Best Keylogger for Windows - Top 10 Tools for Monitoring

Looking for the best keylogger for Windows?

Although considered unethical for many years, keyloggers have now evolved as a security tool for parental control and student and employee monitoring. If you’re on the hunt for the best and budget-friendly options, keep reading.

Note: This is an informative article. Don’t install software keyloggers or attach a hardware keylogger to a PC that you don’t own.

Best Keylogger Software for Windows

I’ve tested more than 20 keyloggers for Windows PCs and have found the following to be top performers:

Software	Best Features	Free Trial	Pricing*	Ease of Use	Online/Offline	Type
Refog	Organized keylogging reports for typed and copied text	Yes	$30.00/ month	Moderate	Online	Software
KidInspector	Remote management of multiple devices	Yes	$59.00/ year for one PC	Fairly easy, no prior expertise is needed	Online	Software
pcTattletale	Password-less installation	Yes	$99.99/ month	Fairly easy, no prior expertise is needed	Online	Software
Spyrix	Recovers deleted keystrokes and texts	Yes	$79.00	Moderate	Online	Software
Spyera	Surrounding recording and app-specific keylogging	No	$49.00/ month	A bit challenging	Online	Software
Clever Control	Set alerts for NSFW keywords or business confidential data	Yes	$4.70/ PC	Fairly easy, no prior expertise is needed	Online	Software
NetBull	The premium edition is mostly undetectable to antivirus apps	Yes	$14.99	A bit challenging	Online	Software
Revealer Keylogger	Card statement won’t reveal the name of the app	Yes	$39.99	Moderate	Online	Software
AirDrive Forensic Keylogger	Windows Security and other antiviruses can’t detect its activity	No	$44.99	Moderate	Only Wi-Fi, no internet needed	Hardware
KeyGhost USB Keylogger	Windows Security and other antiviruses can’t detect its activity	No	$249.00	Moderate	Offline, internal chip stores up to 2,000,000 keystroke signals	Hardware

Refog

Using the Refog keylogger application, you can track any Windows PC you own via remote operating. You can specify the actions you want to monitor. It keeps a record of everything the user types, including the chats and conversations done on blogs, forums, and other PC apps.

It even saves each pressed key on the target computers. Besides tracking typing, the tool periodically captures the computer screen to display what’s happening at that moment. Refog also creates readable logs containing IM conversations so that you can understand the user behavior.

Pros	Cons
Generates readable logs	No content filter option
Easy installation	Windows Security constantly blocks the app until you add it to the Exclusions directory
No learning curve

Get Refog

pcTattletale

pcTattletale records every click made on the PC. You can install it without the password of the target PC. Keystrokes also include usernames, passwords, security questions, and more.

Besides typed passwords, pcTattletale also tracks saved passwords auto-filled by Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, or Microsoft Edge. Moreover, it can create videos of the user activities that include the words they’ve typed.

Pros	Cons
Installation without computer password	Price increases as you choose a higher tier of history logs
Generates videos of user activity
Tracks saved passwords without typing

Get pcTattletale

Spyrix

With Spyrix, you can monitor activities and keystrokes made on different computers. The text is included in the log even if the users delete it. You can set some keywords so that whenever users type them in the browser’s search bar, you get an instant alert.

Furthermore, it displays all the keyboard events. You can search them based on values like date, time, source app, title, and text. When your work is done, you can remove the software remotely from the target computer.

Pros	Cons
Track activities on email and social media	Needs admin rights for installation
View logs from remote locations	Basic features like screen recording, webcam recording, etc., come at an extra cost
Keyword alerts	Doesn’t log passwords

Get Spyrix

SPYERA

If you’re looking for invisible keylogger software, SPYERA is another great choice. It can record any text typed on apps like Facebook, WhatsApp, Skype, Microsoft Teams, and more. All the captured data is securely uploaded to the server so that you can view them using a web browser or app.

It even lets you track the email passwords entered on the target computer. You can then access those accounts later to check their contact and chat history. It runs in the background without affecting the computer’s performance. Also, its impact on the laptop battery is negligible.

Pros	Cons
24×7 live chat customer support	Remote installation isn’t supported
Single portal to monitor all devices	User manuals and support only available to paid users
Access to data from mobile app

Get SPYERA

Clever Control

Clever Control is a robust keylogger and security tool for employee monitoring. As an employer or IT manager, you can turn on the keylogger feature and prevent information leakages, determine insider threats, and get notified for high-security keywords.

It also supports keystroke recording on any application and uploading to your cloud. Its intuitive dashboard supports filtering keystroke data by date, event, computer, and so on.

Pros	Cons
Instantly view all entered text	Simultaneous live viewing feature isn’t available for all computers
Supports keylogging for apps, clipboards, and browsers	The on-premise solution is expensive
Data filtering feature is available on the dashboard

Get Clever Control

NetBull

NetBull is a comprehensive internet monitoring software with a hidden keylogger functionality. It can track online activities that involve typing including general texts, user IDs, and passwords. It doesn’t contain any spyware or trojan, hence it’s completely safe to install. You can get the log reports via email and FTP.

