macOS Big Sur elevates the most advanced desktop operating system in the world to a new level of power and beauty. Experience Mac to the fullest with a refined new design. Enjoy the biggest Safari update ever. Discover new features for Maps and Messages. And get even more transparency around your privacy.

Catalina’s download file is north of 6GB large, and you’ll need to have 15GB to 20GB of free space to complete the installation. To check how much free space you have on your drive, click on. What are macOS Catalina storage requirements? To run properly, macOS Catalina needs a considerable amount of disk space. It’s generally recommended to keep at least 15% of your main drive free. But remember, you’ll also need space for future macOS updates and all the new software that goes with Catalina.

Check compatibility

macOS Big Sur is compatible with the following computers. If your Mac isn't compatible, you may be able to install an old version of macOS instead.

How much free space to install catalina os

MacBook introduced in 2015 or later
MacBook Air introduced in 2013 or later
MacBook Pro introduced in late 2013 or later
Mac mini introduced in 2014 or later
iMac introduced in 2014 or later
iMac Pro
Mac Pro introduced in 2013 or later
View the complete list of compatible computers.

If you're upgrading from macOS Sierra or later, your Mac will need 35.5 GB of available storage to upgrade. If you're upgrading from an earlier release, your Mac will need up to 44.5 GB of available storage. To upgrade from OS X Mountain Lion, first upgrade to OS X El Capitan, then upgrade to macOS Big Sur.

Download macOS Big Sur

If you're using macOS Mojave or later, get macOS Big Sur by Software Update: choose Apple menu  > System Preferences, then click Software Update.

Or use this link to open the macOS Big Sur page on the App Store: get macOS Big Sur. Then click the Get button or iCloud download icon.

Install macOS Big Sur

After being downloaded, the installer will open automatically. Click Continue and follow the onscreen instructions.

How To Install Mac Catalina

Please allow the installation to finish without putting your Mac to sleep or closing its lid. During the installation, it may restart and display a progress bar or blank screen several times. You might find it easiest to begin installation in the evening so that it can complete overnight, if needed.

How Much Free Space To Install Catalina Os

Stay up to date

After installing macOS Big Sur, you will be notified when updates to macOS Big Sur are available. To check for updates, choose Apple menu  > System Preferences, then click Software Update.

Most of us are keen to update to a new version of macOS as soon as it is available. macOS Big Sur has been out since November 12, still, many users couldn't update their Macs straight away. It’s very frustrating if you see a message telling you that you don’t have enough space to install the new macOS. Don’t worry, though. There are lots of things you can do to fix it. We’ll show you what they are in this article.

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How much space do you need for Big Sur?

While the installer for Big Sur takes up less than 16GB of space, you should make sure that you have at least 20GB of free space on your startup disk before you try to download and install it. The more free space, the better. Your Mac uses disk space to store temporary files and provide storage for active apps and tasks (which is what RAM does), so you should never be running with almost no disk space left.

CleanMyMac X makes it very easy to free up disk space on your Mac by identifying junk files and allowing you to get rid of them with a click. It can also detect large and old files and show you the files taking up most space and uninstall applications.

How to free up space for macOS Big Sur?

Complete the following steps to ensure your Mac is ready to update to Big Sur.

1. Backup your Mac

Back up all files and data that are stored on your Mac. Preferably twice to different locations. While upgrading to Big Sur is safe, you never know when something might go wrong. If you use Time Machine or another backup tool, run a manual backup just before you upgrade. And, if you can, clone your startup disk to an external drive, too.

2. Free up disk space using CleanMyMac X

If you don’t already have CleanMyMac X installed, download it for free here. This tool will help you clear some space and delete large and old files quickly.

Launch CleanMyMac X.
Choose System Junk in the sidebar and press Scan.
When it’s finished, press Clean to free up space, or Review Details to find out more.

3. Get rid of large and old files

Media files usually gobble up a large amount of disk space. And the worst thing is they are scattered around Mac’s folders, making it difficult to find and remove them. CleanMyMac X proves to be useful here:

Choose Large & Old files in CleanMyMac X’s sidebar.
Press Scan.
When it’s finished, use the middle column to filter files by type.
Check files that you want to delete.
Press Remove.

4. Use Apple’s built-in storage management tool

Apple has provided a method for you to manage storage by showing you what is taking up disk space and making recommendations for deleting. It’s not as quick and easy as CleanMyMac X, but it can help you save disk space. Here’s how to use it.

Click on the Apple menu and choose About this Mac.
Select Storage and press Manage.
In the Recommendations section, review each section in turn.
Now go through each of the sections in the sidebar.
Delete files or take further action, depending on what you choose.

How Much Free Space To Install Catalina Operating System

5. Delete local Time Machine snapshots

There is one other thing you can try if you keep getting a message telling you that you do not have enough space to install Big Sur. You should only try it if you are sure there is enough space on your startup disk and that the message is wrong. And it will only work if you use Time Machine to back up your Mac.

How Much Free Space To Install Catalina Island

Time Machine stores local snapshots on your Mac. Your Mac is supposed to count the space used by snapshots as free space, which is why it looks like you have enough space for the installation.

However, it seems that the installer may not realize the space is free. The solution is to delete the snapshots. This won’t remove backups on your backup disk, just snapshots on your Mac.

Open Time Machine from System Preferences. Uncheck Back Up Automatically and wait some time till Time Machine deletes snapshots. Then you can turn Time Machine back on.

If you’re familiar with Terminal, you can try deleting local snapshots manually.

How Much Free Space To Install Catalina Mac

Go to Applications > Utilities and launch Terminal.
Type: tmutil listlocalsnapshots /
You will see a list of snapshots that look like this: com.apple.TimeMachine.2020-10–09-002010.local
To delete a snapshot, type: sudo tmutil deletelocalsnapshots
Then type the date part of the snapshot name. For example: sudo tmutil deletelocalsnapshots 2020-10–09-002010
Type Return and repeat for each snapshot you want to delete.

Freespace Social Media

Hopefully, this helped you free up some space and update your Mac to the latest OS. If you're just preparing your Mac for the upgrade, don't forget to back up your data before you start clearing space.