Piriform provides both installable and portable versions of their free registry cleaner. If you’re set on using an automated tool to fix an issue you have that’s caused by a registry problem, we highly recommend you use Piriform’s CCleaner freeware registry cleaner tool. We tested CCleaner v6 in Windows 11 using both their portable and installable versions. It can also clean the registry in Windows 10, 8, and 7. Some big pluses for Wise’s free registry cleaner include fast registry scans, scheduled scans, in place updates, and a clear separation between normal issues and those that are “unsafe,” a feature we loved. We don’t like the fact that Wise Registry Cleaner pushes for a download of Wise Disk Cleaner at the end of the installation, but it’s easy to skip. It comes in both installable and portable versions and can be used on Windows 11, Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista, and Windows XP (only the portable version works on XP). We tested the installable version of v10.8 in Windows 11. There are two major things we don’t like about JetClean. One: The number of cookies that it considers keepable, by default, is a bit excessive. Two: It tries to install a toolbar, but you can decline it during installation. We also don’t like that there’s not an easily available portable version of JetClean. Yes, one exists, but you have to “generate” one from within the installed version on your computer. Strange! The JetClean registry cleaner supports both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP, and Windows 2000. We tested v1.5.0 in Windows 10 and Windows 7. One nice feature of this registry fixer is the extremely detailed reports page. After any cleaning, you can open a document that shows, in detail, everything that the program fixed. In the settings is where you can access Rescue Center, which is a list of registry backups made before each cleaning. You can edit the settings to keep the backups forever if you never want to lose them. It’s compatible with modern versions of Windows like Windows 11 and Windows 10, plus Windows 8 and Windows 7. Auslogics Registry Cleaner v10 was tested in Windows 11. Registry Repair was designed for Windows 11, Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 7, and some older versions of Windows. We tested v5.0.1 in Windows 10 and Windows 7. We find the registry scan to be very quick, regardless of the number of errors the program finds. Advanced SystemCare is great for the non-tech-savvy because you don’t even have to view the results to repair them. Moreover, you could actually shut down or restart your PC when the cleaning is finished, so you don’t have to worry about it. One thing we don’t like is that if you’re after a particular cleaning type, like registry cleaning, you must first uncheck all the other options. All the features that are offered can be overwhelming and get in your way. To run the registry cleaning process, choose Manual Mode from the Care tab. Choose Select All a couple of times to clear out all the checkboxes, and then choose Registry Clean followed by SCAN. The Deep Clean option requires the professional version of the program. ASC works in Windows 11, Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista, and Windows XP. We tested v16 in Windows 11. No toolbars or other programs tried to install like with some other free registry cleaners. It works with Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista, and Windows XP. However, the tool isn’t supported above Windows 7. We tested jv16 PowerTools Lite in Windows 8. This program is really easy to use, and the registry cleaner isn’t hidden away deep inside – it’s very easy to spot and run without any hassles. One thing we didn’t like about Kingsoft PC Doctor is that you can’t schedule a registry cleaning at a later date, but you must instead run it manually. While this is the case, the manual scans do find a hefty amount of errors that are just a click away from being removed. It’s said to work only with Windows 7, Vista, and XP, but we tested v3.7 in Windows 8 and Windows 10 without any issues. It took considerably longer than other registry cleaners to scan the registry, but it did a fine job overall. We also liked that we weren’t asked to install some other completely unrelated and useless program during the install! The ToniArts website says that the software works in Windows XP, 2000, NT, ME, 98, and 95, but you might have luck using it in newer versions of Windows, too. We tested v2.0.6.380 in Windows 8 without any problems, but it didn’t work correctly for us in Windows 10. Both installer and portable versions of this registry cleaner are available. Registry backups are created automatically before removing any registry items, and an automatic maintenance mode does all the cleaning for you when your computer first starts, without any intervention on your part, which is really nice. Undoing changes to your registry are really easy because you can either restore to an automatically created backup or make your own registry backup whenever you like, and then restore the registry from the Undo changes section of the program. Argente Registry Cleaner works in Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista, and Windows XP. We tested v3.1 on Windows 10 and Windows 7. For starters, Little Registry Cleaner found a lot more problems in the registry than most other registry cleaners, so if one of the others in this list isn’t working well for you, try this one. This program also lets you choose which folder on your computer to use for automatic registry backups before cleaning, can ignore certain files and folders from being scanned, will create a restore point before deleting the registry files, and can scan your computer for invalid registry entries on a schedule. Little Registry Cleaner should work fine with any recent version of Windows, plus older ones like Windows XP. We tested version 1.6.0 in Windows 10 and didn’t run into any problems. Eusing Software says the program works on Windows 10, 8, 7, Vista, and XP. We tested v4.6 in Windows 10. Registry scan time with Free Window