Alternatives to Core Temp

Small utility that reads per-core CPU temperature on Windows. The listings below can replace it for an important use case. Each note says what changes if you switch.

Replacements

Listings that take over the same core job as Core Temp.

  • HWMonitor

    A Windows hardware monitor that reads voltages, temperatures, fan speeds, power and clock sensors.

    FreemiumProprietaryWindows

    HWMonitor reads CPU, GPU, motherboard and drive sensors rather than only CPU temperatures, with a portable zip, though graphs and remote monitoring need the paid PRO version.

  • HWiNFO

    The deepest hardware report and sensor monitor on Windows, free for personal use.

    FreemiumProprietaryWindows

    HWiNFO adds full sensor monitoring with logging, alerts and an on-screen display plus deep hardware reports, but commercial use requires a paid Pro licence.

  • Libre Hardware Monitor

    Reads temperatures, fan speeds and voltages straight off the motherboard, and feeds them to other tools.

    FreeOpen sourceWindows

    Libre Hardware Monitor is open source under MPL-2.0 and reads CPU, GPU, drive and motherboard sensors, with no bundled installer offers, but needs administrator rights.

  • Open Hardware Monitor

    Open-source reader for temperature, fan and voltage sensors.

    FreeOpen sourceWindowsLinux

    Open Hardware Monitor is open source and runs on Windows and Linux, but development stopped years ago and newer chipsets are often not recognised.

  • Speccy

    Quick summary of a Windows PC's hardware and temperatures.

    FreemiumProprietaryWindows

    Speccy shows a one-page hardware summary with temperatures and shareable snapshots, has a free edition, but development has slowed considerably.

  • AIDA64 Extreme

    Detailed hardware identification, sensor monitoring and benchmarking for Windows.

    PaidProprietaryWindows

    AIDA64 Extreme is paid software combining sensor monitoring with detailed hardware inventory and benchmarking, a much larger tool than Core Temp's CPU-only readout.

  • lm-sensors

    Linux command-line utilities and a library for reading hardware temperature, voltage and fan sensors.

    FreeOpen sourceLinuxCommand line

    lm-sensors moves CPU and other temperature readings to the Linux command line, open source and packaged by major distributions, with no graphical interface.

Similar software

Related functionality, not a direct replacement.

  • ThrottleStop

    A small Windows utility that monitors and corrects Intel CPU throttling, especially on laptops.

    FreeProprietaryWindows

  • FanControl

    Controls CPU, GPU and case fans using custom curves from any temperature sensor.

    FreeProprietaryWindows

  • CPU-Z

    A tiny freeware window that tells you exactly which processor, board and memory are in a Windows PC.

    FreeProprietaryWindowsAndroid

  • Hard Disk Sentinel

    Drive health, temperature and lifetime monitoring for HDDs and SSDs.

    FreemiumProprietaryWindowsLinux

  • GPU-Z

    A tiny Windows utility that reports everything about your graphics card: clocks, memory type, bus width, sensors and BIOS.

    FreeProprietaryWindows

  • OCCT

    A PC stability, stress testing, benchmarking and hardware monitoring tool for Windows and Linux.

    FreemiumProprietaryWindowsLinux