Glances vs Icinga

Glances is a free, open-source, cross-platform tool for monitoring real-time system statistics and running processes. Its listed coverage includes CPU, memory, load, processes, network, disk I/O, sensors, filesystems, containers, alerts, and uptime. Client/server mode enables remote monitoring through a terminal, web interface, or API, while its built-in web UI lets users view a system from a browser-equipped device. Statistics can be exported to CSV or JSON files, databases such as InfluxDB and Prometheus, brokers such as RabbitMQ and Kafka, or a REST endpoint. The project documents Docker and Podman support and describes Docker and LXC container monitoring in its README. Installation options include pip, pipx, Homebrew, Linux and FreeBSD packages, and Docker images. Glances 4 requires Python 3.10 or higher. Its default installation does not include web interface dependencies; separate extras cover features such as web, GPU, containers, exports, and MCP. Version 4.5.1 and higher can provide an MCP server for AI assistants. The project uses the LGPL version 3 license.

Icinga monitors infrastructure and applications, collecting and analyzing data to help teams identify and resolve errors. It covers servers, applications, and network devices across on-premises and cloud environments. Dashboards, filtered and grouped views, and notifications provide visibility, while troubleshooting entry points support root-cause investigation. Teams can extend monitoring with clustering, custom checks, plugins, configurable logic, and distributed environments. Listed integrations include Grafana, InfluxDB, Elastic, Graylog, Ansible, Puppet, Terraform, AWS, Azure, Jira, PagerDuty, and ServiceNow. The free edition supports API automation and Git-based workflows; the pricing FAQ describes a REST API for custom integrations. Icinga says node communication uses TLS/SSL and provides certificate tools. It can monitor certificates, alert as they approach expiry, and verify self-signed certificates using a custom trust store. The product is self-hosted and supports Linux and Windows; official packages cover several Linux distributions and Windows, with some requiring a paid subscription. The free, open source edition includes unlimited hosts and services. Paid support and subscriptions are also available, with support starting at $15,000 a year.