Yes. Kudu’s desktop maintenance tools are free and open source under the MIT license, with no ads and no account required. Kudu Cloud is an optional paid service for remote monitoring and alerts. Performance diagnostic recordings and AI analysis require Cloud Pro; live performance monitoring stays free.

What platforms does Kudu support?

Kudu runs on Windows 10/11, macOS 12+, and major Linux distributions including Ubuntu, Fedora, and Arch. Some Windows-specific features like Registry Cleaner and Debloater are only available on Windows.

Kudu is open source, so you can inspect its code on GitHub. Review scan results before cleaning and use exclusions to protect folders. Recovery Centre can restore supported settings, but deleted cleanup files are not backed up. Cloud sharing is opt-in.

Kudu Cloud is an optional companion to the desktop app. Link your PCs to see their health from anywhere, get alerted when protection is switched off, a drive starts failing, or your email shows up in a breach, and run cleanups or updates remotely. It scales to teams with groups, roles, compliance, and automation. $5 per device per month, cancel anytime.

How is Kudu different from CCleaner?

Kudu includes more tools (25+), is free and open source, supports Linux, has no ads or bundled software, includes a malware scanner and privacy hardening, offers a full CLI for scripting, and provides optional cloud monitoring.

v3.12.0 / release notes

Keep your computer clean, private, and up to date.

Name: Kudu
Author: Kudu

Kudu is a free, open-source maintenance app for Windows, macOS, and Linux. It shows you every file before it deletes it, every setting before it changes it, and lets you undo the ones it can. No ads, no bundled software, no account.

Download View source

5.2M downloads · 4.1K stars on GitHub · MIT licensed · 30 languages

Kudu home screen asking what would make your PC feel better, with shortcuts for more space, speed, and peace of mind — Kudu home screen, Windows 11, dark theme.All 25+ tools

Cleaner coverage

Knows where 168 apps and 15 browsers keep their caches.

Logs, crash dumps, and shader caches from browsers, game launchers, and dev tools, including AI apps like Claude and Cursor. Every rule is a plain JSON file you can read or improve on GitHub.

Browsers: Google Chrome; Microsoft Edge; Firefox; Brave; Arc; Safari; Opera GX; Vivaldi; Zen Browser
AI tools: Claude; Cursor; ChatGPT; Codex; GitHub Copilot; Windsurf
Gaming & GPU: Steam; NVIDIA Shader Cache; Epic Games; Battle.net; Minecraft; Riot Games; Xbox App; Roblox
Developer caches: VS Code; Docker; JetBrains IDEs; Homebrew; Cargo / Rust; Gradle
Everyday apps: Discord; Spotify; Slack; Microsoft Teams; Zoom; Adobe Creative Cloud; WhatsApp

See all 168 cleaners

Up close

Six of the tools, up close.

Manual cleanups show what they found before anything is removed. Scheduled tasks run only under the conditions you set.

System Cleaner

Clear caches, logs, crash dumps, and leftovers from 168 apps and 15 browsers. Preview every item, protect folders with exclusions, and get a receipt of exactly what was removed.

Performance Monitor

Real-time CPU, memory, disk, and network monitoring with per-process resource tracking and S.M.A.R.T. disk health analysis.

Security Hardening

Review 57 Windows and 33 macOS privacy settings, from advertising IDs to Copilot, Recall, and Apple Intelligence. Every change is reversible. A multi-engine malware scanner checks YARA rules, heuristics, and persistence points.

Software Updater

Find outdated apps and update them in bulk through winget, Homebrew, apt, dnf, or pacman. On Windows, Kudu also keeps drivers current and lets you hide updates you don't want.

Game Mode

One-click Windows gaming optimizer. Apply up to 18 performance tweaks instantly — free system resources, close background apps, and reduce network latency. Fully reversed when you're done.

Scheduler

Schedule cleanup and update tasks with conditions for when they may run. Configure your routine once and your system stays maintained without you thinking about it.

