Side by side

AppControl vs CPU-X

Both stand on system information software. Which one you can start free with, which one lets you read the code, and what each costs once you pay.

AppControl

Free plan Windows

AppControl provides historical activity records, alerts, and controls for Windows app behavior. It requires administrator privileges, and its maker says it does not replace dedicated security tools.

Visit AppControl

Choose CPU-X if you need a free, open source system information tool for GNU/Linux or FreeBSD and value its multiple interfaces. Look elsewhere if you need an actively maintained project or reliable detection of newer CPU generations.

Visit CPU-X

The facts

	AppControl	CPU-X
Free plan	Yes	Yes
Open source	Not published	Not published
Runs on	Windows	Linux, Self-hosted
Lowest paid plan	Free or on request	Free or on request
Plans published	1	1
Maker	Not published	Not published
Website	appcontrol.com	github.com
On system information software	#4 of 34	#8 of 34

AppControl: what it does well

Keeps approximately 72 hours of activity history.
Shows resource use and app events over time.
Can alert on device access and unsigned apps.
Offers app, publisher, and custom-rule controls.
Activity history is stored locally.

What to know first

Requires administrator privileges to install.
Supports Windows only.
It is not an antivirus product.

CPU-X: what it does well

Shows processor, motherboard, memory, system, graphics, and performance information.
Offers GTK, NCurses, and command-line interfaces.
Supports GNU/Linux and FreeBSD on x86 and ARM.
Free and open source under GPL-3.0.
Has package, AppImage, and Flathub distribution options.

What to know first

The project is archived and does not accept new issues.
The maintainer reported newer CPU generations were not properly detected.
The daemon requires root privileges for access to special devices.

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