Free vs Pro: what you get

BRUTAL Optimizer's free tier is genuinely the whole toolbox, not a crippled demo. Pro adds the automation and the deepest tweaks, most importantly the automatic tuning Guardian applies while you game. Here is exactly where the line falls.

The short version

Free (LITE) gives you live monitoring, most optimization modules, disk and cleanup tools, driver scanning, app updates, and the FPS overlay. Pro unlocks the background Guardian automation, per-game profiles, driver installs, and five of the deepest, most hardware-specific optimization modules. Ultra is everything in Pro, plus Smart Route. There are no ads in either tier, the ad system was removed on purpose.

What's in the free tier

Live Dashboard with real CPU/GPU/RAM, top memory users, and a Performance Score.
Most optimization modules on the Optimize page (modules 1–10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 17, 18, and 22 are free), plus Smart Optimize one-click presets sized to your hardware tier.
Disk Cleaner with verified freed bytes, Disk Analyzer, and Drive Health (including the honest ReTrim/Defrag action).
Driver Updates (view and scan), App Updates, Install Residue, and Startup Manager.
Network tools: Ping Test and Network Optimizer (traceroute, DNS benchmark, apply DNS).
The FPS Overlay, and the recommended settings in Game Profiles (applying a profile is Pro).
Smart Route route measurement: see how your path compares before you engage a relay.
Privacy Center and Integrity Audit security checks.

What Pro adds

Guardian's automatic tuning (the big one): Guardian runs for everyone and detects when you launch a game or emulator. On Pro it then applies gaming optimizations automatically — elevated priority, timer resolution, EcoQoS off, working-set locks and profile auto-apply — and reverts them when you stop playing.
Five deep-tuning modules that are Pro-only: 11 (VBS/HVCI & Spectre), 16 (Timer + Power Throttling), 19 (Interrupt Affinity), 20 (USB Deep Latency), and 21 (CPU Scheduling + Turbo Policy).
Game Profiles and PC game optimization: one-click, per-game tuning.
Driver installs, Install All and automatic driver updates.
Process Rules automation applied every Guardian cycle, and Auto-maintain, which runs a Defender quick scan when your PC is idle.

What Ultra adds

Ultra is everything in Pro, plus Smart Route: it measures your direct path against relay paths to the game server and engages a relay only when it measures faster. Measuring is free for everyone; engaging a relay needs Ultra. See What is the Ultra plan?

When you run Smart Optimize as a free user, the Pro-only modules are simply skipped, the rest still apply. Nothing breaks and nothing is half-applied.

How upgrading works

Pro is ₹499 a year and Ultra is ₹899 a year. Both are yearly subscriptions that renew automatically until you cancel. Buy either from the pricing page, then sign in to the app with the email you paid with: your plan appears automatically. See How much do Pro and Ultra cost?

Keys you already hold keep working too:

Founder keys (found_…): founder keys already issued keep working until their own end date, email-bound, with a founder badge.
Gift keys (gift_…): lifetime Pro.

Enter a founder or gift key on the License page (under Account, at the bottom of the left rail). Full steps are in Activating Pro or Ultra.

If your Pro lapses

When a paid Pro license reaches its expiry it enters a short grace period (you stay Pro, with a renew nag), then degrades to Free. Crucially, your settings are kept either way, you just lose the Pro automation and deep modules until you renew. A banner and the License page will prompt you to renew before that happens.

Common issues / troubleshooting

A module shows a lock or won't toggle. It is one of the five Pro-only modules. Activate a Pro key to enable it.
Guardian won't start. Guardian now starts for everyone — game detection, the live FPS tile and Smart Route’s server detection are all free. What needs Pro is the automatic tuning it applies once a game is detected. Confirm the badge reads PRO on the Dashboard.
Badge still says LITE after entering a key. Activation needs an internet connection to verify with the server. Check your connection and re-try on the License page.