What’s in the app

25+ tools, grouped by the job you’re trying to do.

Most run on all three platforms. A few are Windows-only because the thing they fix only exists there.

Clean up

Details

Reclaim gigabytes without breaking anything.

System CleanerWin Mac LinuxPreview, exclude, then clean with a receipt
Privacy TracesnewWin Mac LinuxShell history and OS activity traces
Program UninstallerWin Mac LinuxRemoves leftovers, protects shared parts
Network CleanupWin Mac LinuxDNS cache and stale Wi-Fi profiles
Registry CleanerWindowsBacked up first, restorable later
DebloaterWindows112 known OEM and AppX packages
Context Menu CleanerWindowsTidy right-click clutter

Protect

Details

Lock down privacy in one pass.

Privacy ShieldWin Mac Linux57 Windows and 33 macOS settings, reversible
Malware ScannerWin Mac LinuxYARA, heuristics, persistence checks
Firewall AuditWindowsFind broad, orphaned, unsigned rules
Breach & threat alertsCloudWith Kudu Cloud

Speed up

Details

Find what is slowing you down.

Performance MonitorWin Mac LinuxLive CPU, RAM, disk, network, S.M.A.R.T.
Startup ManagerWin Mac LinuxImpact-ranked boot items
Services ManagerWin Mac LinuxSafety guidance for ~70 services
Game ModeWindows18 tweaks, all restored when you stop
AI DiagnosticsCloudRecord a slowdown, get an analysis

Stay current

Details

Update everything from one list.

Software UpdaterWin Mac Linuxwinget, Homebrew, apt, dnf, pacman
Driver UpdatesWindowsUpdate, ignore, and clean old packages
Windows RepairWindowsSFC, DISM, and WinRE checks

Storage

Details

See exactly where space went.

Disk AnalyzerWin Mac LinuxInteractive treemap and file types
Duplicate FinderWin Mac LinuxAlways keeps one copy
Large Files & Empty FoldersWin Mac LinuxHunt down the heavy stuff
File ShredderWin Mac LinuxOverwrite before delete
Storage HistoryWin Mac LinuxSnapshots that show growth over time

Automate & recover

Details

Set it once. Undo when you need to.

SchedulerWin Mac LinuxIdle, on AC power, in a window, or not while gaming
Recovery CentreWindowsRestore supported settings and registry backups
Cleanup ReceiptsWin Mac LinuxWhat was removed, skipped, or failed
Command lineWin Mac LinuxJSON output, exit codes, Prometheus metrics

New in 3.0

See what changed, and change it back.

Every cleanup now leaves a receipt, storage snapshots show where space went over time, and the Recovery Centre keeps a record of the settings Kudu touched.

Know what happened

Cleanup Receipts

See what was selected, removed, skipped, or failed after a cleanup, with a clear record of the result.

See where space goes

Storage History

Track folder growth over time, compare snapshots, and catch storage changes before your drive fills up.

Changes you can review

Recovery Centre

Find supported recovery records in one place, inspect what changed, and restore eligible settings when you need to.

Kudu Cloud Pro

Performance Diagnostics

Record a slow moment, inspect the timeline, and request an AI analysis to help investigate what happened.

Kudu 3.0 screenshots · Dark theme · Illustrative sample data

Explore all desktop features →

Privacy

Scans run on your machine. Nothing is uploaded unless you link Cloud.

Runs on your machine: Scans and cleanups happen locally. Nothing leaves your computer unless you choose to link Kudu Cloud.
Open source, MIT licensed: Every line is public on GitHub. Cleaner rules are readable JSON, not a black box.
Scanned before it ships: Each release links its VirusTotal results in the release notes, so you can check before you install.
Review first, undo later: Preview every cleanup, keep exclusions, and restore supported settings from the Recovery Centre.

There’s a CLI

Script it with --json, schedule it with cron, or scrape it with Prometheus. Illustrative output.

