Glances vs Monit
Glances
nicolargo.github.ioMonit
mmonit.comSide by side
| Figure | Glances | Monit |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | Yes | — |
| Web | Yes | — |
| Windows | Yes | — |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| Android | Yes | — |
| API | Yes | — |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 2 | 1 |
| Spec score · Process Monitoring Software | 8.9 (#3) | 7.8 (#10) |
| Spec score · Server Monitoring | 8.9 (#6) | 7.8 (#20) |
| Alerts | Glances includes monitoring alerts and configurable thresholds. | Monit sends customizable alert messages about error conditions and can log to syslog or its own log file. |
| Platforms | The project documents GNU/Linux, FreeBSD, macOS and Windows support; it also gives installation instructions for rooted Android devices using Termux. | The maker lists precompiled binaries for Linux, macOS, FreeBSD, OpenBSD, NetBSD, DragonFly BSD, AIX, Solaris, and illumos. |
| Support | The project directs users to its manual, official Reddit forum and GitHub Discussions for help. | The maker directs questions to the community mailing list and says it does not have time to answer support questions sent directly to the company. |
| Web interface | A built-in web UI lets users view monitoring data from another device. | Its built-in HTTP(S) interface shows monitored service status and lets users start, stop, or restart processes and enable or disable monitoring. |
Plans
In their own words
Glances
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.
Monit
Monit is a free, open-source utility for managing and monitoring Unix systems, available for Linux, macOS, and self-hosted deployment. It watches local daemon processes and can restart a stopped process or stop one using too many resources. It checks files, directories, and filesystems for timestamp, checksum, or size changes, and tests TCP, UDP, and Unix domain sockets using protocols such as HTTP and SMTP. Scheduled program or script checks can trigger actions or alerts based on exit values. Monit tracks CPU, memory, system load, and network interfaces, and sends customizable error alerts to syslog or its own log. Its HTTP(S) interface displays service status and allows process control and monitoring changes. It works with init, upstart, and systemd, can use existing run-level scripts, and can run as PID 1 in containers. The maker says it uses statically linked OpenSSL 3.5.7 and dynamically linked PAM support.