Bleachbit vs CCleaner – Comparison review

Specific free space is required for optimal work of any operating system on a PC. It is required to place some of the temporary files. If this space is insufficient, the software will try to minimize the requirements as much as possible, but the operating speed decreases significantly.

Depending on your settings, you may receive a notification message at this stage. No matter that all OS have more advantages than previous versions, they constantly receive updates that day by day decrease free space on your disc (usually, it is disc C, if you set by default the OS). Because of that, you need to check your disc memory and free it from time to time.

You can make the cleaning of your disc memory manually and automatically. However, manual cleaning requires a lot of time as you need to delete cache files, old drivers, unnecessary recovery information, remedies of the previous OS (if applicable), downloads, and other files. In some cases, you can move the files to other discs, but the automatic cleaning methods are more effective and can do all required actions only with one button push.

So, in this article, two cleaning programs will be compared: Bleachbit vs CCleaner.

Main Differences Between CCleaner and BleachBit

Even though Bleachbit and CCleaner have a lot of similar features, such as easy installation and operations, it ensures stable optimization of PC processes and cleaning of not required files on PC. But also, they have some differences as well. The main ones are listed below:

Operating system	Linux, Windows	Windows, MacOS, Android (separate home and business versions)
Additional installation packages	Blackberry, Mac OS X, Source code, an old version of Bleachbit, email services	Additional programs Kamo, Recuva, Speccy, CCleaner Cloud, Defragler
Main Purpose	Disc cleaner	Disc cleaner
Additional security for PC
Browser cash removal	Firefox, Opera, Safari, Google Chrome, APT	Microsoft Edge, Firefox, Google Chrome, Safari, Internet Explorer, Opera
File/ folder shredder
Administrative mode
Price	Free	Free / paid upgraded version
Language availability	65 languages	58 languages
Updates	Regular	Regular
Technical support	Forum / GitHub bug reports
Installation required
Portable versions (without installation)	For Windows only
Whitelist files
Timer for deletion
Mobile version
Customization possibility (open source)	Yes, via command line interface in XML-language
LINK

BleachBit Features

BleachBit was published in 2008 as the first privacy open space free space cleaner and was initially available for Linux users only. It is written in Python and allows to quickly entirely delete separate files or periodic disc cleaner to obtain additional free space. It is free for download on the official website, but the developers for future project development accept donations. No ads or spyware will be received after downloading the Bleachbit. The current latest version is Bleachbit 4.4.2.

The installation process is simple. The Bleachbit proposes installation for MS Windows 32-bit or 64-bit, for Linux according to their numerous distribution versions (Fedora, Debian, Ubuntu, etc.). Bleachbit will be downloaded in the Download folder on Disc C as a setup file; if you do not want to save the program for frequent use, you can run it without as well from the Browser (only for Windows). The setup file will propose you install the program. During installation, you need to choose the language from a choice of 65 ones, accept the public rights, select the components for installation (the required space on the disc will be shown), and choose the installation location. Bleachbit icon menu will be available in the Start menu list of programs (for Windows).

After installation, you will see the list of programs installed on your PC where Bleachbit can delete files and choose what you want. For example, for Chromium, the choice is – Cache, cookies, DOM Storage, Form history, history, passwords, search engines, sessions, sync, vacuum; for APT – auto clean, autoremove, clean, package lists. In the preview, you can see the exact name and operations going to be performed for each program and obtain free space at the end. After pushing the delete button and confirming that you are sure, the program will raise the files without the possibility of recovering. You can add some preferences: periodic check of program updates on the Internet and overwrite files to hide their content. Also, there is an option to shred any files/ folders from the proposed list from your hard drive, and no one will find them.

Another innovative Bleachbit feature is the deletion of any traces and links to already deleted files (wiping of free space). However, this feature can require a lot of time, depending on the spare capacity of your disc, as they overwrite the obtained free space with random information. Therefore, this feature is for additional security of your PC.

Some system files cannot be deleted if they have special administrative rights; to delete them, you need to run the program as an administrator (if you have these rights). The administrator rights are given from the pop-up window asking you to allow the application to make changes on your PC. To check the files under administrative rights, you can use the diagnostic form from Bleachbit (Open File).

