Side by side

Intel VTune Profiler vs NVIDIA ShadowPlay

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

Intel VTune Profiler

Free plan LinuxSelf-hostedWindows

VTune Profiler brings code hotspots, hardware analysis, and memory investigation into a free profiling tool. Its broad language and processor coverage is useful, but some analyses need elevated privileges and the AI Assistant has stated limitations.

Visit Intel VTune Profiler

NVIDIA ShadowPlay

Free plan Windows

ShadowPlay brings recording, gameplay metrics and graphics controls into a Windows overlay. Its hardware and driver requirements rule it out for systems outside the listed specifications.

Visit NVIDIA ShadowPlay

The facts

	Intel VTune Profiler	NVIDIA ShadowPlay
Free plan	Yes	Yes
Open source	Not published	Not published
Runs on	Linux, Self-hosted, Windows	Windows
Lowest paid plan	Free or on request	Free or on request
Plans published	2	1
Maker	Not published	NVIDIA ShadowPlay
Website	intel.com	nvidia.com
On graphics optimisers	#2 of 35	#6 of 35

Intel VTune Profiler: what it does well

Analyzes CPU, GPU, and NPU performance.
Flame Graphs visualize hot code paths.
Supports a broad set of programming languages.
Available free as a standalone tool or in oneAPI.
Integrates with Visual Studio and Eclipse.

What to know first

Some analyses require administrator or root privileges.
The AI Assistant is Linux-only and may give inaccurate suggestions.
Platform Profiler receives no further feature or security fixes.

NVIDIA ShadowPlay: what it does well

Free app with optional login.
Manual recording supports up to 8K HDR at 30 fps.
Automatic Highlights captures key moments.
Overlay displays performance and system latency metrics.

What to know first

Requires Windows 10 or 11.
Requires a GeForce RTX 20, 30, 40 or 50 Series GPU.
Requires driver 551.52 or later.

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