NOVA
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NOVA vs Hone

Both tune Windows for games. Hone has a free plan, a Premium subscription and a large user base. NOVA is a one-time purchase that lists every change it makes, rates each tweak by its evidence and measures the result in your own games.

We haven't run Hone and NOVA side by side, so this page compares what each one offers, not frame rates. Hone's own comparison pages say the same of theirs: "We did not run a controlled head-to-head FPS or latency test" (Hone, August 4, 2026).

01Side by side

HoneNOVA
PriceA free plan, and Premium as a monthly or yearly subscription that renews automatically. The price depends on your region and billing period and shows in Hone's plan selector.$24.99 once, with every update included. One PC at a time.
Free to useYes: 10 optimizations, one more per referral up to 15, with ads. Premium removes the limit and the ads.No free plan. The whole app runs in your browser as a demo with sample data, and nothing changes on your PC. Try it
What each tweak changesThe app shows what each tweak does before you apply it. We found no public list of its optimizations on hone.gg.All 165 tweaks are listed publicly, with the registry values and settings each one writes. See the list
EvidenceA research page explains how Hone tests a tweak before adding it: 3 to 5 runs before and after, compared with the normal variation of the first set (August 20, 2026). We found no per-tweak rating on hone.gg.Every tweak is rated from A (measured by several labs) to D (not measured), or makes no performance claim, and names its source.
Measuring on your PChone.gg doesn't describe a before-and-after test you can run yourself.Proof mode runs that kind of test on your PC: your game's frame times, 3 or 5 runs before and after a change, and a verdict of better, worse or no measurable change.
UndoBacks up registry values before changing them and can restore supported changes. Hone also suggests a Windows restore point.Saves the current value of every setting it changes and puts that exact value back. Undo one change or everything from History.
Where to get ithone.gg, whose web installer comes through Overwolf, or the Epic Games Store.novatuned.com, with a fingerprint to check your download against. How
LanguagesThe website comes in English and many other languages, from Arabic to Japanese.English only.
Users"Trusted by 2.5M+ gamers", its homepage says.A newer, smaller app.

02Who's ahead where

Where Hone is ahead
  • A free plan you can keep. 10 optimizations, up to 15 with referrals, with ads.
  • Reach. Hone counts its users in millions and is on the Epic Games Store.
  • Languages. Its site is translated; NOVA is in English only.
  • A written test method. Its research page sets out how a tweak earns its place, with a worked example.
What NOVA does differently
  • Measures in your own games. Frame times, 1% lows and stutters captured with Intel PresentMon, then Proof mode's verdict, which also lists anything else that changed between runs, such as a new graphics driver.
  • Shows its evidence. Of the 165 tweaks, 3 are rated A, 8 B, 16 C and 44 D, and 94 make no performance claim (in-game V-Sync off counts once, though it covers ten games). Popular tweaks that measurements show don't help are left out, each with the reason.
  • One price. Paid once, with every update and nothing to renew.
  • Past Windows settings. The Checkup reads XMP / EXPO, Resizable BAR, Secure Boot and what each game's anti-cheat needs. There's a controller and mouse polling overclock, and a game connection monitor that traces the route.

03Which one fits

Start with Hone's free plan if you want a one-click optimizer without paying anything, or an app with a site in your language. Choose NOVA if you want to read what a tweak writes before it runs, see how well it's proven, and find out whether it made a measurable difference in the games you play, for one price.

Whichever you use, measure. Run the same scene or a game's built-in benchmark a few times before a change and a few times after, and only keep changes that beat the spread between runs. If you try both, change a setting with one tool at a time, so you always know which one made it. NOVA's Checkup also lists settings other optimizers have left changed, such as security mitigations or services turned off.

Prices and features as listed on each vendor's site on November 1, 2026. Hone: hone.gg, hone.gg/premium, its research page and its ExitLag comparison. NOVA: novatuned.com and every tweak.

Hone is a trademark of its owner, and NOVA isn't affiliated with it. Something here out of date? Write to and we'll correct it.

NOVAOne price, no subscription. Try it in your browser first: nothing changes on your PC.
Get NOVA $24.99Try the demo