Fan Control vs Sandra
Side-by-side comparison of features, pricing, ratings, and alternatives.
Fan Control is a Windows utility by developer Remi Mercier (Rem0o) that gives PC builders granular control over CPU, GPU, case, and AIO pump fans. Instead of relying on motherboard BIOS curves, it reads temperatures from multiple hardware sources at once and lets you graph custom fan-speed responses per component. It uses the open-source LibreHardwareMonitor library for sensor data and supports a plugin system for extra hardware support (including some Dell laptops and HWiNFO integration). The app itself is closed-source but completely free, distributed via GitHub releases and package managers like Winget, Scoop, and Chocolatey.
Sandra (System ANalyser, Diagnostic and Rport Assistant) is a powerful utility designed to gather, analyze, and diagnose hardware and software information on Windows computers. It provides detailed diagnostic reports and benchmarking capabilities to help users evaluate system performance, monitor hardware health, and optimize their configurations. Widely used by IT professionals, hardware enthusiasts, and system builders, the software bridges the gap between low-level hardware data and actionable insights. With modular components for CPU, memory, storage, and network analysis, Sandra remains a staple tool for troubleshooting and performance tuning.
- Completely free with no ads, license keys, or nag screens
- Very low resource footprint compared to full vendor RGB/control suites
- Extremely granular curve and multi-sensor mixing control
- Active development with a real plugin ecosystem
- Extensive and detailed hardware reporting
- Includes robust benchmarking suites
- Active support for modern hardware architectures
- Modular design allows targeted diagnostics
- Windows only, no macOS or Linux build
- UI and curve editor have a learning curve for first-time users
- Relies on motherboard fan headers being software-controllable, which varies by hardware
- User interface feels dated and complex
- Free version has limitations on advanced features
- Can overwhelm casual users with technical data
