Side by side
Hard Disk Sentinel 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 LinuxWindows
Visit Hard Disk Sentinel 
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
| Hard Disk Sentinel | HDD Health Monitor | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | Not published | Not published |
| Runs on | Linux, Windows | Windows |
| Lowest paid plan | Standard: $22, paid once | Free or on request |
| Plans published | 7 | 1 |
| Maker | Not published | Not published |
| Website | hdsentinel.com | hddmonitor.github.io |
| On disk health monitoring software | #11 of 28 | #13 of 28 |
Hard Disk Sentinel: what it does well
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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