We routinely test each of them and can confirm they really are free, and they really do offer driver downloads; they don’t just scan for potential updates like some “free” driver updaters. While there are others we could include in this list, we’ve omitted them because they either are too restrictive or include malware. “…makes updating drivers simple because it does all the heavy lifting for you.” Best for Offline Driver Installs: Snappy Driver Installer “…gives you immediate access to install the updates—with or without an internet connection.” Best for Info Beyond Just Drivers: DriversCloud “…locates detailed information about your hardware and software, including outdated drivers.” Best for Scheduled Driver Scans: Driver Easy “…differs from some free driver updaters in that it can check for outdated drivers automatically based on a schedule.” Use one, and you won’t need to deal with Device Manager so much to update drivers manually, nor will you need to find and download drivers from manufacturers’ websites. It runs automatically to find outdated drivers, and with support for over 6 million drivers (8 million if you pay) from over one thousand brands, there’s a good chance it’ll find what you need. When new updates appear, they’re downloaded from inside the program, so you can avoid having to get them manually from each manufacturer’s website. Before installing a driver, you can see how the new version compares with the currently installed driver, which is helpful. The program creates a restore point before installing a driver in the event something goes wrong with the installation. There’s also an offline updater built-in. From the Tools tab, choose the offline option to export the driver information, and then open that file on a computer that has a working internet connection. (Read Driver Booster’s offline driver updater instructions for all the details.) Other functions are available, too: roll back drivers, uninstall drivers, ignore drivers, export a list of drivers to a text file, use Game Boost to release system resources, and view system information details. Driver Booster works in Windows 11, Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista, and Windows XP. The app itself is fairly simple, but it’s still strangely hard to use because of the way it’s set up. Right-clicking a driver provides extra options like showing alternative drivers, copying the hardware ID, and locating the driver’s INF file. There’s a forum you can use if you’re struggling to learn how the program works. There are no advertisements, it doesn’t limit download speeds, it can run directly from a portable location like a flash drive, and it can install as many drivers as you need without any limitations. It’ll install drivers in Windows 11, Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista, and Windows XP. This application not only updates outdated and missing drivers but also fixes corrupted ones and backs up all your installed drivers. A Peripheral Drivers area of the program calls out printer and USB drivers, telling you very clearly if they’re installed and working normally. The size of a driver as well as its release date and version number are displayed for you before you download it to verify you’re getting what you’re after. An alternative version includes network drivers and works offline, which is perfect if you need to install drivers but don’t have the proper network driver installed. There’s also a basic hardware information utility that you can access from the program’s Tools menu. It works with Windows 11, Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista, and Windows XP. After installing and opening the program, go to Advanced detection > Online detection > Launch detection to identify all your computer’s components and their associated drivers. Once the scan completes, all the results open in your web browser. Choosing Detect all my drivers from the menu, and then See my latest drivers on that page takes you where you need to be. Once you reach the driver page, there’s an option called See Recommended Downloads. This is what we recommend using because it provides a single executable that you can launch to install all the drivers you chose from the web page. However, there’s also a manual option where you download each driver update one at a time, but then installation is also manual. This program runs on Windows. It scans for drivers even if you don’t have an internet connection, which is helpful if your network card driver isn’t working. When an offline scan completes, the list of drivers is saved to a file that you can open on a working computer to get the drivers you need. The official system requirements list Windows 7, Vista, XP, and some Windows Server versions—it should work in newer versions of Windows, too. There’s also a portable edition available through the link below. Unlike DriverIdentifier, this program downloads drivers from inside the program without opening an external web browser. It boasts a database of over 8 million drivers. There are additional features, too, like viewing hardware information and identifying the network driver you need if you’re offline. Other features, however, might look free but are actually available only if you pay, such as automatic restore point creations, driver backups, and bulk updating. Driver Easy should work fine in Windows 11, Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista, and Windows XP. The program itself has a clean interface with only a few menu buttons. In the settings are options for changing the download folder and disabling program update checks. You can keep things simple and install whatever the program recommends, or you can expand anything in the list to see version numbers, and to install alternate drivers (i.e., a newer driver but not the current version). The Useful utilities section isn’t driver-related but does include some helpful links to Windows utilities, like Disk Management and Task Manager. Some of the other areas of the program, like the backup and autorun functions, are off-limits unless you pay. DriverHub is said to work with Windows 11, Windows 10, Windows 8, and Windows 7. Something you get with this program that not all the competition supports, is the ability to ignore drivers. If you keep seeing an update you don’t want to apply, adding it to the ignore list is simple and will stop it from showing up as an update in the future. The system requirements are that you’re running Windows 10, Windows 8, or Windows 7. In addition to updating old drivers, this program can back up some or all of the currently installed drivers, restore backed up drivers, roll back drivers, identify unknown hardware, create a system restore point before driver installations, build an offline scan file for PCs without a network connection, and run automatic scans on a schedule. After updates are found, you’ll get a notification at the bottom of the screen, where you can snooze it for a day if you’d rather look into the updates later. Once you do decide to install the updates, you’re limited to getting one at a time (two total per day), though it does install silently and automatically. DriverMax discovered a significantly higher number of outdated drivers than every other program from this list did. We checked the version numbers against the currently installed drivers, and they all seemed to be valid updates. Paying users get extra benefits like unlimited downloads, hourly driver checks, download priority, and automated driver downloads. This program runs on Windows 11, Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista, and Windows XP. However, it’s very easy to understand how to use it, it works quickly, drivers are downloaded and installed within the program, and it’s a great way to have a second opinion if you think one of the other apps in this list didn’t catch an update or two. Some things you can do is search through the list of installed and outdated drivers to find something by keyword, add drivers to the ignore list, and automatically check for updates on a schedule (as frequently as every day). We tested this program in Windows 11. It was designed for Windows 10, Windows 8, and Windows 7. For example, Intel Driver & Support Assistant can be used to update most of your Intel hardware drivers. Updating NVIDIA drivers is easy with GeForce Experience because it can automatically notify you of new drivers and provide you with the update.
