Side by side
DiskMaster vs HDD Health Monitor
Both stand on disk health monitoring software. Which one you can start free with, which one lets you read the code, and what each costs once you pay.
Free plan LinuxMacWindows
DiskMaster offers drive-health readings, history, alerts and optional recovery or repair tools at no cost. It is oriented toward deep monitoring of an individual machine rather than remote monitoring.
Visit DiskMaster
Free plan Windows
HDD Health Monitor brings drive health indicators, alerts, and retained history into a standalone Windows utility. Its ability to read S.M.A.R.T. data depends on drive and controller support, and it requires administrator privileges.
Visit HDD Health MonitorThe facts
| DiskMaster | HDD Health Monitor | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | Not published | Not published |
| Runs on | Linux, Mac, Windows | Windows |
| Lowest paid plan | Free or on request | Free or on request |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Maker | Not published | Not published |
| Website | github.com | hddmonitor.github.io |
| On disk health monitoring software | #4 of 30 | #14 of 30 |
DiskMaster: what it does well
- Available for Windows, Linux and macOS.
- Scores health with attribute-linked deductions.
- Stores readings and charts them over time.
- Exports text, HTML, JSON and CSV reports.
- Offers alerts through several services and channels.
What to know first
- Remote monitoring is not supported.
- Raw SMART access requires administrator or sudo privileges.
- NVMe logs and macOS use optional smartmontools.
- Windows builds are unsigned.
HDD Health Monitor: what it does well
- Monitors multiple physical drives automatically.
- Records selected health data every five seconds while running.
- Provides several drive-health and failure alerts.
- Runs without an installer or dependencies.
- Free, MIT-licensed, and requires no registration.
What to know first
- Administrator privileges are needed to read S.M.A.R.T. data.
- USB bridge support can prevent S.M.A.R.T. access.
- S.M.A.R.T. data usually cannot be read from unofficial flash drives, memory cards, or eMMC products.
- Some Windows antivirus products may incorrectly flag it as malware.
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