5 Best Free CCleaner Alternatives [TESTED in 2024]

CCleaner has been widely regarded as the best optimizer and registry cleaner for a long time. You don’t need any technical knowledge, just run the scan, and it finds unnecessary files and removes them. However, CCleaner has moved some of the advanced features behind a paywall, making the free version fairly limited.

I downloaded and tested more than 15 free optimizers and registry cleaners to find the best free CCleaner alternatives. What I found is that most freeware that claims to optimize your PC or Mac isn’t worth the time it takes to download and install. The biggest issues I came across were superficial scans that had no value, they slowed down my computer instead of improving the speed, and several of them had malware and viruses.

Therefore, I included freemium and free trial software, as long as the free version was as good or better than CCleaner. My top choice is Restoro, which has a free version that provides great value. Not only it did a great job optimizing my computer, but also removed damage from viruses and malware and detected dangerous threats that could cause my computer to slow down.

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Quick Guide: The 3 Best Free CCleaner Alternatives in 2024

What I Look for in a Free CCleaner Alternative

Over the past few months, I downloaded over a dozen free and freemium optimizing and registry cleaner programs. I found that the completely free ones didn’t fix any problems; they just created a list of things that I needed to fix. To avoid this, I included tools with free trials, so the software could fix some of my issues. The important criteria included:

• Ease of Use: I was looking for software with a single-click option for running a comprehensive scan of all the files and folders. It should also be easy to customize the settings and select specific folders or drives for a quick scan.

• Deep Scan: The advantage of using an optimizer is that it goes beyond the desktop folders. I want a program that goes through the registry files, inspects downloaded files to ensure they’re not defective and finds hidden files on any drive.

• Clean Up: I used a program that informed me I had over 13,000 items that needed to be deleted, but it didn’t have the capabilities to delete them. I didn’t have the time to go through the entire itemized list and delete the programs, so it really provided me no value.

• Safe and Secure: I only included reputable scanners and avoid any pirated software that claimed to be the real thing. I tested all the download files on my list to ensure they were clean from viruses, malware, ransomware, Trojans, etc.

• Freemium or REAL free trials: To my disappointment, I didn’t find any reliable free registry cleaners and computer optimizers. However, I did test some freemium apps that gave me the basic features with the option to upgrade to unlock all the advanced features. I also included a free trial, as they allowed me to clean my computer for free during the trial.

5 Best Free Alternatives to CCleaner in 2024 with Similar Features

1. Restoro: Comprehensive Scan of Six Major CPU Categories and Single Click Repair

Restoro combines the advanced features of registry cleaners and optimizers into one powerful app.

The Restoro scan automatically starts when you load the program. It begins by creating a PC Health Profile for your computer. It inspects the system configuration and hardware specs and checks your CPU temperature. At the end of the scan, you will get a report with a hardware summary, average speed before the repairs, the size of your hard drive, and the available free space.

Next, it tests your computer’s stability and security. It goes through your installed programs and checks if they frequently crash or shut down unexpectedly. The security scan inspects the boot files for malicious files or has vulnerabilities in your system that can leak personal details. While it isn’t an antivirus and can’t prevent viruses or malware from attacking your computer, Restoro can repair the damage caused by viruses and malware.

Then, the scan inspects all the folders, including the temp folders and recycle bin, to find files that can be slowing down the CPU. Lastly, the Restoro scan goes through the registry, looking for invalid or incomplete registry keys.

This scan takes around five minutes, and you’ll receive a detailed breakdown of all the repairs.

With the free version of Restoro, you can get a 24-hour license to repair all the issues. All I had to do was click on each folder from the report I wanted to repair, and Restoro quickly cleaned it up. While this sounds like a huge process, I found that the majority of the issues and wasted space were in four or five folders, which I was able to clean up in under 5 five minutes.

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2. Ashampoo WinOptimizer: Performs System Maintenance and Performance Booster Scans

Ashampoo WinOptimizer has a modern interface that makes optimizing and cleaning your system easy. You can opt to run a full system scan, which inspects all the files and folders and finds ways to improve your computer’s performance and speed. You can customize the scan to focus on specific folders, drives, and apps if you know where that’s where the problem is occurring.

