Almost any Mac user has faced a problem when there is not enough free disk space on their machine to install an app or download a movie. Usually, you get an error message saying ‘Your startup disk is almost full,” notifying you about the issue. This is a frustrating experience, but you shouldn’t get too worried as there are several ways to deal with this situation.

How to Add More Storage Space on Mac

Nowadays, Apple offers computers and laptops with a storage space starting from 128GB. Even if you go for a larger option of 256GB, this capacity is usually still not enough for everyday tasks, and you end up with storage limitations. Luckily, you can try a few different options to add more disk space on your Mac which we will describe below.

1. Purchase External Storage Space

Buying an external hard drive is a simple and affordable option when you need more disk space on your Mac. The big advantage of such a solution is that it is easy to use and doesn’t require any special technical knowledge. Once you purchase the external drive, all you need to do is simply connect it to your Mac and transfer the data to the external storage.

Before purchasing, ensure the external drive is compatible with Macs and has good read and write speed. If you already own an external hard drive and use it for a backup, you can partition it and also use it as an external storage drive. For this reason, it is best to choose drives with at least 1TB (one terabyte) capacity. This will ensure that you have enough free space for all your needs.

You can also choose an SSD as an alternative to the external hard drive disk. Even though this option costs more, it also has some significant advantages, such as faster data transfer speed and better protection against physical damage and wear.

2. Taking Advantage of Cloud Storage

Using cloud storage is a great way to add more storage space to your MacBook. You can use several different options, including iCloud, Dropbox, Google Drive, and more. Buying iCloud storage is the most convenient way to get more space on Mac since this is a built-in option that is integrated with the macOS. In this case, you don’t need to purchase additional devices, and all the data is stored on the online servers.

The only downside of this option is that you usually need a stable Internet connection to access your files. This means you might depend on your provider’s restrictions, such as bandwidth amount and speed. That is why this solution might not be ideal if you often use slow public Wi-Fi or have frequent Internet cut-offs.

3. Get More Storage by Doing a Clean Up

With time unused apps, junk files, caches, leftovers, and other data piles up on our Mac. Sometimes you might even be unaware of how much disk space those unnecessary files use. In addition, you might also have many old movies, songs, and games that you don’t play to take up precious storage space. If this is the case, you might get more disk space by simply removing all these items from your Mac.

There are several different ways how you can free up disk space on Mac and get rid of the “Your startup disk is almost full message.” You can start by deleting files you no longer need from the Downloads folder and also check your Desktop. In addition, make sure to empty the Trash and uninstall any unwanted apps.

Another alternative is to use a dedicated Mac cleaning app. Such software allows you to easily clear disk space with just a few clicks. It analyses your drive for all files that can be safely removed and allows you to review them before removal. This makes the process of deleting clutter and junk files more efficient. That is because all the leftovers, duplicates, language files, logs caches, and other unwanted files will be removed effortlessly.

4. Upgrade Your Internal Storage

Adding more storage space to your Mac by upgrading your SSD is common among advanced users. It requires some additional technical skills to perform the storage upgrade. So, we recommend doing it only if all the previous steps are not enough in your particular case.

You should make sure that the storage disk of your Mac model can be upgraded and the SSD drive is compatible before making the purchase. It is also best to get a professional to perform the upgrade if you decide to opt-in for this option. And keep in mind that you might void your warranty if your Mac gets damaged.

To Sum Up

It is quite common to have an issue with a lack of disk space on a computer. That’s why we have gathered the most efficient ways to get more storage space on Mac. According to the recommendations described in this article, you can purchase an external storage drive, use cloud services, do a Mac cleanup, or upgrade your internal storage space. No matter which solution you choose, adding more space to your MacBook is still much more affordable than purchasing a brand-new machine.