The battle between System Mechanic® and CCleaner has been going on for a while, as they stack up as two of the best tuneup utilities a person can buy today. While there are always going to be fans of either option, it seems to be a battle that many are siding with us on.
We have always tried to make sure that what we provide is a little bit unique compared to the competition. While others will stick with what works for them and evolve when they think it is necessary, we are always pushing boundaries and hoping to provide a little bit more assistance for our customers.
This is a direct comparison between CCleaner and System Mechanic. We try to eliminate as much bias as possible, only looking at truths instead of opinions. There are other reasons to pick what we offer over the competition, but that is left for users to decide on their own.
Pricing
The first thing people pay attention to whenever they purchase software is pricing. No one wants to feel ripped off, and there are a lot of options out there to do very little but charge a decent amount of money. The truth of the matter is, CCleaner and System Mechanic are both worthy of the money, but which one provides the best overall deal?
The best way for people to figure that out is to try free options available from both companies. It is going to be a bit limited as far as effectiveness is concerned, but it beats having to play the guessing game. Pricing for both is pretty affordable, even when buying the premium version, but our pricing structure is meant to cover just about any type of user we can think of. We offer the standard System Mechanic, System Mechanic Pro, and System Mechanic Ultimate Defense. The majority of people end up going with System Mechanic Ultimate Defense, as it is our full-featured option that provides the best overall value. Not only does the person get online privacy protection, full password management, and help with removing malware, but there are other tools for specific problems included as well.
Pricing for System Mechanic Ultimate Defense might be a little high compared to some, but all the features must be included to do a direct comparison. Instead of possibly having to purchase multiple options to help with everything, a full suite from the beginning makes the most sense.
Functionality and Day-to-Day Use
Using any type of software can be pretty overwhelming for the vast majority of people. Not everyone is familiar with how to use a computer and notice all the benefits from the beginning. A lot of utilities in this field focus on making everything operate efficiently without having a lot of previous knowledge, but CCleaner and System Mechanic are near the top.
From the initial launch to any and all tools available through System Mechanic, we can hold a person’s hand through the entire process. Questions receive answers along the way if a person needs help, and we have made sure that our menus are very snappy and modern. There is no worse feeling in the world than using new software and feeling like there is a chance that some fatal mistake was made. We spent a long time making software that feels comfortable even for novices.
From CCleaner’s perspective, it is fairly clear to see that they have not done many upgrades to their look. It is the same type of look CCleaner has had for several years, and that can frustrate some people. This is mainly because they do not provide the same level of information for people who might not be familiar with computers at all. It might not seem like that big of a deal, but people surprisingly rely on design quite a bit to function properly.
There really is not that much of a difference between the two, but the little things make System Mechanic a bit more of a finished product in this regard. Not everyone is going to care about some of these smaller details, but enough people feel the impact and realize that it is worth the price.
Safety
Having safety features in a suite of utilities is crucial for people to have trust and believe in what is provided. At iolo Technologies, we are always doing whatever we can to make sure the people feel safe every single time they use what we provide. It is our way of showing that there is no need to feel worried about what could potentially be compromising.
What does being safe entail? For starters, we want to make sure that what we provide is the safest alternative to cleaning up several aspects of the computer. People who mess around with the wrong tools or try to do things themselves could put themselves in a lot of trouble overall. All it takes is a mistake or two to compromise a computer, and safety can also be negatively affected. All of a sudden, a computer is in much worse shape than before when assistance mattered.
Tools provided by System Mechanic are much more geared towards overall safety while connected online. A person’s information is safe, passwords stay protected, and the ability to freely use different programs online without fear is outstanding. No one has to worry with an extra layer of protection that makes all the sense in the world.
Safety is also a concern away from the utility, as most people are aware by now of the controversy that CCleaner went through as part of Avast. There was personal information compromised through the company a few years ago, and that led to a lot of people questioning whether or not they could remain as a trusted option in the industry. It is a bit unfortunate for a company to have to go through that, as data breaches can happen just about anywhere. It forced Avast to clean up their act and keep important information secure, and they still work hard to this day to overcome that negative hit to their reputation.
CCleaner also battles with privacy and other features included with a cleanup tool. Although the initial focus is not entirely on keeping things secure, there are enough people who want to make sure that they are navigating the internet correctly and not putting themselves at risk. Other alternatives provide proper protection, but CCleaner is just slightly lagging behind.
The services we provide at iolo are a bit better at keeping every single person safe online. Whether it is helping with password management, deleting potentially harmful cookies, and helping people have a better understanding of the computer overall, it is all that matters in the end.
Ultimate Results
There are many different ways to measure results, and it is one of the more challenging things about pitting System Mechanic against CCleaner and other options out there in general. The consensus is that System Mechanic does a little bit more than the competition, but knowing exactly why might be a little bit more of a challenge.
The first thing might be the most important of them all, and that is how the computer feels after going through everything that System Mechanic provides. It is not so much about measuring certain statistics as it is seeing
real-time results. Being able to switch from different programs quicker, browse the internet faster, and start up as fast as in the past all help to sell the utility itself.
The raw numbers are also in the favor of System Mechanic. There have been a lot of different tests done to compare different options out there, and the deep system scan alone is well worth the price.
