There are times when you need to free up some storage space, or you want to find out how much space each installed app is using. If you are looking for this information, there are no obvious ways to find it. You might be tempted to search for programs that help with this task, but there is no need for that. Windows has its ways to tell you this information. Here are four ways to learn how much space each of your installed applications is using:
NOTE: This guide covers Windows 10, Windows 7, and Windows 8.1. Some methods work in all three versions of Windows, others just in one or two. For each method, we tell you the Windows version in which it works. If you do not know the version of Windows that you have, read this tutorial: What version of Windows do I have installed?.
1. Find out how much space your apps are taking, by using the Settings app (Windows 10 only)
If you are using Windows 10 and you want to know how much space a particular desktop program or Universal Windows Platform app is occupying, the easiest way to do it is through the Settings app. Start by opening the Start Menu and clicking or tapping Settings. You can also use other methods that are described here: 10 ways to open Settings in Windows 10.
In the Settings app, click or tap Apps.
On the left sidebar, go to Apps & features.
On the right side of the window scroll to the section called Apps & features. It contains a long list of all the desktop programs and modern Windows apps that you have installed from the Microsoft Store, but also from any other sources.
Scroll until you find the desktop program or the Windows app for which you want to know how much space it takes. Then, look at the information displayed on its right side. There, you should see its size. For example, in the screenshot below, you can see that 7-Zip takes 4.93 MB of space on our PC.
There is only one downside: some apps do not provide this information and the Settings app cannot tell you how much space those apps occupy. For such apps, you can estimate their size using one of the other methods in this guide.
2. Find out how much space your desktop apps are taking, by using the Control Panel (all Windows versions)
One of the first places where you should look is the "Programs and Features" section from the Control Panel.
The list of installed programs (desktop apps) includes a column named Size, on the right. If you cannot see it, maximize the window so that it has enough room to be displayed. Click or tap the Size column, and you can see all the installed programs sorted by their size.
When you select a program, on the bottom of the Programs and Features window there is an area displaying additional information about it. This information may also include a field named Size.
There is one downside to this method though: none of the apps from the Microsoft Store and not even all the desktop applications provide this information in Programs and Features. For such apps, you can estimate their size using one of the other methods.
3. Find out how much space your desktop apps are taking, by using the File Explorer (Windows 10 and Windows 8.1) or the Windows Explorer (Windows 7)
This method requires a bit more work and only works for traditional desktop apps. Open File Explorer (in Windows 10 and Windows 8.1), or the Windows Explorer (in Windows 7). Using your file manager, navigate to the folder where the program is installed. Usually, this is a subfolder inside Program Files or Program Files (x86).
Right-click or tap and hold on it and select Properties. Alternatively, you can select the folder and press Alt + Enter on your keyboard. The Properties window opens for the selected folder.
In the General tab, look for the Size and Size on disk entries. They show you the space occupied by that application.
There is one downside to this method: it does not help you see the exact space occupied by an app. You only see the size of its installation folder. Some applications may have specific user folders where they store data. They are separate from their installation folder and, for some applications, they can be larger than the installation folder.
4. Find out how much space the apps installed from the Microsoft Store are taking, by using the PC Settings screen (Windows 8.1 only)
The universal apps that you have installed from the Microsoft Store in Windows 8.1 do not show up in the Programs and Features section from the Control Panel. Also, you cannot access their installation folders without taking ownership of them and going through unnecessary complications. Luckily, Windows 8.1 offers an exact way of finding the size of each installed app.
First, go to PC Settings. If you do not know how, read this guide: Six ways to access PC Settings in Windows 8.1. Then, on the left sidebar, go to PC and devices -> Disk space. On the right side of the screen, in the Apps section, click or tap "See my app sizes."
Windows 8.1 then displays a list with all the apps that you installed from the Microsoft Store, ordered by their size.
Why did you want to know how much space an app is occupying on your Windows PC?
Was it because you needed to free up some space and wanted to know which apps are larger? Regardless, now that you know how much space each app is taking, you might decide to clean up some of those you do not use often but need a lot of storage space. If you know other methods for learning the space used by your installed apps, do not hesitate to share them in the comments section below.
