The Best App Uninstaller For Windows

Windows has its own built-in program uninstaller, but it doesn't always do the best job. Revo Uninstaller removes every trace of a program with just a few clicks of your mouse, and its ease of use makes it the best uninstaller around.

Revo Uninstaller

Platform: Windows Price: Free, $US40 Pro Download Page

  • Uninstalls every trace of a program, even including cruft that Windows' uninstaller leaves behind
  • A "Hunter Mode", which lets you drag a crosshair onto any running application and uninstall it right from there.
  • Drag and drop application shortcuts to uninstall within Hunter Mode
  • Stop programs from starting with Windows, both through the menu and Hunter Mode
  • Clean up junk files with a simple scan
  • Search for a program on Google, view its location on your hard drive, and view its registry key from the context menu
  • Many more features available in the pro version

Revo Uninstaller isn't the only uninstaller you can get on Windows, but what makes it the best is its ease of use. Hunter Mode alone is incredibly awesome, letting you point to an open window on your system and uninstall that program from there. You can also drag program shortcuts into hunter mode to uninstall them right from your desktop, or even stop running system tray apps and remove them from Windows' startup just by pointing at them. It's really an ingenious way to get rid of apps, when compared to looking through a giant list of programs and hitting "Uninstall". The other features, like the junk file cleaner and startup manager, are also nice touches.

There aren't a ton of places in which Revo falls short. We kind of wish it could do bulk uninstallations, and the $US40 price tag is pretty hefty if you want extra features like forced uninstallations and a 64-bit app, but overall the free version satisfies our needs pretty well. We don't really have any complaints.

Revo is the most thorough of the uninstallers out there, but if you don't like it for some reason, there are a few programs that perform similar tasks.

IOBit Uninstaller is a pretty nice program that performs very similar tasks, though it isn't quite as thorough as Revo. It does, however, perform a bit better, especially on 64-bit machines, and it has a pretty handy 1-click toolbar uninstaller. The best feature of IOBit, however, is the batch uninstaller. It's pretty much the only reason we'd ever recommend it over Revo, so if you have a bunch of programs you need to clean out, this is probably the app to go with.

CCleaner, our favourite Windows maintenance tool, also has an uninstaller built in. It isn't quite as feature-filled as Revo's, but it'll get the job done better than Windows' default uninstaller. Plus, if you already have it on your system, it can be convenient to just use it instead of downloading and installing Revo separately.

These are far from the only ones on the market, but they're the ones you might want to check out instead of Revo. In the end, Revo's easily the best there is, so we can't recommend it enough for you Windows app hoarders out there. If you have another you prefer instead, let us know what it is and why you like it in the comments.

Lifehacker's App Directory is a new and growing directory of recommendations for the best applications and tools in a number of given categories, each week with a different focus.


    Since when does windows get "apps" Try uninstalling a program instead, The default programs and features (aka the uninstall location)does not contain "apps" which is what I assume that you are talking about.

      Dude..I don't see what the big deal is, Apps, Programs, who give a crap! just read the article for what it is and relax OK #}

    Revo is free and it works, but I downloaded IOBit Uninstaller and was pleasantly surprised! Very thorough, 64bit and also free! My only niggle is that it doesn't let you install where you want! Thanks Whitson #]

      Hmm, looks like the reason it doesn't allow you to pick install location is because it runs from the exe only! Probably explains why it a tad slow too. #}

    I would use the program, but I'm concerned about false positives. The deep scan is a good idea, but what if it picked up something that is vital for the computers performance?

    Nope - the best uninstaller is a Windows restore point. Everything else is just an approximation.

      That seems like unnecessary effort just to remove a program...

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