10 Best Free Registry Cleaners For Microsoft Windows PCs [2021 Edition]

Short Bytes: Registry Cleaners remove outdated registry entries from Windows registry. These entries are left by uninstalled programs or created by other Windows services. Here is a list of the top 10 free registry cleaners you can use to keep your windows registry neat and clean.

Windows OS doesn’t regularly clean the registry entries which are outdated or no longer required. Registry cleaners take matters into their own hands.

The basic task of a registry cleaner is that it searches for registry entries which are useless and deletes them. For instance, registry entries left by software that has been removed. And it’s not just software, practically everything you do on your computer creates an entry in the Windows Registry. If you are willing to know more, here’s a detailed article on the basics of Windows Registry.

There are a lot of Windows 10/11 Registry cleaners lingering on the internet flaunting their capabilities and boasting themselves as the best. However, some can do more harm than good, which we will talk about at the end of this article.

Do keep in mind that using a registry cleaner won’t do any wonders for your computer and it will not boost your PC performance. They’ll only clear out unwanted or outworn registry entries. That’s out of the way, here are some of the best free registry cleaners for your Windows 10/11 PC —

Also Read: Top 10 Best Free Data Recovery Software of 2016

Best Free Registry Cleaners

While there are several options to choose from, we have assembled a list of trustworthy software that you can use to clean your registry errors. Also, the number of each software listed doesn’t relate to how good the software is.

Note: Make sure to back up all your registry data before interfering with the Windows 10 registry. It is important to note that Microsoft does not promote the use of registry cleaners.

1. CCleaner
2. Wise
3. Auslogics
4. Glarysoft
5. SlimCleaner
6. Easy Cleaner
7. Argente
8. Eusing
9. WinUtilties
10. JetClean

Here is a list of the top 10 free registry cleaners for Microsoft Windows:

1. CCleaner

This Piriform product is probably the best computer optimization freeware that I’ve used in years. CCleaner’s inbuilt registry cleaning utility does most of the job. Its neat and clean interface adds to the ease of access offered by the registry cleaning tool. It asks you whether to back up the registry before making any changes. CCleaner also comes in a paid version but the freeware version would be enough for you.

CCleaner Professional, the paid version, provides automatic browser cleaning, real-time monitoring, and priority support. If these options look beneficial to you, you can grab the paid version. All in all, CCleaner is one of the best free registry cleaners for desktop users.

Pros:

• Takes a backup of registry files before cleaning it
• Offers a variety of features
• Offers a portable version

Cons:

• Installs additional software while installation
• Free only for Home users

Compatible Operating Systems:

Windows 7 SP1 and above

Price – Free/ $19.95

2. Wise Registry Cleaner

If I take the visual appearance into consideration, I would definitely give an extra point to Wise Cleaner in comparison to CCleaner. But it’s not just about visually appealing UI, a windows 10/11 registry cleaner needs to prove how well it manages your registry entries.

It includes two modes: Fast Scan and Deep Scan. One thing I like about Wise Cleaner is the categorized display of detected errors, unlike CCleaner which displays the errors in an excel sheet-like manner. It automatically backs up your registry issues. You can also run the Wise registry cleaner software from the command line. It also features a registry defrag option.

Pros:

• Automatic Registry Backup Feature
• Various scan options
• Easy to use interface

Cons:

• Installs additional software while installation
• Needs system reboot

Compatible Operating Systems:

Windows XP and above

Price – Free/ $35

3. Auslogics Registry Cleaner

This best free registry cleaner from Auslogics offers a categorized view in a list form. You can tick the ones you want to fix. The interface of the Auslogics registry cleaner is simple and clean, though not as visually appealing as of Wise Cleaner. A notable feature is that it also displays the severity of the registry errors encountered.

It also automatically backs up registry changes it makes during the repair process. If you want to prevent registry backup, click Settings and click Backup Changes. Likewise, you can go to the Rescue Center to revert changes made by Auslogics registry cleaner.

Pros:

• Automatic Clean feature
• Presents a formatted report after cleanup
• Offers a portable version

Cons:

• Installs additional software while installation
• All features aren’t free

Compatible Operating Systems:

Windows 10 and above

Price – Free/ $8.95

4. Glarysoft Registry Repair

Glarysoft’s Registry Repair is also a great free registry cleaner tool for Windows 10/11. It’ll automatically start the registry scan process as soon as you open the tool. It also offers automatic registry backup before making any changes to the Windows registry preventing your system from any tragic event. Moreover, you can click on Action to restore previous repairs made through the Glarysoft registry repair.

