CCleaner Free vs Professional – is the paid version worth it?
CCleaner comes as a free version and as Professional. The free version cleans when you remember to run it. Professional looks after your PC on its own and also keeps programs and drivers up to date. Here is the difference in short.
What CCleaner Free does
- Manual cleaning of temporary files, recycle bin and browser cache
- Clearing history and cookies
- Managing startup programs
- Basic Health Check
What only Professional does
- Scheduled cleaning on your timetable
- Performance Optimizer: puts unneeded background programs to sleep
- Software Updater for outdated programs
- Driver Updater for graphics, sound and other hardware
- Priority support from the manufacturer
Who should get Professional?
If you do not want to maintain your PC by hand, have many programs that go out of date or driver trouble, Professional saves time. If you only free up space now and then, the free version is enough.
Professional or Professional Plus?
Professional Plus adds Recuva (recover deleted files) and Speccy (hardware overview) and covers up to three PCs. For households with several computers it is usually cheaper than three single licences.
FAQ
Can I upgrade from Free without reinstalling?
Yes. Enter the licence key in your existing installation and CCleaner unlocks the Professional features.
Does the licence renew automatically?
Not at Keycento. The licence runs for one year and then simply ends.