The Best Hardware Monitoring Software in 2026
We researched hardware monitoring software through official websites, including pricing pages, plan tables and product documentation. Rankings focus on sensor visibility, monitoring depth, verified features and value for money for individuals and IT teams.
Our top picks
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Top ranked
Glassmkr#1 of 599.3/10Free monitoring for Linux hardware, with hosted simplicity or self-hosted control.
Free plan
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Runner-up
Supermicro SuperDoctor 5#2 of 599.2/10A free, focused monitor for Supermicro server health, alerts, logs, and remote power control.
Free plan
-
Top-ranked free plan
HWiNFO#3 of 599.1/10A deep Windows diagnostics suite for users who need detailed sensors, reports, and alerts.
Free plan
Advertiser disclosure: iTechGuides is reader-supported. Vendors can pay for top positions in our rankings and for a place on other products' pages, and we may earn a commission when you click some links. Bought places stand at the number bought; this page and our disclosure say so. Paying vendors may get a fuller, more detailed review from our editors, and that review can change their score. How we rank.
The full ranking 59 tools, best first · page 1 of 2
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Best forFree server fleet monitoring
Free monitoring for Linux hardware, with hosted simplicity or self-hosted control.
- Remote monitoring
9.3/10★★★★★Visit Glassmkr -
Best forSupermicro server owners
A free, focused monitor for Supermicro server health, alerts, logs, and remote power control.
- Custom sensor support
- Remote monitoring
9.2/10★★★★★Visit Supermicro -
Best forDetailed Windows hardware diagnostics
A deep Windows diagnostics suite for users who need detailed sensors, reports, and alerts.
- Custom sensor support
- Remote monitoring
9.1/10★★★★★Visit HWiNFO -
Best forNVIDIA data-center GPU operations
A specialized Linux toolkit for operating NVIDIA GPUs across data-center and cluster environments.
- Remote monitoring
8.8/10★★★★☆Visit NVIDIA -
Best forCross-platform drive health monitoring
A focused, free toolkit for detailed SMART-based storage monitoring.
8.5/10★★★★☆Visit smartmontools -
Best forFree Windows GPU tuning and overlays
A focused free utility for GPU tuning, monitoring, overlays, fan control, and capture.
8.3/10★★★★☆Try MSI Afterburner -
Best forLarge IPMI-managed server fleets
A focused self-hosted monitor for large IPMI-managed fleets with deep hardware controls.
- Remote monitoring
8.1/10★★★★☆Visit IPMI Monitor -
Best forQuick standalone GPU identification
A free, portable Windows utility for quick local GPU identification and diagnostics.
8.0/10★★★★☆Visit TechPowerUp -
Best forWindows developers needing sensor APIs
A capable free monitor for Windows developers who need sensor access through APIs.
- Remote monitoring
7.9/10★★★★☆Visit site -
Best forMac and Windows fan control
A focused desktop utility for Mac fan control, temperature readings, and sensor-based automation.
7.8/10★★★★☆Try Macs Fan Control -
Best forInteractive multi-GPU terminal monitoring
A free, open-source terminal monitor for detailed local multi-GPU visibility.
7.7/10★★★★☆Visit NVTOP -
Best forDetailed Windows battery diagnostics
Detailed Windows battery diagnostics with graphing, logging, and email alerts.
7.5/10★★★★☆Visit BatteryMon -
Best forWindows users needing monitoring plus fan control
Detailed multi-vendor telemetry and fan control for Windows desktops and notebooks.
7.4/10★★★★☆Visit Argus Monitor -
Best forLinux desktop and server sensor monitoring
A free, open-source Linux monitor with live sensors, history, alerts, reports, and an HTTP API.
7.3/10★★★★☆Visit HWall -
Best forCustom Windows-to-mobile sensor dashboards
A free, flexible Windows monitor with customizable LAN dashboards and Android access.
- Remote monitoring
7.2/10★★★★☆Visit XStat -
Best forEnterprise heterogeneous infrastructure
A broad hardware monitoring module for teams managing mixed datacenter infrastructure.
- Remote monitoring
7.1/10★★★★☆Visit site -
Best forLow-cost visual sensor monitoring
A low-cost desktop monitor with strong visualization and tiered advanced controls.
