Suggestions appear as you type. Use the up and down arrows to choose one and Enter to open it.

This page's audience our own tag's counts — open to see them
–Visits
–Page views
–Clicks to vendors
–Time on page
–Reading now
Clicks to vendors, by tool
  • –
Top countries
  • –
Devices
  • –

– · visits, page views and clicks counted by our own tag, which counts more than our checked analytics; every figure rounded down · how we count

Head-to-head · PC Benchmark Software

PCMark 10 vs Cinebench

  • Updated Oct 2026
  • Both researched from official sources
  • 4 checks side by side
Higher score PCMark 10 #4 in PC Benchmark Software 8.8/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 3 of 3 features Visit UL Solutions
Cinebench #33 in PC Benchmark Software 6.2/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 2 of 3 features Visit Cinebench

PCMark 10 leads on 0 checks, Cinebench on 0, and 4 are even. Who comes out ahead on the 4 yes/no, price and count checks where we have data for both products. The editor score weighs everything else too.

Our verdict

  • Highest scorePCMark 10 · 8.8/10
  • Free planboth
  • Most featuresPCMark 10 · 3 of 3

PCMark 10 scores higher on our rubric for pc benchmark software: 8.8 against 6.2 out of 10; our editors rank them #4 and #33.

PCMark 10 is the better fit for windows productivity and system benchmarking. Cinebench is the better fit for free CPU and rendering benchmarks.

  • PCMark 10 fits best

    Windows productivity and system benchmarking

  • Cinebench fits best

    Free CPU and rendering benchmarks

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.

Side by side

Feature PCMark 10 8.8/10 Visit ↗ Cinebench 6.2/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score 8.8 6.2
Ranking #4 in PC Benchmark Software #33 in PC Benchmark Software
Best for Windows productivity and system benchmarking Free CPU and rendering benchmarks
Pricing model Free plan + paid Free
Starting price — Free plan
Free plan ✓ ✓
Free trial — —
Deployment Desktop Desktop
Platforms Windows Windows, macOS
Features PCMark 10 3/3 · Cinebench 2/3
Comparison database ✓ (best) Not checked yet
Custom test profiles ✓ ✓
CLI or automation ✓ ✓
Specs
Workload areas Essentials, productivity, digital content creation, gaming, Microsoft Office applications, battery life, storage CPU rendering; GPU rendering; ray tracing; shader execution; geometry processing; lighting; global illumination; scene complexity
Operating systems Windows 7 64-bit minimum; Windows 10 and Windows 11 supported Windows; macOS
Result export formats PDF, XML (Professional Edition) none documented; results are not saved as a file
Our review
Pros
  • Covers productivity, content creation, gaming, battery life, and storage
  • Basic Edition includes unlimited runs of the main PCMark 10 test
  • Professional Edition adds automation, exports, and commercial-use licensing
  • Tests CPU single-thread, single-core, and multi-thread performance
  • Includes GPU rendering and detailed ray-tracing workloads
  • Supports consistent scenes, custom runtimes, and CLI execution
Cons
  • Basic Edition locks other benchmarks, features, and settings
  • Professional Edition costs $1,795 per annual license
  • Applications benchmarking requires Windows 10
  • Results are not saved as a file
  • Results from Cinebench 2026 should not be compared with earlier versions
  • Supports Windows and macOS only
Our verdict

PCMark 10 is a Windows benchmarking suite from UL Solutions for home users, hardware enthusiasts, businesses, procurement organizations, and PC manufacturers. Its workload coverage spans everyday essentials, productivity, digital content…

Read the review →

Cinebench is free PC benchmarking software from Maxon Computer GmbH for evaluating CPU and GPU performance through production-quality 3D rendering workloads. It is suited to computer owners, IT administrators, hardware reviewers, and…

Read the review →
  1. PCMark 10PC Benchmark Software 8.8Free plan
  2. CinebenchPC Benchmark Software 6.2Free plan

Strengths and trade-offs

  • PCMark 10 — where it wins

    • Covers productivity, content creation, gaming, battery life, and storage
    • Basic Edition includes unlimited runs of the main PCMark 10 test
    • Professional Edition adds automation, exports, and commercial-use licensing

    Where it doesn't

    • Basic Edition locks other benchmarks, features, and settings
    • Professional Edition costs $1,795 per annual license
    • Applications benchmarking requires Windows 10

  • Cinebench — where it wins

    • Tests CPU single-thread, single-core, and multi-thread performance
    • Includes GPU rendering and detailed ray-tracing workloads
    • Supports consistent scenes, custom runtimes, and CLI execution

    Where it doesn't

    • Results are not saved as a file
    • Results from Cinebench 2026 should not be compared with earlier versions
    • Supports Windows and macOS only

More comparisons

All PC benchmark software comparisons → · Full ranking →

Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026

Last updated · How we research and update