$29.97
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Pros
Easy to use. Effective system cleaning. Community-based features. Windows 10-specific data protection.
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Cons
License limitations. Can only uninstall unwanted apps one at a time.
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Bottom Line
Now boasting the incredibly helpful Instant Alerts feature, SlimCleaner Plus continues to be one of the best PC tune-up utilities on the market. That said, license limitations keep it from becoming our top pick.
The average tune-up utility improves your PC's overall system performance by repairing the problematic Windows registry, defragging the hard drive, and deleting junk files. However, SlimWare Utilities SlimCleaner Plus goes the extra mile by including community-based recommendations, the ability to recognize out-of-date antivirus software, and new Instant Alerts that let you know when suspicious software tries to latch onto your PC's startup process. Overall, SlimCleaner Plus is easy to use and has effective computer clean-up chops, but its license limitations prevent it from toppling the reigning paid tune-up king, Iolo System Mechanic 15.5.
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System Requirements and Setup
Compatible with Windows 10/8/7/Vista/XP PCs, SlimCleaner Plus requires an Internet connection for downloading the software and any updates that may be required during installation. Unlike Iolo System Mechanic 15.5, our Editors' Choice for paid tune-up utilities, SlimCleaner Plus limits the number of installation licenses you receive for your money. You get one PC license for $29.97, three for $34.95, five for $56.95, 10 for $100.95, and 25 for $230. Iolo, on the other hand, lets you install its System Mechanic 15.5 software on as many PCs as you'd like—that's a sweet, potentially money-saving deal in the age of the multi-PC home. I wish SlimCleaner Plus, and other tune-up utilities, would adopt this model.
View All SlimCleaner Plus vs. SlimCleaner Free
If you're wondering about the differences between SlimCleaner Plus and SlimCleaner Free, here's the skinny: SlimCleaner Plus has a one-click scan and fix button, laptop power-consumption settings, the ability to deactivate unneeded features for greater computing efficiency, and Windows 10-specific protection that lets you customize the operating system's privacy settings to disable, or limit, features that collect and report data to Microsoft. For example, you can nix the "Getting to Know You" feature, which prevents Microsoft from gathering speech, contacts, and calendar information. If you're concerned about your digital footprint, this is a very useful feature.
SlimCleaner Free lacks those features, as well as SlimCleaner Plus' ability to identify inactive or out-of-date antivirus software, and the new Instant Alerts, which leverages community recommendations to notify you that unwanted software (such as a toolbar that came packaged with an application) tries to insert itself into the bootup process. In my tests, Instant Alerts triggered a pop-up window when it detected a browser toolbar (a toolbar that I didn't intentionally install, by the way). Instant Alerts gave me the option to either keep the toolbar or uninstall it, so I removed it. It's an incredibly useful feature.
Features, Features, and More Features
Clicking one of the categories—Cleaner, Optimize, Software, Updates, Browsers, Disk Tools, Windows Tools—located in the column located left of the main content, area highlights the selection, displays sub-categories, and shows either cleaning options or system-analysis information.
The Cleaner area—the section that contains tabs for Windows, Applications, Browsers, Advanced, and Registry—is what you encounter on firing up the application. Clicking the Analyze button causes SlimCleaner to scan your PC and deliver a list of problems—my initial scan uncovered dozens upon dozens on my test computer. The Clean button removed all the problem files and Web cookies, but I preserved the login cookies of Facebook and other sites I frequent using the IntelliCookie Filter. That's a great touch.
That's far from the only tool at your disposal. Optimizer lets you alter which programs boot at launch, which is handy for those who may not realize that resource hogs are slowing the boot process and hindering overall system performance. Here you can find detailed information on each file so you know exactly what it does before taking action, and you can also rate programs yourself. I especially like that SlimCleaner Plus gives you a warning if you are about to remove software that's well received by the community; it's a useful way to safeguard yourself from removing a file that may prove vital to the computing experience.
Running Uninstaller causes SlimCleaner Plus to scan your computer and display the total number of software installs. I began scrolling through the long list of software, uninstalling unwanted applications such as Fraps and the hapless IOBit Malware Fighter 3. I don't like that you can't select multiple applications at once; you have to uninstall applications one at a time, which quickly becomes a chore. SlimCleaner Plus also has a browser cleaner, HDD defragger, duplicate file finder, and the ability to schedule a scan on a daily or weekly basis.
If you're serious about keeping your PC fresh, SlimCleaner Plus has enough features to inspire you to open your wallet.
Performance Improvements
I tested SlimCleaner Plus's ability to clean a PC by running the Geekbench system-performance tool and measuring boot times before and after running SlimCleaner to see how much the testbed's results changed. I ran each test three times on my testbed—a 2 GHz Intel Core 920XM Style-Note notebook with 4GB of RAM, and an 80GB Intel SSD drive—and averaged the results.
Before SlimCleaner Plus scrubbed the system, my system managed a 4,210 Geekbench multicore score and booted in 50.3 seconds. After using SlimCleaner Plus, my system delivered improved performance. The Geekbench score rose to 6,218 (which was short of Iolo System Mechanic 14's 6,299 score, but better than Anvisoft Cloud System Booster's 4,612 score), and the boot time decreased to 42.4 seconds. That's a bit behind Iolo System Mechanic's 37.5 seconds mark, and on par with Anvisoft Cloud System Booster's 42.5 mark.
Those numbers wouldn't mean much if it didn't translate into noticeable improvements. Fortunately, it does. iTunes and Steam opened with extra pep that wasn't present when the machine was junked up, and the computer generally felt faster.
A Very Useful Tune-Up Utility
SlimCleaner Plus's effective cleaning and community-based monitoring make it a utility to try if you want to turn back the clock on a gunked-up computer. That said, the tune-up utility's system-improving tools aren't quite as thorough as those of Iolo System Mechanic 15.5 (the Editors' Choice for paid tune-up utilities), and its license limitations are a bit outdated in the era of the multi-PC household. SlimCleaner Plus does the job well, but the Iolo is a better all-around option.
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