Glances vs Open Hardware Monitor
Glances
nicolargo.github.io
Open Hardware Monitor
openhardwaremonitor.orgSide by side
| Figure | Glances | Open Hardware Monitor |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | Yes | — |
| Web | Yes | — |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | — |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| Android | Yes | — |
| API | Yes | — |
| Self-hosted | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 2 | 1 |
| Spec score · Hardware Monitoring Software | 8.9 (#6) | 7.4 (#50) |
| Spec score · Hardware monitoring tools | 8.6 (#12) | 7.3 (#54) |
| Installation | The documented installation paths include pip, pipx, uvx, operating-system packages, and optional extras such as web or all. | The download is a ZIP archive; the maker instructs users to unpack it and run OpenHardwareMonitor.exe with Administrator rights for access to most hardware sensors. |
| License | Glances is distributed under the GNU LGPL version 3, expressed on PyPI as LGPL-3.0-only. | The binaries are provided under Mozilla Public License 2.0, while the source code includes MPL 2.0 and other listed licenses. |
| Support | The project directs users to its manual, official Reddit forum and GitHub Discussions for help. | Users can report bugs or request features through GitHub Issues, and the maker also lists an email contact. |
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.
Open Hardware Monitor
Open Hardware Monitor has no write-up on Specifiction yet; its figures are above.