Side by side
HDD Health Monitor vs Stellar Drive 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 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 Monitor
Free plan MacWindows
Choose Stellar Drive Monitor if you want local drive health checks, SMART reports, bad-sector scans, or drive cloning on Windows or macOS. Look elsewhere if remote monitoring is a requirement or you need USB pen-drive model and SMART details.
Visit Stellar Drive MonitorThe facts
| HDD Health Monitor | Stellar Drive Monitor | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | Not published | Not published |
| Runs on | Windows | Mac, Windows |
| Lowest paid plan | Free or on request | Standard: $19.99, paid once |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Maker | Not published | Not published |
| Website | hddmonitor.github.io | stellarinfo.com |
| On disk health monitoring software | #13 of 28 | #20 of 28 |
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.
Stellar Drive Monitor: what it does well
- Reports real-time drive temperature, performance, and health.
- Saves SMART attributes in reports for later comparison.
- Scans disks for bad sectors and shows a block table.
- Cloning copies drive data to a target drive.
- Free download checks disk status, SMART status, partitions, and disks.
What to know first
- Remote monitoring is unavailable.
- USB pen drives lack SMART status, model, and serial number details.
- The Standard plan covers one system.
Alternatives to HDD Health Monitor Alternatives to Stellar Drive Monitor The whole list