Short answer: iOS can merge exact duplicate photos (Photos › Duplicates), merge contacts with the same name, and suggest offloading apps. It can't find similar photos and pick the best one, bursts, blurry photos, lookalike videos, or compress videos and photos. Spaceclear adds those, and the free plan is often enough for a first cleanup.
Side by side
| Feature | iOS (free) | Spaceclear |
|---|---|---|
| Exact duplicate photos | ✓ | ✓ |
| Similar photos, best kept | — | ✓ |
| Bursts, blurry, documents, screen recordings | — | ✓ |
| Lookalike and big videos | sort by size only | ✓ |
| Compress videos, photos, RAW, Live Photos | — | ✓ |
| Contacts | same name | name, phone or email + backup |
| Calendar cleanup | — | ✓ |
| One review for everything | — | ✓ Clean safely |
FAQ
Should I use iOS's Duplicates album first?
It's a good start. Spaceclear finds what's left: similar shots, bursts and the rest.
Updated 2026-11-13