Files by Google vs Avast Cleanup: what 5,800 reviews say

Files by Google vs Avast Cleanup: the numbers side by side

Where do Files by Google and Avast Cleanup differ most?

• Avast Cleanup's unhappy reviewers mention billing, trials and cancelling about 9 times as often as Files by Google's: 31.8% against 3.5% of 1–2★ reviews.
• On ads, pop-ups and pushy screens, Avast Cleanup draws 25.6% of its 1–2★ reviews, while Files by Google draws 3.1%.
• Files by Google's unhappy reviewers mention slowness, crashes and bugs more often as Avast Cleanup's: 22.7% against 12.7% of 1–2★ reviews.
• Files by Google's unhappy reviewers mention the app not working or doing little more often as Avast Cleanup's: 26.9% against 18.9% of 1–2★ reviews.
• A paywall before the app does anything useful is a bigger issue for Avast Cleanup (8.9% of low ratings) than for Files by Google (1%).

Both are compared on Android. Files by Google browses and shares files and suggests old chat-app photos, duplicate files and other items to delete; Avast Cleanup removes junk files and deep-cleans storage.

Are Files by Google and Avast Cleanup improving?

Files by Google went from 3.26 stars in 2026-Q2 to 4.34 in 2026-Q4, with billing at 4.1% of its latest 1–2★ reviews. Avast Cleanup went from 4.19 stars in 2025-Q3 to 4.33 in 2026-Q4, with billing at 22.2% of its latest 1–2★ reviews. On Google Play, Avast Cleanup's developer answers more unhappy reviewers (75% against 57.6%).

Where are Files by Google and Avast Cleanup alike?

Their reviewers agree on deleting photos or files the user wanted, privacy and permission worries and support that doesn't answer: on each, the two apps are within two points of each other (2.4% vs 2.8%; 5% vs 6.3%; 2.3% vs 3.4%). 18.4% of Files by Google's reviews are 1★ and 58.8% are 5★; for Avast Cleanup the split is 19.5% and 56.1%, so the share of very angry reviewers is similar.

What do happy users praise in each?

26.6% of Avast Cleanup's 4–5★ reviews say it works, compared with 19.1% for Files by Google. 7.9% of Avast Cleanup's 4–5★ reviews say it is fast, compared with 4.2% for Files by Google. 3% of Avast Cleanup's 4–5★ reviews say a fair price or free use, compared with 0.4% for Files by Google.

Which is cheaper, Files by Google or Avast Cleanup?

Files by Google: no prices listed. Avast Cleanup: Google Play (US) $0.99 to $59.99 per item, with ads. Files by Google costs nothing to use. Billing makes up 3.5% of Files by Google's 1–2★ reviews and 31.8% of Avast Cleanup's.

What reviewers say about Files by Google and Avast Cleanup

• Files by Google: "subscription subscriptions need an affordable bundle option with different break downs that must be useful to other users." (2★, Google Play, US, Sep 2026)
• Files by Google: "I hate that I can't make right or left pane fullscreen in landscape orientation." (4★, Google Play, US, Jul 2026)
• Avast Cleanup: "Not deleting all caches - and I paid for the app, so it should be working properly." (3★, Google Play, US, Jul 2026)
• Avast Cleanup: "Great clean up app. Keeps me notified of any issues and i can schedule clean ups or just leave it up to the notifications." (5★, Google Play, US, Aug 2026)

Picked from the billing, trials and cancelling and ads, pop-ups and pushy screens themes, where the two differ most.

Should you choose Files by Google or Avast Cleanup?

On ratings alone, pick Files by Google first: it is free, and nothing in Avast Cleanup's reviews suggests it does the basic clean better. If billing, trials and cancelling is what worries you most, Files by Google has the better record on it.