- Remote monitoring
7.1/10★★★★☆Visit Pokesensor -
Best forLegacy Windows fan and temperature control
A free, configurable Windows utility for sensor monitoring and fan control.
7.0/10★★★★☆Visit SpeedFan -
Best forClassic cross-platform desktop monitoring
Free, cross-platform monitoring with alarms, charts, remote clients, and plugins.
- Custom sensor support
- Remote monitoring
6.9/10★★★☆☆Visit GKrellM -
Best forOpen-source cross-platform fleet dashboards
A focused open-source choice for live fleet metrics across Windows, macOS, and Linux.
- Remote monitoring
6.8/10★★★☆☆Visit Heimdall -
Best forWindows CPU temperature monitoring
A focused Windows monitor for per-core temperatures, processor load, power data, and logging.
- Remote monitoring
6.8/10★★★☆☆Visit Core Temp -
Best forLinux terminal sensor sessions
A focused open-source choice for detailed, real-time Linux terminal monitoring.
6.7/10★★★☆☆Visit Level1Techs -
Best forAggregated Linux GPU dashboards
Free, open-source GPU monitoring for aggregated Linux server dashboards.
- Remote monitoring
6.6/10★★★☆☆Visit gpuview -
Best forLinux sensor infrastructure and developers
A free, open-source Linux foundation for local hardware readings, limits, logging, and sensor libraries.
6.5/10★★★☆☆Visit lm-sensors -
Best forLightweight Windows desktop widgets
A focused, free desktop monitor for Windows users who want visible system metrics.
6.4/10★★★☆☆Visit site -
Best forBasic Windows laptop battery monitoring
A focused free tool for tracking laptop battery health and Windows power behavior.
6.3/10★★★☆☆Visit BatteryCare -
Best forSimple free multi-machine monitoring
A free, offline dashboard for monitoring Linux and Windows machines without cloud accounts.
- Remote monitoring
6.2/10★★★☆☆Visit michka -
Best forAndroid battery health and charging insights
A focused Android battery monitor with health tracking, charging insights and usage reports.
6.2/10★★★☆☆Visit AccuBattery -
Best forAndroid users diagnosing battery drain
A focused Android utility for finding battery-draining apps and usage patterns.
6.1/10★★★☆☆Visit GSam Labs -
Best forPortable open-source Windows/Linux monitoring
A portable, no-cost sensor monitor with remote access and WMI support.
- Remote monitoring
6.0/10★★★☆☆Visit site -
Best forLegacy Windows taskbar battery status
A focused battery monitor for legacy Windows laptops, with taskbar status and history.
6.0/10★★★☆☆Visit BatteryBar -
Best forAd-free Android battery monitoring
A focused, ad-free Android utility for detailed local battery visibility.
5.9/10★★★☆☆Visit BatteryBot Pro -
Best forFree macOS SSD fan management
A free macOS utility for managing fan speed and SSD temperatures on compatible iMacs.
5.8/10★★★☆☆Try SSD Fan Control -
Best forProxmox host hardware monitoring
A focused open-source dashboard for Proxmox host hardware and system metrics.
- Remote monitoring
5.4/10★★★☆☆Visit PVE Monitor -
Best forAffordable personal PC monitoring
A focused, low-cost choice for personal hardware monitoring on Windows and Android.
- Remote monitoring
5.4/10★★★☆☆Visit CPUID -
Best forWindows sensor export to time-series systems
A free Windows sensor collector for teams already using time-series monitoring systems.
- Remote monitoring
5.3/10★★★☆☆Visit OhmGraphite -
Best forHybrid infrastructure observability with hardware metrics
A broad hybrid monitoring platform with per-second metrics and a capable free tier.
5.2/10★★★☆☆Visit Netdata -
Best forEnterprise infrastructure monitoring with hardware protocols
A broad monitoring platform for hybrid infrastructure, with open-source and managed deployment options.
5.1/10★★★☆☆Visit Checkmk -
Best forOpen-source infrastructure monitoring
A broad monitoring platform with free self-hosting and paid cloud and support options.
5.0/10★★☆☆☆Visit Zabbix -
Best forOpen-source general infrastructure monitoring
A flexible open-source monitor for broad infrastructure visibility, with self-hosted deployment.