Pros:

• Takes a backup of registry before cleaning it
• Automatic updates
• Easy to use interface

Cons:

• Can’t create a restore point
• Installs addition software while installation

Compatible Operating Systems:

Windows 7 SP1 and above

Price – Free

5. SlimCleaner Free

The free version of the SlimCleaner registry cleaner tool offers some great functionality. Its cleaning utility provides a one-stop solution for all sorts of cleaning rituals for your machine. But this also adds a little difficulty. For instance, if you only need to clean the registry, you will need to untick all checkboxes present in all other tabs. On the bright side, you only have to do this once as the Windows 10/11 registry cleaner remembers the settings thereafter.

Price – Free/ $19.97

Pros:

• One-click scan
• Offers a variety of features
• Provides power management features

Cons:

• Outdated interface
• Slow scan speed

Compatible Operating Systems:

Windows 7 SP1 and above

6. Easy Cleaner

This tiny program was created by a Finnish guy named Toni Helenius. The Easy Cleaner has minimalistic graphics options other than the registry cleaner. The visual appearance of the software hasn’t been updated much since its launch in 2005. It also allows you to find duplicate unnecessary files and clean shortcuts pointing to nowhere.

Pros:

• Easy to use interface
• Automatic backup feature
• Offers various features

Cons:

• Slow clean speed
• Outdated user-interface

Compatible Operating Systems:

Windows XP and above

Price – Free/ $35

7. Argente Registry Cleaner

In my tests, this free cleaner software by Argente Utilities took longer to scan than any other registry cleaning software. It includes a wizard-based interface which let’s you choose the scan categories manually or automatically.

The interface is not very appealing. You can undo the changes made to the registry and it also offers an automatic cleaning option which will take care of your registry without any interference. It is also available as a portable version. On the downloads page, you can either go for the Argente Utilities or the Registry Cleaner only.

Pros:

• Takes a backup of registry before cleaning it
• Various scan options
• Automatic backup feature

Cons:

• No scheduling feature
• Complex user-interface

Compatible Operating Systems:

Windows 7 SP1 and above

Price – Free

8. Eusing Free Registry Cleaner

The first thing you’ll notice about this registry cleaner is its name. It is quite different. The somewhat ugly-looking tool only offers a cleaning registry and repairing option. Also, also has an option to restore the changes made to the registry in case anything goes wrong.

Pros:

• Takes a backup of registry before cleaning it
• No ads
• Easy to use interface

Cons:

• Doesn’t display a detailed scan report
• Slow scan speed

Compatible Operating Systems:

Windows 7 SP1 and above

Price – Free

9. WinUtilties Registry Cleaner

It is a part of the WinUtilities suite developed by YL Software. Like other free registry cleaners on the list, it also offers restore point creation before making changes to the registry. Also, there is a separate registry cleaner called “ScanMyReg” by the company which is available as paid software.

Pros:

• Takes a backup of registry before cleaning it
• Offers a variety of features

Cons:

• Outdated user-interface
• Not better than the competiton

Compatible Operating Systems:

Windows 7 SP1 and above

Price – Free/ $18.71 

10. JetClean

The registry cleaner by BlueSprig has managed to gather some popularity. It offers quick 1-click cleaning and also has a “Windows Clean” option. One notable feature of JetClean is that you can make a portable version of the software. You can use the Portable option in the Tools tab.

Pros:

• Takes a backup of registry before cleaning it
• Offers a variety of features
• Easy to use interface

Cons:

• Installs additional software while installation
• Portable version requires installtion

Compatible Operating Systems:

Windows 7 SP1 and above

Price – Free

These were the top 10 free registry cleaners. Please note that these are freeware. Hence, their installation process may include an invitation from other adware programs. If you have something to add, tell us in the comments below.

Are registry cleaners necessary?

One of the biggest myths about registry cleaners is that they give a performance boost to the PC. While it may look like it in some cases, mostly it is an illusion. As Malwarebytes rightly puts it, it’s a computer version of the placebo effect.

A registry cleaner cleans any unwanted entries, but it doesn’t have a substantial effect on the performance. The inconsequential cleaning is certainly not worth the risk of installing a free registry cleaner that may come with malware.

Our recommendation

There are numerous third-party softwares to help you clean the registry on your Windows PC. We recommend using CCleaner for the best results as it offers several features and has built a decent reputation.

Furthermore, you can also opt for JetClean as it offers a clean user-interface with fast scan and clean speeds.

Also read: 17 Tips & Tricks To Speed Up Windows 10 And Make It Faster

Frequently Asked Questions