Perhaps the best and most effective method with System Mechanic is that there are just so many tools to try out until something makes a significant difference. Some might think of this as a little tedious, but that is not the case at all. People can notice real-time performance boosts in a short amount of time, and they stick around.
If everything was itemized as part of the suite of tools with System Mechanic, it could become rather expensive. There are some functions that people will not touch at all, because they do not have any need. However, those tools that you need used make a lot of sense, and having them available can make a difference.
Licensing
Some shoppers might be buying software for the first time in their life. Others are well-versed in what a difference licensing makes. Software that has unlimited licenses can have a lot more flexibility than those tied directly to a single computer. That is the biggest difference between System Mechanic and CCleaner, and one the challenges of doing pricing comparisons.
On paper, it seems like the paid versions of CCleaner are the more affordable options. System Mechanic is on a bit of the higher side, but there are several reasons for that. Not only do we provide quite a bit of assistance from all angles in the utility suite, but offering unlimited licensing makes the price go up as well.
We believe pricing our utility as a bit more upfront makes sense. No one wants to deal with feeling scammed out of a little bit of money here and there. Even if it is not technically a scam, having to pay a little bit as time goes on can be frustrating. Get a new computer for the home, and it is time to purchase a brand new license. That is not the case with System Mechanic, and it makes it seem like a more worthy investment overall.
Resources and Customer Support
Whether it is us or CCleaner, we both focus on making the user experience as streamlined as possible. With that being said, there are inevitably some issues popping up here and there.
We have resources online that help people understand how to use System Mechanic and get the most out of it. At times, people will discover that they have tools at their fingertips that they did not imagine before. This is always a nice thing to see if something new goes wrong, and a person feels like they need to get assistance. Instead of having to go through the purchasing process again, they later found out that they have exactly what they need already.
Customer support is something that we take very seriously at iolo.com. Whether a person has a question about System Mechanic, or any other of our offerings for that matter, they can get the information and help they need in a very quick manner. We offer several different solutions to get questions answered, and we try to always find the best solution possible.
CCleaner offers a lot of the same ways to assist as well. It is up to people to make their own decisions on what company offers better customer service. Third-party reviews give us the edge, but there is always a chance of coming across differing opinions.
Our goal has been to build out a better and better help center as time goes on. So many people can get a lot of answers without ever having to contact us, simply by using the internet and searching for specific keywords. We are continually making sure that accurate, efficient information is listed to answer these questions and make sure people can get what they need done as quickly as possible.
Providing Choices
Everyone likes choices, and that is exactly what they get with System Mechanic or CCleaner. We want to make sure that those who want to try out a cleaning tool for the first time can do so without investing. Standing by a product and offering a free download is one of the best ways to market a system overall.
By using a free version, most are going to have a pretty good idea on which option works best for them when actually spending money. Looking at how a utility functions, how effective it is with simple tools, and more will sell a lot of people.
Is there anything CCleaner does better than System Mechanic?
There are a lot of reasons why people pick System Mechanic over CCleaner, but that is not to say that what CCleaner offers is subpar. In fact, there are reasons why people will pick the competition over us, and it generally comes down to two different reasons.
Operating system support
System Mechanic is designed for Windows computers only. CCleaner has a version that works for Mac and Android. Although problems on these operating systems are not as persistent, they are still sometimes popping up and causing people to need a utility like this.
Each version is a little bit different, and CCleaner is one of the few to offer different solutions out there. Purchasing System Mechanic for a computer that does not run Windows is simply not going to work. It seems like Mac computers especially are seemingly invincible, but there is more and more of a need to help with keeping everything under control. People wish to be as in control as possible with everything that they have, and that is why System Mechanic for Mac makes sense for some.
Scheduled scans
The automation process of setting up scheduled scans is something that many people love. CCleaner offers this, while System Mechanic makes people a little more hands-on to run everything.
There are pros and cons to having automation set up, and a lot of it comes down to personal preference. Being able to dictate the scan does allow people to pick and choose when their computer might be going through the process. If someone is in the middle of using their computer and doing something important, they might not want to necessarily have a scheduled scan start right away.
Basic feature pricing
The pricing for basic features with CCleaner compared to System Mechanic is better overall. Not everyone is going to benefit from simply the smaller features, but it is an option worth considering if there are only minor problems. Of course, it is so limiting to some people that they would never consider the move in the first place.
System Mechanic is a utility that should be viewed as something that can help for a long time, rather than the simplest of fixes. It is a way to prevent issues from getting out of hand, and also being proactive about anything that might pop up. CCleaner is more of a reactionary tool that will mostly get the job done, but might not handle long-term fixes as well.
A Final Look
There are in fact reasons that people will pick CCleaner as their tool of choice. Maybe they have heard good reviews from other people, or they had a positive experience overall with what they bring to the table.
However, the vast majority of people are going to have a better overall time using System Mechanic. It helps out a wider range of people, it is easier to use for people who have limited technical knowledge, and the pricing ends up being better in the end. There are so many people out there who have felt like they needed something to spark their computer and make it function the way it should again. With options galore, it seems like CCleaner is solidifying the case as the best of the best.