Registry Repair was longer that with some of the higher rated registry cleaners, but overall it looks like a decent tool. RegSofts Software’s website says it is compatible with Windows 10, 8, 7, Vista, XP, and 2000, NT, ME and 98. We successfully used Free Window Registry Repair to clean up the registry in both Windows 10 and Windows 7. We found nCleaner’s interface to be a little confusing, and we don’t like that it hasn’t been updated in years. However, we felt compelled to at least include it here after receiving so many suggestions to add it to the list. We tested the nCleaner v2.3.4 in Windows 10 and 8 and it seemed to work well, but it’s only listed as supporting up to Windows Vista. The Windows registry is backed up automatically before fixing any issues, and restoring is just a couple clicks away. There’s also a startup manager and system cleaner that comes bundled with ACleaner, but the registry cleaner isn’t difficult to find. ACleaner works with Windows 10 down through Windows 2000. We tested v5 in both Windows 10 and Windows 7 and didn’t find any problems. Secure Eraser’s registry cleaning function seemed to find most of the same errors and invalid entries as the other cleaners in this list. After cleaning the registry, a results page will display in your Internet browser. This can be annoying, but it’s easily toggled off from the settings. It works with Windows 11, 10, 8, 7, Vista, and XP. We tested version 5. Although the program looks outdated and simple, it backs up the registry before cleaning and seems to find about as many problems as the other registry cleaners in this list. PCSleek is said to work in Windows 7, Vista, and XP. We tested v3.46 in Windows 8 without any issues. When we tested Registry Distiller, it took 10 seconds to find 500+ errors, which is much better than some of the other registry cleaners in this list. It’s said to work in Windows Vista and XP. We tested Registry Distiller version 1.03 in Windows 8 and Windows 7 and didn’t have any issues. Only one option is available with Registry Fixer, which is to back up the registry before cleaning. This setting is enabled by default. Registry Fixer is said to work with Windows XP only, though we tested version 2.0 in Windows 8 without any problems. Using Registry Life, you can not only fix registry issues but also defrag the registry and even have quick access to an additional free tool to stop or delay programs from starting up with your computer. One thing we didn’t like while testing Registry Life is that there were occasional advertisements off to the side of the program. Registry Life should work with both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows 8 down through Windows XP. We were also able to make it work in Windows 10, but the startup optimizer didn’t always function as advertised. The program automatically creates registry backups before cleaning to ensure you can always return to a working state if anything goes wrong during the process. In addition to cleaning, Registry Recycler can also defrag the registry. You can use this free registry cleaner tool as a portable program or install it like normal software, depending on the version you pick on the download page. Registry Recycler works with Windows 10, 8, 7, Vista, and XP. We tested version 0.9.3.1 in Windows 8. The registry cleaner in this program has a regular and deep scanning option to ensure it gets as many errors and problems as it can. You can even open a particular path directly in the Windows Registry Editor to see exactly what you’re looking at. One thing we didn’t like about this program is that it’s a little confusing to know which registry items you’re going to remove and which will stay intact. TweakNow RegCleaner works with Windows 10, 8, 7, Vista, and XP. We tested v7.3.6 in Windows 8. While testing this program, it seemingly found many more problems than most of the other programs in this list. The registry is automatically backed up, so there’s no need to do it manually. One thing we disliked about this registry cleaner is that the interface is a little difficult to maneuver around in. This program should work in all versions of Windows. We tested v5.9 in Windows 8 without any issues. It’s great that Baidu PC Faster automatically backs up the registry before modifying it, but you, unfortunately, must scan and clean for Windows junk files at the same time you’re cleaning registry issues. You can find the registry cleaner portion of Baidu PC Faster in the Cleaner menu. We tested Baidu PC Faster in Windows 10, 8 and 7 without any issues. It should also work in Vista and XP. While testing this program, it found a good amount of errors, making it comparable to most of the other programs in this list. Also, the registry is automatically backed up before any cleaning is performed, which is a nice feature. Your Cleaner works with all versions of Windows. We tested v1.11 in Windows 10 and Windows 8. The register cleaner in this program runs quickly, categories the errors, and removes them in nearly an instant. It even seemed to find more registry issues than some of the other programs from this list. An option in the settings can be enabled to automatically create a restore point before you delete any registry problems, which is a good way to safeguard against possible computer issues from the deletion process. You can use Toolwiz Care without installing it by clicking the “Run without installing” button when you first open the setup file. Toolwiz Care works with Windows 10, 8, 7, Vista, and XP. We tested Toolwiz Care v4.0 in Windows 10 and Windows 8. This program found many more invalid registry entries than most of the programs in this list. With that being said, it’s really not the most user-friendly program out there. While testing this program, we found it has no automatic registry backup feature, which makes it a little dangerous to use unless you remember to make a backup yourself, which you can do from within the program. RegScrubVistaXP is said to work with Windows Vista and XP only, but we tested version 1.6 in Windows 10 and didn’t run across any problems.
