PerformanceTest is a benchmarking tool. Developed by PassMark Software
License: Commercial
lshw (Hardware Lister) is a small tool to provide detailed information on the hardware configuration of the machine. It can report exact memory configuration, firmware version, mainboard configuration, CPU version and speed, cache configuration, bus speed, etc. Developed by Lyonel Vincent
License: Open Source
PerformanceTest is primarily focused on providing in-depth performance metrics across devices, while Hardware Lister is more geared towards managing and monitoring hardware inventories. The main difference lies in their core functionalities, with PerformanceTest excelling in performance analysis and Hardware Lister in hardware management.