CCleaner Features

The launch of CCleaner occurred in 2004, first for only Windows users to delete unnecessary files from your PC and receive free space. It is written in C++ language. CCleaner is available in two packages – for free with standard free space cleaning and standard confidentiality protection and CCleaner Professional with a lot of additional features not limited to driver updates, complex free space cleaner, tracking programs blocking, and priority technical support. The paid package is 40$. The currently available version is 6.02. The professional packages are available in separate versions for home and business.

CCleaner’s website proposes many additional programs for disc space optimization and software protection. Also, CCleaner has a free downloaded browser.

For home and business, there are four additional programs:

For business, there are free options of CCleaner download:

After installation, you will receive access according to your chosen package. The free version proposes to execute a CCleaner PC health check that provides recommendations for trackers removers; some apps are disabled to increase the PC speed, unnecessary removal, and program updates to increase security. The program allows customizing the deletion of files (for example, for Microsoft Edge, you can delete cache, history, cookies, download history, location, and recent types of URLs). You also can remove or fix all registers from your PC, complete secure uninstall programs, manage browser plugins, find duplicate files on all hard disks, and start the drive wiper process. In the tools tab, you can customize many other settings, but even default settings are enough for experienced users.

For sure, the paid version provides the user deeper analysis of PC problems and gives additional privacy and security for the complete cleaning process. It will alert you when you are close to running out of space.

BleachBit and CCleaner Pricing and Open Source

Considering the above-listed technical parameters that are almost equally good in comparison of BleachBit vs CCleaner, the essential difference between the two programs is their pricing concept and open-source option. Therefore, these two parameters, in the end, are decisive.

Pricing

So, the standard free version of CCleaner is similar to free Bleachbit. For the advanced professional version, you need to pay. A fair play anyway.

Open-source software means software with its code available to the public. Anyone can inspect, modify, and create a product based on this code. For example, Bleachbit’s one of the best features is open-source software, which means if you really care about security, you can check the cleaner for hidden codes for collecting private information and sending them to Third Parties. A similar open-source program is Linux. However, CCleaner is not an open-source program.

Face-to-face considerations

In this part, in addition to the main differences listed above, where the winner is obvious, summarized other differences of comparison BleachBit vs CCleaner with finding the winner of each one.

Availability of mobile and portable versions

verdict

There is no obvious winner in this comparison. For some users, it is vital to have a free version without installation for quick operation on the computer; for others, it is essential to optimize the work of the mobile device.

Threat monitoring

verdict

Bleachbit has basic disc space cleaning functions and as well a CCleaner free version. But the professional version (you can try the 14-day free trial period) includes, in addition to a complete health check of the PC, beneficial features of real-time monitoring, finding harmful and outdated versions of installed software (old software gives a high risk of threats), and checking installed trackers. So, CCleaner wins in this competition; moreover, all these features are executed automatically.

Start-up optimizer

verdict

CCleaner has the automatic feature of managing the start-up process with the best speed by disabling temporarily or constantly unnecessary programs. So, in this comparison, BleachBit vs CCleaner, the last one is definitely the leader.

File shredding

verdict

Bleachbit has a stronger function of file shredding to really hide and forget about information. If you do not prefer such drastic measures, do like manual control and possibly recovering the file, CCleaner is a better choice.

Privacy safety

verdict

CCleaner, even in the free version, deletes more files from Browser’s history than Bleachbit to ensure privacy safety. In addition, in the paid version, cookies and history will be deleted automatically. So, it is a winner.

Disk defragmentation

verdict

This optimization process is available only for the paid version of CCleaner (special app Defraggler). It assembles defragmenting files on your PC to increase the speed and also provides additional free space after better organization. Moreover, this process can be scheduled and customized. And here, CCleaner is again the winner, as Bleachbit does not have this feature.

Conclusion

It is impossible to state categorically who wins the comparison BleachBit vs CCleaner. If we check the free versions, they are close to each other. Some advantages for security protection can be put in the same line as the opportunity to check the code of Bleachbit and customize it. When comparing the paid version of CCleaner with free Bleachbit, it is definitely the winner with extra features, especially considering technical support and file recovery.