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Head-to-head · Disk Benchmark Software

fio vs DiskSpd

  • Updated Oct 2026
  • Both researched from official sources
  • 6 checks side by side
Higher score fio #2 in Disk Benchmark Software 8.8/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 5 of 5 features Visit fio
DiskSpd #5 in Disk Benchmark Software 7.8/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 5 of 5 features Visit DiskSpd

fio leads on 0 checks, DiskSpd on 0, and 6 are even. Who comes out ahead on the 6 yes/no, price and count checks where we have data for both products. The editor score weighs everything else too.

Our verdict

  • Highest scorefio · 8.8/10
  • Free planboth

fio scores higher on our rubric for disk benchmark software: 8.8 against 7.8 out of 10; our editors rank them #2 and #5.

fio is the better fit for broad, rigorous cross-platform benchmarking. DiskSpd is the better fit for free Windows low-level benchmarking.

  • fio fits best

    Broad, rigorous cross-platform benchmarking

  • DiskSpd fits best

    Free Windows low-level benchmarking

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Side by side

Feature fio 8.8/10 Visit ↗ DiskSpd 7.8/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score 8.8 7.8
Ranking #2 in Disk Benchmark Software #5 in Disk Benchmark Software
Best for Broad, rigorous cross-platform benchmarking Free Windows low-level benchmarking
Pricing model Free Free
Starting price Free plan Free plan
Free plan ✓ ✓
Free trial — —
Deployment Self-hosted Desktop
Platforms Linux, Windows, macOS Windows
Support Community, Docs Docs
Built for Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise Mid-market, Enterprise
Features fio 5/5 · DiskSpd 5/5
Random I/O tests ✓ ✓
Sequential tests ✓ ✓
IOPS measurement ✓ ✓
Latency measurement ✓ ✓
Command-line interface ✓ ✓
Specs
Supported platforms Linux, Solaris, AIX, HP-UX, OSX, NetBSD, OpenBSD, Windows, FreeBSD, DragonFly Windows
Our review
Pros
  • Covers sequential, random, mixed, IOPS, bandwidth, and latency workloads
  • Runs on Linux, Windows, macOS, and several Unix-like systems
  • Exports normal, terse, JSON, and JSON+ result formats
  • Configures random and sequential workloads in detail
  • Measures IOPS, latency percentiles, and interval statistics
  • Tests files, partitions, and physical devices
Cons
  • Command-line and job-file workflows require technical familiarity
  • Results and workload behavior depend on configuration choices
  • Focused on engineering measurement rather than guided visual analysis
  • Windows is the primary supported platform
  • Command-line operation requires technical familiarity
  • Results are focused on benchmarking rather than visual reporting
Our verdict

fio is an open-source I/O tester for measuring storage and filesystem performance. It is intended for engineers and administrators who need configurable benchmarks across Linux, Windows, macOS, and several Unix-like operating systems.…

Read the review →

DiskSpd is Microsoft’s command-line storage load generator and performance testing tool for Windows. It is intended for technical users who need configurable benchmarks for regular files, partitions, or physical devices. Workloads can be…

Read the review →
  1. fioDisk Benchmark Software 8.8Free plan
  2. DiskSpdDisk Benchmark Software 7.8Free plan

Strengths and trade-offs

  • fio — where it wins

    • Covers sequential, random, mixed, IOPS, bandwidth, and latency workloads
    • Runs on Linux, Windows, macOS, and several Unix-like systems
    • Exports normal, terse, JSON, and JSON+ result formats

    Where it doesn't

    • Command-line and job-file workflows require technical familiarity
    • Results and workload behavior depend on configuration choices
    • Focused on engineering measurement rather than guided visual analysis

  • DiskSpd — where it wins

    • Configures random and sequential workloads in detail
    • Measures IOPS, latency percentiles, and interval statistics
    • Tests files, partitions, and physical devices

    Where it doesn't

    • Windows is the primary supported platform
    • Command-line operation requires technical familiarity
    • Results are focused on benchmarking rather than visual reporting
  • fio8.8/10 · Free plan

    A free, open-source benchmark for detailed storage and filesystem performance analysis.

    Visit fioFull verdict →
  • DiskSpd7.8/10 · Free plan

    A free, open-source Windows tool for configurable low-level disk benchmarks.

    Visit DiskSpdFull verdict →

More comparisons

All disk benchmark software comparisons → · Full ranking →

Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026

Last updated · How we research and update