4.9/10★★☆☆☆Visit Icinga -
Best forHeterogeneous infrastructure teams
A broad open-source platform for heterogeneous infrastructure and hardware monitoring.
- Custom sensor support
- Remote monitoring
4.9/10★★☆☆☆Visit NetXMS -
Best forAffordable broad infrastructure monitoring
Affordable infrastructure monitoring with broad connectors, discovery, dashboards, and hybrid deployment.
4.8/10★★☆☆☆Visit Centreon -
Best forMulti-site hardware monitoring teams
A broad hardware monitoring platform for teams managing servers, devices, and remote sites.
- Custom sensor support
- Remote monitoring
4.7/10★★☆☆☆Visit Site24x7 -
Best forNetwork-first teams adding hardware monitoring
A network-first platform that adds hardware monitoring across infrastructure environments.
4.7/10★★☆☆☆Visit OpManager -
Best forWindows network and infrastructure teams
A sensor-based Windows monitor with strong network coverage and a useful free edition.
Free plan · paid from $200/mo (annual) · 30-day trial Our Paessler PRTG Network Monitor verdict → Visit Paessler4.6/10★★☆☆☆Visit Paessler -
Best forAMD GPU developers and operators
A free, open-source AMD GPU toolkit for Linux developers and operators.
4.6/10★★☆☆☆Visit AMD SMI -
Best forFlexible cross-platform technical monitoring
Flexible technical monitoring across terminals, web interfaces, APIs, and self-hosted systems.
- Remote monitoring
4.6/10★★☆☆☆Visit Glances -
Best forAffordable agentless device monitoring
A flexible agentless monitor with broad alerting, but the free edition covers only one server.
- Custom sensor support
- Remote monitoring
4.5/10★★☆☆☆Visit site -
Best forBuilding custom metric pipelines
A flexible collection pipeline for hardware metrics, but not a complete monitoring interface.
- Custom sensor support
- Remote monitoring
4.5/10★★☆☆☆Visit Telegraf -
Best forCloud-scale infrastructure teams
Broad infrastructure visibility for cloud-scale teams, with paid pricing per host.
Free plan · paid from $15/mo (annual) · 14-day trial Our Datadog Infrastructure Monitoring verdict → Visit Datadog4.5/10★★☆☆☆Visit Datadog
No tools match those filters.
Compare at a glance
| # | Tool | Free plan | Paid from | Supported platforms | Remote monitoring | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Glassmkr | Yes | Free | linux, api, self_hosted | Yes | 9.3 |
| 2 | Supermicro SuperDoctor 5 | Yes | Free | Windows, Linux | Yes | 9.2 |
| 3 | HWiNFO | Yes | Windows, DOS | Yes | 9.1 | |
| 4 | NVIDIA Data Center GPU Manager | Yes | Free | Linux; API; self-hosted | Yes | 8.8 |
| 5 | smartmontools | Yes | Free | Darwin (Mac OS X), Linux, FreeBSD, NetBSD, OpenBSD, Solaris, OS/2, Cygwin, QNX, eComStation, Windows | 8.5 | |
| 6 | MSI Afterburner | Yes | Free | 8.3 | ||
| 7 | IPMI Monitor | Yes | $100/mo | Linux, Docker, self-hosted web application | Yes | 8.1 |
| 8 | GPU-Z | Yes | Free | Windows | 8.0 | |
| 9 | Libre Hardware Monitor | Yes | Free | Windows | Yes | 7.9 |
| 10 | Macs Fan Control | Yes | macOS, Windows via Boot Camp | 7.8 | ||
| 11 | NVTOP | Yes | Free | Linux; Apple systems (limited, build-specific support) | No | 7.7 |
| 12 | BatteryMon | No | $2,268 one-time | Windows | 7.5 | |
| 13 | Argus Monitor | No | $16.45/yr | windows | 7.4 | |
| 14 | HWall | Yes | Free | Linux | No | 7.3 |
| 15 | XStat | Yes | Free | Windows 10/11; Android companion; web browser on local network | Yes | 7.2 |
| 16 | Hardware Sentry KM | Linux/UNIX, Windows, Solaris, HP-UX, IBM AIX, BMC Helix Operations Management | Yes | 7.1 | ||
