Best freeware computer monitoring software

By collecting metrics and events from over out of the box services and technologies, Datadog enables Dev and Ops teams to ensure application uptime and accelerate go-to-market efforts. Start monitoring with Datadog effortlessly in minutes.

Learn more about Datadog Cloud Monitoring. Best Free Computer Activity Monitoring Software Best Free Keylogger is a free but professional PC monitoring software that allows you to monitor children or employee computer and internet activities. PC monitoring software makes the process much easier by giving you a centralized location to monitor your devices. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Comparitech uses cookies. More info. Menu Close. We are reader supported and may receive a commission when you make purchases using the links on our site. We found the best PC monitoring software to keep you on top of hardware issues on your network.

Tim Keary Network administration expert. Includes an alerts system. Includes an alert feature. Includes configurable alerts. Zabbix Open-source network monitoring tool for Linux that monitors the status, temperature, CPU, memory utilization, and more computers. Includes a web-based user interface and alerts system.

Open Hardware Monitor Open-source hardware monitor for Windows and Linux that can monitor temperature, fan speed, voltage, and more.

We reviewed the market for PC monitoring systems and analyzed the options based on the following criteria: A hardware monitor to check on physical device statuses Systems that will operate on board or across a network Monitors doe device resource utilization Scanners to spot processor overload Options to monitor software performance and operating systems A free tool or a paid service that has a free trial period for assessment A paid tool that is worth the money or a free tool that is worth the time it takes to install.

Pros: Designed with large and enterprise networks in mind Supports auto-discovery that builds network topology maps and inventory lists in real-time based on devices that enter the network Has some of the best alerting features that balance effectiveness with ease of use Supports both SNMP monitoring as well as packet analysis, giving you more control over monitoring than similar tools Uses drag and drop widgets to customize the look and feel of the dashboard Robust reporting system with pre-configured compliance templates.

Cons: This is a feature-rich enterprise tool, small LANs and operations may find it overwhelming. Pros: Utilizes SNMP, NetFlow, and a variety of other protocols to create the most accurate picture of network traffic All sensors can be customized, even the preconfigured sensors The dashboard is customizable through a series of widgets and feels intuitive out of the box Supports a completely free version for up to sensors, making this a good choice for both small and large networks Pricing is based on sensor utilization, making this a flexible and scalable solution for larger networks as well as budget-conscious organizations.

Cons: PRTG is a feature-rich platform that requires time to fully learn all of the features and options available. Pros: Designed to work right away, features over customizable widgets to build unique dashboards and reports Leverages autodiscover to find, inventory, and map new devices Uses intelligent alerting to reduce false positives and eliminate alert fatigue across larger networks Supports email, SMS, and webhook for numerous alerting channels Integrates well in the ManageEngine ecosystem with their other products.

Cons: Is a feature-rich tool that will require a time investment to properly learn. Cons: Could use updated and modernized Would like to see better alerting features, specifically more intelligent alerting features. Pros: Freeware, with paid options for remote monitoring Open-source transparent project A great option for home labs and smaller networks Available for both Linux and Windows.

Pros: Open-source transparent tool Simple, yet informative interface Flexible alerting options support SMS and email Available on both Windows and Linux operating systems. Cons: Open-source version lacks quality support found in paid products Installation can be technical and complex.

Pros: Is a free open-source project Can measure other metrics like fan speed, clock speed, and voltage alongside temperature readings Better suited for home PCs and enthusiasts. Cons: Only available for Windows No management console, cannot monitor multiple machines at the same Not ideal for a business environment. I would recommend this hardware monitor tool only if you do not need detailed info about hardware performance. It can only be used to keep an eye on the devices connected and view basic information about them.

It is a hardware monitor software, specially designed for gamers. For user convenience, it displays data in 3 modes: Basic, Advanced, and Expanded. The statistics displayed here are real time as well as graphical data.

You can view statistic graph for last minute, hour, day, or week. The Expanded mode is just like Advanced mode, but also lets you view hardware specifications along with statistics. The statistics are displayed in a list for the hardware available on board.

Let us checkout briefly what all information can be gathered using this hardware monitor software. View CPU specifications and statistics, such as: processor name, package, core voltage, core speed, bus speed, cache info, etc.

Motherboard info displays the components connected to it, info of Graphic interface connected, and BIOS brand and version.

RAM type, channel, size, frequency, etc. If a graphics card is connected to your PC, then GPU size, type, core, and product info are displayed. You can also save hardware report as text or HTML file. Its a very simple software that only lets you monitor CPU core temperature, clock speed, and load along with Hard Drive temperature and utilization.

For each of these parameters, real time values, minimum values, and maximum values are displayed. Save the hardware statistic report as TXT file if you want. System Information Viewer is another free hardware monitor software that displays hardware statistics and specifications.

Even more detailed information about the mentioned hardware can be viewed in their respective sections. Not only usage and statistics of hardware, but hardware info and specifications can be viewed as well. Advanced SystemCare Free is another system maintenance and cleanup software in this list to monitor hardware of your PC. It has a bunch of tools to help you keep an eye on your PC and fix issues.