IObit makes many utilities, and Driver Booster PRO, which automatically updates your drivers, is one of its best. Driver Booster PRO's simple core functionality is made even more attractive thanks to the inclusion of multiple licenses at a very wallet-friendly price, as well as a customizable interface that does a good job of displaying specific hardware-related information. Competitors Ashampoo Driver Updater and SlimWare Utilities DriverUpdate offer compelling features, but IObit Driver Booster PRO leads the pack.

Cost and Compatibility

IObit offers two versions of Driver Booster: Free and PRO. Both let you download the newest drivers and offer one-click updates, but paying for the $22.95 PRO tier (reviewed here) gets you many other features. PRO-only abilities include automatic driver downloads and installation during a PC's idle time (which is good for those who rarely power down their computers) and the ability to prioritize video game-related developer environments and APIs (such as Microsoft Visual C++ and OpenAL, respectively).

Of the driver updaters I've tested, IObit Driver Booster PRO shows the largest gulf between its free and paid versions. For example, the main difference between SlimWare Utilities SlimDrivers (the free version) and SlimWare Utilities DriverUpdate (the paid software) is that the latter lets you download and update all your drivers at once. IObit Driver Booster PRO also comes with a three-PC license, which is a plus for folks who live in multi-PC households. Note that Ashampoo's paid utility includes a three-PC license for $39.99, as compared with IObit's three for just $22.95. That's a good deal.

IObit's utility is compatible with the Windows 10 ( at Amazon) , 8, 7, Vista, and XP operating systems. Like Ashampoo Driver Updater, IObit Driver Booster PRO leverages Windows 10's Action Center to deliver useful desktop notifications. SlimWare Utilities DriverUpdate lacks this feature.

The Update Process

When you launch Driver Booster PRO, it performs a quick hardware scan. It doesn't display your PC's hardware specs as Ashampoo and SlimWare Utilities' offerings do. Instead, the utility jumps straight to the most important matter, displaying your PC's out-of-date drivers. Like Ashampoo DriverUpdate, IObit Driver Booster PRO unearthed 44 driver-related issues on my work PC, while SlimWare Utilities DriverUpdate found just 41.

When I clicked the Download All button, Driver Booster PRO began downloading and installing the appropriate drivers. It took approximately five minutes for me to install all of the new drivers. Unlike Ashampoo and SlimWare Utilities' software, Driver Booster PRO doesn't prompt you to back up your existing drivers before installing the new ones. Instead, it does so automatically.

I further tested the software by intentionally deleting the Realtek High Definition Audio driver. After I rebooted the PC, Driver Booster PRO downloaded a replacement driver—Microsoft's High Definition Audio Device—that worked flawlessly when I played MP3 and WAV files. I deleted several other drivers, and Driver Booster PRO was able to find compatible replacements.

Driver Booster PRO also has a handy scheduling feature so that you can set a time (either daily, weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly) to check for new drivers. That's a relatively common feature in this category of software.

Interface Options

I like IObit Driver Booster PRO's ability to enter Full-Screen mode. That may seem like a basic feature, but SlimWare Utilities DriverUpdater cannot do the same. As a result, Driver Booster PRO has easy-to-read information, while using its competitors requires you to do lots of scrolling.

IObit's tool also lets you select one of two interface skins (one light, one dark) and tweak its transparency to customize its appearance. In fact, I wrote part of this review while looking through Driver Booster PRO as it ran on my PC's desktop. Sure, visual customization doesn't improve the tool's ability to recognize and download fresh drivers, but freedom of choice is always a nice bonus. Unfortunately, Driver Booster PRO has a dedicated tab you can't remove that's devoted to advertising other IObit products, which is annoying—especially in an app that costs $23.

Simply the Best

In-app advertising aside, IObit Driver Booster PRO is the best driver utility I've tested. It's reasonably priced, it offers multiple licenses, it's customizable, and it updates your computer's drivers with aplomb. Ashampoo and SlimWare Utilities offer solid competing products, but Driver Booster PRO is the one to get.

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