~ $ kudu --cli

$winget install AdventDevelopmentInc.Kudu

Kudu Cloud — optional, $5/device/month

Get an email when a PC you look after needs attention.

For your own machines or your parents’. Cloud keeps checking while Kudu runs in the background, and you can run a cleanup or update from the browser.

Know the moment something’s wrong: Antivirus off, firewall down, a failing drive, or a full disk. You get an email.
Spot breaches and risky apps: Breach checks for your email, plus vulnerable-app and threat alerts on Pro.
Fix it from anywhere: Clean up, update apps, or run a scan on any linked PC from your browser.
Look after family PCs: Set up your parents’ computer once, then keep an eye on it from home.

Explore Kudu Cloud See pricing

Firewall was turned off

Mum’s laptop · Windows 11

Disk almost full · 4 GB left

Work laptop · C:

Antivirus signatures are out of date

Dad’s desktop · Defender

Connection to a known botnet serverPro

Gaming PC · threat monitoring

Example alerts · sample devices

Press

What reviewers said

Excerpts from independent reviews. Follow the links for the full text.

“Kudu is a modern take on system maintenance. The program goes very in-depth when it comes to cleanup and system maintenance tasks, as evidenced by its well-rounded toolset. Despite the many options at your disposal, Kudu is not at all confusing to work with, making it a viable choice even for a less knowledgeable user.”

Softpedia, full review

“Kudu will help boost your system's performance and enhance security, reclaim valuable disk space by pinpointing and eliminating unnecessary files.”

MajorGeeks, full review

“After testing Kudu across two Windows 11 machines over several days, we found it to be one of the most trustworthy free maintenance tools available in 2026.”

Techno360, full review

“Kudu makes a very strong impression. The interface is clean, the tools are numerous and well thought out, the privacy policy is transparent, and the business model is sound. On paper, it's exactly what many users have been looking for as an alternative to CCleaner.”

JustGeek, full review

Who helps fund Kudu

Kudu is free and open source. Our sponsors help keep development moving and the desktop app free for everyone.

Stress-test your apps and APIs with distributed load testing from anywhere in the world.

Visit site

Become a sponsor

Support Kudu’s open-source development and reach a growing audience of power users and IT teams.

See sponsorship tiers

Compare features	Kudu	CCleaner	Avast Cleanup
Pricing & Licensing
Price	Free	$29.95/yr	$39.99/yr
Open source
No ads or bundled software
Platform Support
Windows
macOS
Linux
Features
System cleaner
Browser cleaner
Registry cleaner
Malware scanner
Startup manager
Debloater
Driver manager
Privacy shield
Game mode (gaming optimizer)
Task scheduler
CLI mode
Remote monitoring & alerts	Optional

Pricing & Licensing
Price	Free
Open source
No ads or bundled software
Platform Support
Windows
macOS
Linux
Features
System cleaner
Browser cleaner
Registry cleaner
Malware scanner
Startup manager
Debloater
Driver manager
Privacy shield
Game mode (gaming optimizer)
Task scheduler
CLI mode
Remote monitoring & alerts	Optional

Pricing & Licensing
Price	$29.95/yr
Open source
No ads or bundled software
Platform Support
Windows
macOS
Linux
Features
System cleaner
Browser cleaner
Registry cleaner
Malware scanner
Startup manager
Debloater
Driver manager
Privacy shield
Game mode (gaming optimizer)
Task scheduler
CLI mode
Remote monitoring & alerts

Pricing & Licensing
Price	$39.99/yr
Open source
No ads or bundled software
Platform Support
Windows
macOS
Linux
Features
System cleaner
Browser cleaner
Registry cleaner
Malware scanner
Startup manager
Debloater
Driver manager
Privacy shield
Game mode (gaming optimizer)
Task scheduler
CLI mode
Remote monitoring & alerts

Questions

Try it on your own machine.

Free for Windows, macOS, and Linux. No account, no ads.

Download for free View on GitHub