Cleaner Guru vs Smart Cleaner: what 1,202 reviews say

Cleaner Guru vs Smart Cleaner: the numbers side by side

Where do Cleaner Guru and Smart Cleaner differ most?

• On calling the app a scam or rip-off, Cleaner Guru draws 16.1% of its 1–2★ reviews, while Smart Cleaner draws 6.4%.
• A paywall before the app does anything useful is a bigger issue for Cleaner Guru (17.2% of low ratings) than for Smart Cleaner (8%).
• An ad or listing that promised something else is a bigger issue for Cleaner Guru (7.3% of low ratings) than for Smart Cleaner (2.7%).
• The app not working or doing little is a bigger issue for Cleaner Guru (16% of low ratings) than for Smart Cleaner (12.3%).
• On slowness, crashes and bugs, Cleaner Guru draws 5.1% of its 1–2★ reviews, while Smart Cleaner draws 1.6%.

Both are compared on iPhone. Cleaner Guru deletes duplicate photos, compresses videos, bulk-deletes spam email and merges duplicate contacts; Smart Cleaner clears duplicates and unneeded files and sorts and compresses media.

Are Cleaner Guru and Smart Cleaner improving?

Cleaner Guru went from 2.52 stars in 2025-Q3 to 2.53 in 2026-Q3, with billing at 73.7% of its latest 1–2★ reviews. Smart Cleaner went from 2.38 stars in 2025-Q3 to 2.33 in 2026-Q1, with billing at 58.3% of its latest 1–2★ reviews.

Where are Cleaner Guru and Smart Cleaner alike?

Their reviewers agree on ads, pop-ups and pushy screens: on each, the two apps are within two points of each other (3.5% vs 2.7%). 56.9% of Cleaner Guru's reviews are 1★ and 32.3% are 5★; for Smart Cleaner the split is 52.8% and 31.4%, so the share of very angry reviewers is similar.

What do happy users praise in each?

33.5% of Cleaner Guru's 4–5★ reviews say it works, compared with 15% for Smart Cleaner. 28.4% of Cleaner Guru's 4–5★ reviews say it is easy to use, compared with 11.5% for Smart Cleaner. 7.3% of Cleaner Guru's 4–5★ reviews say it finds duplicates and similar shots, compared with 0.9% for Smart Cleaner.

Which is cheaper, Cleaner Guru or Smart Cleaner?

Cleaner Guru: App Store (US) in-app purchases from $4.99 to $39.99; Google Play (US) $6.99 to $39.99 per item. Smart Cleaner: App Store (US) in-app purchases from $5.99 to $39.99. Cleaner Guru starts lower, at $4.99 against $5.99. Billing makes up 58.9% of Cleaner Guru's 1–2★ reviews and 56.7% of Smart Cleaner's.

What reviewers say about Cleaner Guru and Smart Cleaner

• Cleaner Guru: "They have a complicated billing and cancellation process to cheat you. Bill you weekly for an outrageous amount" (1★, App Store, US, May 2026)
• Cleaner Guru: "Everything is blocked by a pay wall" (1★, App Store, US, Apr 2026)
• Smart Cleaner: "No presta los servicios que dice Y tampoco es GRATIS como lo dicen no lo quiero la aplicación me suena a fraude" (1★, App Store, US, Apr 2025)
• Smart Cleaner: "Ha ha… it’s not free people!" (1★, App Store, US, Dec 2025)

Picked from the calling the app a scam or rip-off and a paywall before the app does anything useful themes, where the two differ most.

Should you choose Cleaner Guru or Smart Cleaner?

On ratings alone, the two are close on ratings, so choose on price and on which features you need. If calling the app a scam or rip-off is what worries you most, Smart Cleaner has the better record on it.