| 17 | Pokesensor | Yes | $5/mo | Windows, macOS, Linux | Yes | 7.1 |
| 18 | SpeedFan | Yes | Free | Windows | 7.0 | |
| 19 | GKrellM | Yes | Free | Linux, FreeBSD, Mac OS X, NetBSD, OpenBSD, Windows | Yes | 6.9 |
| 20 | Heimdall | Yes | Free | Windows, macOS, Linux, API, self-hosted | Yes | 6.8 |
| 21 | Core Temp | Yes | $6/device one-time | Windows; Android companion app | Yes | 6.8 |
| 22 | siomon | Yes | Free | Linux | 6.7 | |
| 23 | gpuview | Yes | Free | Linux; web browser; REST API | Yes | 6.6 |
| 24 | lm-sensors | Yes | Free | Linux | No | 6.5 |
| 25 | Sidebar Diagnostics | Yes | Free | Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, Windows 10 | No | 6.4 |
| 26 | BatteryCare | Yes | Free | Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8, 10 | 6.3 | |
| 27 | michka | Yes | Free | Linux, Windows, web browser | Yes | 6.2 |
| 28 | AccuBattery | Yes | Android | 6.2 | ||
| 29 | GSam Battery Monitor | Yes | android | 6.1 | ||
| 30 | Open Hardware Monitor | Yes | Free | Windows, Linux | Yes | 6.0 |
| 31 | BatteryBar | Yes | Windows XP, Vista, or 7; 32-bit and 64-bit editions | 6.0 | ||
| 32 | BatteryBot Pro | No | Android | 5.9 | ||
| 33 | SSD Fan Control | Yes | Free | macOS | 5.8 | |
| 34 | PVE Hardware Monitor | Free | Linux; web browser | Yes | 5.4 | |
| 35 | HWMonitor | Yes | €19.95 one-time | windows, android | Yes | 5.4 |
| 36 | OhmGraphite | Yes | Free | Windows | Yes | 5.3 |
| 37 | Netdata | Yes | $4.50/mo | 5.2 | ||
| 38 | Checkmk | Yes | 5.1 | |||
| 39 | Zabbix | Yes | $50/mo | 5.0 | ||
| 40 | Icinga | Yes | 4.9 | |||
| 41 | NetXMS | Yes | Windows, macOS, Linux, FreeBSD, Solaris, AIX, HP-UX, web | Yes | 4.9 | |
| 42 | Centreon | Yes | 4.8 | |||
| 43 | Site24x7 Hardware Monitoring | $9/mo | web, Windows, Linux, iOS, Android, API | Yes | 4.7 | |
| 44 | ManageEngine OpManager | Yes | 4.7 | |||
| 45 | Paessler PRTG Network Monitor | Yes | $200/mo | 4.6 | ||
| 46 | AMD SMI | Free | linux | 4.6 | ||
| 47 | Glances | Free | Linux, BSD, macOS, Windows, Android, Web, API, self-hosted | Yes | 4.6 | |
| 48 | PA Server Monitor | Yes | Windows, Linux, iOS, Android, self-hosted, API | Yes | 4.5 | |
| 49 | Telegraf | Yes | Linux, macOS, Windows, FreeBSD | Yes | 4.5 | |
| 50 | Datadog Infrastructure Monitoring | Yes | $15/mo | 4.5 |
Head-to-head All 28 comparisons →
- Glassmkr vs Supermicro SuperDoctor 5
- Glassmkr vs HWiNFO
- Glassmkr vs NVIDIA Data Center GPU Manager
- Glassmkr vs smartmontools
- Glassmkr vs MSI Afterburner
- Glassmkr vs IPMI Monitor
- Glassmkr vs GPU-Z
- Supermicro SuperDoctor 5 vs HWiNFO
- Supermicro SuperDoctor 5 vs NVIDIA Data Center GPU Manager
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How we rank hardware monitoring software
Every tool on this page was researched by iTechGuides Editors from its official website — pricing pages, plan tables and product documentation. We rank on how well each one does this category's core job, what the free or entry plan includes, and where it falls short. Where we have enough verified facts, the score out of 10 is a rubric — job fit, value and how much we could verify — shown with its breakdown on every tool's page; a tool we have not verified enough to score yet shows its rank without a number. Scores are re-checked when a product changes its plans. Read the full editorial policy, or submit a tool we missed.
Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026
Last updated · How we research and update