WinOptimizer has several tools that it employs to improve the computer’s speed. The Internet Cleaner gets rid of junk files that are downloaded to your computer while you browse the internet. It also deletes cookies, cache, history, and other types of files that can affect the CPU speed.

In addition to the speed and optimization features, WinOptimizer can improve your online security and privacy. Before deleting files with personal or sensitive data, you can apply the File Wiper feature, which deletes it and encrypts and destroys the file in a way that can’t be recovered or restored by data recovery tools.

WinOptimizer can also inspect your OS setting and make sure that there aren’t any vulnerabilities, such as remote access to your computer, unsecured Wi-Fi connections, webcam, and apps that can provide a way for hackers to steal your data. If it finds any weaknesses, it will create an alert so you can make the necessary changes to the settings to protect your computer. However, it doesn’t have an antivirus or antimalware scanner.

When you download WinOptimizer, you can activate a 30-day free trial with no credit card needed and get access to all the premium features. This is a great way to clean your PC and fix all the major issues for free.

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3. O&O Defrag: Deframgment Hard Drive to Optimize Performance

O&O Defrag starts working to improve your computer’s processing time and speed when you download and install it on your computer. The defragmentation runs in the background, so you can continue using your computer while it runs without having any noticeable slowdowns.

The software comes with S.M.A.R.T technology that constantly scans your hard drive for any health troubles and sends an alert when any action is required.

I like that there is the option to schedule automatic defragmentation. That way, I don’t have to remember to run the scan, and my computer remains at its optimal performance.

The O&O DiskCleaner feature is integrated with the Defrag toolset. It scans your hard drive and any connected hard drives for unnecessary files, broken files, and pieces of software or code that take up valuable CPU resources and can slow down the computer. To increase your online security, it doesn’t keep copies of old system files, such as thumbs.db, email drafts, and copies of documents. While it does have basic security protection, it doesn’t offer the top of line encryption and file destruction like Restoro.

Download the free version of O&O Defrag, and get access to the basic tools you need to optimize your computer. You should notice an increase in speed and performance right away.

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4. PrivaZer: Scans Hard Drives and Removable Drives

The main benefit of PrivaZer is that it does a good job of removing junk files, broken files, and unused files that can slow down your computer. It overwrites and deletes the files, making it nearly impossible for someone to recover them.

There are three scanning and cleaning options; you can put a priority on removing files, improving security, or a mix of both. The deep scan can take a long time, and it slows down your computer, so it’s best to run the scan when you don’t need to be on the computer.

After PrivaZer finishes removing the files you don’t need, it does a Smart Cleanup of the hard drive that frees up additional space and should improve the computer’s performance.

5, Iolo System Mechanic: Improves Boot Up Time and CPU Speed

Iolo System Mechanic updated their interface to a sleek modern design that makes it easy to find the options you need. It runs a deep scan that can locate and delete unnecessary files and folders that slow down your PC.

While the app claims to also improve your internet speed, I didn’t notice any. All it does is clear the cache and cookies from my browser, which I can do through my browser settings.

To its credit, System Mechanic did improve the start-up time, when I booted my computer. It got rid of some old processes and partial files that were causing the slowdowns. However, despite the nice interface, System Mechanic doesn’t do much more than the free tune-up tool that comes with Windows.

When CCleaner isn’t For You…

CCleaner might be one of the top computer cleaners and optimizers, but it isn’t perfect. There are other tools with similar features that take extra steps to protect and optimize your computer.

If you want software that checks the stability of your computer and programs, download Restoro for free. In addition to cleaning your computer, it inspects the crash reports to find any problematic programs or files that can cause your computer to crash.

If you want an extra level of security, you’ll be very happy with  Ashampoo WinOptimizer. It has a File Wiper feature, that encrypts and deletes files, making it impossible for data recovery tools to restore and view the file contents.

If you want to defragment your computer, check out O&O Defrag. You can schedule regular defragging, which takes place in the background, without affecting your computer’s performance.

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