic and useful duplicate file finder tool
CCleaner is a well-known PC cleaner. It provides a Duplicate Finder tool to help users clean up duplicate files.
CCleaner’s Duplicate Finder can compare files and identify duplicates by name, size or content. To find true duplicates, make sure that you set it to do the identification by content.
CCleaner can search one or more folders for duplicate files. But it by default doesn’t search the subfolder when it searches a folder for duplicate files. As a result, it may fail to find certain duplicate files. Luckily, there is an option that allows you to include subfolders in the search. It’s recommended to enable this option.
Compatibility: Windows 11, Windows 10, 8, 7 and Server, 32-bit and 64-bit
Latest version: 4.5.18, released in July 2022
Our take: A powerful and advanced duplicate file finder for Windows 10, which can be overwhelming and confusing for beginners
If you know much about computer and tech stuff and are looking for a highly customizable and free duplicate file finder for Windows 11 or Windows 10, AllDup can be your choice.
AllDup can search one or multiple folders or drives at a time for duplicate files. There are seven search methods. You can use one method or a combination of methods to find duplicate files. Each method provides a number of options for you to choose from. This gives users a lot of choices and control but can make novice users feel overwhelmed and confused.
But don’t worry. One can’t go wrong with the “File content” search method. This method detects duplicate files by comparing file hashes.
Compatibility: Windows 10, 8.1, 7
Latest version: 9.3.0.1, released in June 2022
Our take: A basic, free duplicate file finder and cleaner
Auslogics Duplicate File Finder allows you to find all duplicate files or specific types of duplicate files (such as duplicate pictures). It identifies duplicates by content and name (or content only).
When you use Auslogics Duplicate File Finder to search a large folder for duplicates, it can take a long time. It is the slowest of all the tested duplicate file finders. In the test, it took over five minutes where others only took dozens of seconds.
By default, this app ignores system folders when searching for duplicate files, which prevents the system folders on your PC from being touched. This is especially useful when you search your entire computer for duplicate files.
Its Rescue Center feature is worth mentioning. The feature allows you to easily restore files in case of accidental deletions.
Compatibility: Windows 10, 8, 7 and Vista
Latest version: 4.1.2, released in May 2019
Our take: A free and customizable duplicate file finder and remover
Despite being free, this app is well designed. It’s easy to use and configurable enough.
Duplicate Cleaner Free can find duplicate files by byte-by-byte comparison, hash or other criteria such as name and size. You can ask it to ignore certain files (such as files that are too small, or too big, or from a specific folder) when it looks for duplicate files.
However, it may fail to find all the duplicates. In the test, I used it to scan a folder containing 44 groups of duplicate files. It only found 43 groups. That’s why this app is low on this list of the best duplicate file finders for Windows.
When duplicate files are found, you can select the unwanted ones to delete. Or, just let the powerful Selection Assistant feature to help you select.
Note that this app has a paid version. It’s known as Duplicate Cleaner or Duplicate Cleaner Pro. The paid version is more powerful. It offers dedicated modes to respectively handle duplicate photos, duplicate audios and duplicate videos.
Compatibility: Windows 11, Windows 10, 8.1, 8 and 7
Latest version: 4.3.1, released in July 2022
Our take: An easy-to-use and open source duplicate file finder
dupeGuru is open source and free to use. It has three modes. The Standard mode finds duplicate files in general. The Picture mode searches for duplicate photos and certain similar photos. The Music mode searches for duplicate songs. The latter two modes provide some options to let you decide what duplicates to find.
Like Duplicate Cleaner Free, dupeGuru found 43 groups of duplicate files in the test and missed one group.
It’s a simple app with a simple interface, allowing you to easily find and remove duplicate files.
In addition to the reviews above, there is a comparison of these duplicate file finders for Windows.
Find duplicates | View duplicates | Delete duplicates | Ease of use | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Cisdem Duplicate Finder | Excellent | Excellent | Excellent | Excellent |
Easy Duplicate Finder | Excellent | Good | Excellent | Good |
XYplorer | Excellent | Fair | Good | Good |
CCleaner | Good | Fair | Good | Good |
AllDup | Excellent | Fair | Good | Poor |
Auslogics Duplicate File Finder | Good | Good | Good | Good |
Duplicate Cleaner Free | Fair | Good | Good | Good |
dupeGuru | Fair | Fair | Good | Good |
There are many possible causes, such as copying and pasting of files, unnecessary backups, downloading the same files twice and importing the same photos twice. Duplicates are almost inevitable. If there are many of them on your PC, it’s a good idea to weed them out.
No. Windows 10 operating system doesn’t have a built-in duplicate file finder to help users identify and remove duplicate files. But you can use its file manager app File Explorer to do it manually.
According to tests and reviews, Cisdem Duplicate Finder is the best app to automatically find duplicate files and mass delete them with your permission. It offers both basic and advanced features and options to meet users’ needs.
We create, copy, download and import hundreds and thousands of files, which can result in duplicate files on our computers. We want to get rid of them and get organized. Luckily, a duplicate file finder for Windows 10 can get the job done easily and efficiently. Keep only the files you need and make room for new files!
Rosa has worked in Mac software industry for more than eight years. She believes that the purpose of software is to make life better and work more productively. In addition to writing, Rosa is also an avid runner.