The software works on all the latest Windows versions. Its keylogger feature functions on all accounts including Administrator and Guest. It also supports remote installation, which means you can download the software package from an email and install it on the target computer.

Pros	Cons
Remotely deployable keylogger	Strict ‘no refunds’ policy
Log delivery by email and FTP channels	Antivirus software can detect the trial edition easily
Standalone and portable software package

Get NetBull

Revealer Keylogger

Revealer Keylogger is an efficient tool for remote and off-site employee productivity monitoring along with home and educational establishments. This conversation recorder can capture all keystrokes, including the passwords. It tracks everything employees or students type using the keyboard on any application or social media platform.

Furthermore, it can monitor text typed on all web browsers, including Chrome incognito mode. The software can also automatically capture screenshots when users type high-security or pre-configured keywords. As the tool runs in the background and doesn’t display any message, you can stay sure of its confidentiality.

Pros	Cons
Records passwords, system inputs, and conversations	Windows Security constantly blocks the app until you add its folder to the Exclusions directory
Password protection for the app
Delivers reports via email, Dropbox, FTP, and LAN

Get Revealer Keylogger

AirDrive Forensic Keylogger

The AirDrive keylogger device can be quite useful thanks to its small size and constant Wi-Fi connectivity. You can easily plug it into the device and make necessary changes in the configuration from its web-based console, just like a router console page. This hardware is compatible with USB keyboards and barcode readers.

It’s also completely stealthy and you won’t get any pop-up as a system device. It supports 40+ keyboard layouts of popular languages in the world. Also, you don’t need to have physical access to this keylogger as it lets you retrieve the logged file by connecting to it via Wi-Fi.

Pros	Cons
Don’t need any software installation	Intermittent issues with keylogging reported by active users
Capacity of 16,000,000 keystrokes	Easily detectable by tech-savvy users
Remote log download

Get AirDrive Forensic Keylogger

KeyGhost USB Keylogger

KeyGhost hardware keylogger records USB traffic and retrieves keystrokes made on Windows devices. It’s a plug-and-play device that doesn’t require you to turn off or restart the PC after plugging it in. You can use it to record keystrokes of multiple Windows PCs and analyze the recorded data from an admin PC.

Anything typed on the input devices is recorded in the internal flash memory chip. It’s compatible with low-speed (1.1Mbps) and high-speed (12Mbps) keyboards. Moreover, KeyGhost USB Keylogger won’t show up as an additional USB accessory in the Windows device manager.

Pros	Cons
Up to 2,000,000 keystrokes with 128-bit encryption	Won’t work with new Logitech keyboards using a unified BT receiver
No need to install an app
Plug-and-play device

Get KeyGhost USB Keylogger

Is It Legal To Install a Keylogger?

It depends on the situation and the purpose. For example, if you’re about to monitor the online activities of your underaged children, or conduct research on the online behavior of a group, installing a keylogger is legal. Also, if your employees signed an agreement allowing such surveillance, using a keystroke tracking tool to track their activity is legal. In all other cases, using such apps is illegal.

Can a USB Keylogger Be Detected?

Yes, you can discover USB keyloggers through several means, such as:

Manual Inspection

You can easily detect a USB keylogger by carefully monitoring the connection of your keyboard with the computer. If your keyboard isn’t directly connected to the CPU and it goes through another USB connector or hub, it might be a USB keylogger.

Antivirus Software

Any robust antivirus software including Windows Defender or Windows Security should detect a USB keylogger’s processes. Scan your computer with an antivirus and it’ll detect the hardware keylogger’s graphical user interface tool.

Windows Task Manager

On Windows 10 or Windows 11, you can open the Task Manager and see the active processes related to USB keylogger management software. If a hardware keylogger is attached to the computer and its app is open somewhere, it’ll be visible in the processes section.

Do Keyloggers Really Work?

Both software and hardware keyloggers work as they claim. The features, can, however, vary a little depending on your budget.

My basis for the selection of the apps/ hardware mentioned in this article is real-world testing. Here’s how I used the KidInspector keylogger on my PCs. The steps to use other tools are quite similar.

1. Go to the KidInspector registration portal and create a new account using your email ID and a unique password for your dashboard.

2. You should now see your app dashboard. Click the Download for Windows button to get the software on the PC you want to track.

3. Disable the antivirus software and add C:\ProgramData\Security Monitor to the Windows Security Exclusions folder.

4. Install the app on the tracked PC.
5. Now, access your KidInspector dashboard from the admin PC.

6. Allow your kids, students, or employees to use the tracked PC for a while.
7. After 10 to 15 minutes, you should be able to see a detailed report of keystrokes on the monitored PC by going to the Keyboard events page.

Related readings:

• How to disable Microsoft’s built-in keylogger with the Windows 10 Spring Creators Update
• Best Junkware Removal Tools
• 7 Tips to Protect Your Windows Against Cybercrime

Summary

So, now you know how to pick your best keylogger for Windows! You can read the above tool and device reviews to get informed suggestions from an experienced IT analyst and PC security specialist. I’ve included the tools after testing each one of them.

Whichever you choose, don’t forget to share your experience in the comment section below.