Alternatives to Glances
Cross-platform monitoring with web UI
Glances ranks #2 of 8 in System monitors, with an Alt Score of 70. It is licensed under LGPL-3.0, free from Free and available on Linux, macOS and Windows. 6 of 9 checklist rows are verified against a public source.
System administrators, developers, and DevOps/SRE teams who need real-time visibility into the performance of one or more Linux, macOS, Windows, or FreeBSD machines.
A cross-platform Python tool that monitors CPU, memory, load, disk I/O, network, sensors, and processes, with built-in support for Docker/Podman containers. It includes a configurable alert system that flags anomalies, and can export metrics to backends like InfluxDB, Elasticsearch, and Grafana. Core system info and uptime tracking are included out of the box.
Install via pip (`pip install --user glances` or with `[all]` for full plugin support) and run it in a terminal for a live curses-based dashboard, or start it in web-server mode to view a browser-based UI and query metrics through its RESTful JSON or XML-RPC API.
Where Glances stands out
Verified capabilities most alternatives don't have.
Why people leave Glances
Dashed reasons are sourced facts; the rest are opinions. Vendors can dispute.
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Ranked alternatives
Ordered by Alt Score. Click any score to see the breakdown.
Feature comparison
How Glances compares with its alternatives, feature by feature.
| System monitors checklist | Glances | MenuBar Stats | iStat Menus | btop | Stats | CrystalDiskInfo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | ||||||
| Starts at | ||||||
| License | ||||||
| Platforms | ||||||
| CPU / GPU / RAM / disk | ||||||
| Temperatures & fans | ||||||
| Menu bar / tray widgets | ||||||
| Per-process detail | ||||||
| Terminal UI | ||||||
| Alerts | ||||||
| Open source | ||||||
| One-time purchase option | ||||||
| Low overhead |
Every fact and feature listed for Glances is verified against its own pages. Each alternative is sourced on its own page.
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Pricing model Free verified 2026-07-10
Free OSS (pip); no paid tier.
Glances is an open-source system cross-platform monitoring tool.
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nicolargo/glances/develop/README.rst -
Starts at Free verified 2026-07-10
To install a minimal version: $ pip install --user glances
https://nicolargo.github.io/glances/ -
License LGPL-3.0 verified 2026-07-10
Glances is distributed under the LGPL version 3 license. See ``COPYING`` for more details.
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nicolargo/glances/develop/README.rst -
Platforms Linux, macOS, Windows verified 2026-07-10
Written in Python, Glances will run on almost any plaftorm : GNU/Linux, FreeBSD, OS X and Windows.
https://nicolargo.github.io/glances/ -
CPU / GPU / RAM / disk Yes verified 2026-07-10
GPU via optional plugin.
It allows real-time monitoring of various aspects of your system such as CPU, memory, disk, network usage etc.
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nicolargo/glances/develop/README.rst -
Temperatures & fans Yes verified 2026-07-10
temperatures, voltages, fan speeds etc.
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nicolargo/glances/develop/README.rst -
Per-process detail Yes verified 2026-07-10
It also allows monitoring of running processes
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nicolargo/glances/develop/README.rst -
Terminal UI Yes verified 2026-07-10
remote monitoring could be done via terminal, Web interface or API (XML-RPC and RESTful).
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nicolargo/glances/develop/README.rst -
Alerts Yes verified 2026-07-10
Listed in the official Features list.
Alert
https://nicolargo.github.io/glances/ -
Open source Yes verified 2026-07-10
Glances is an open-source system cross-platform monitoring tool.
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nicolargo/glances/develop/README.rst
FAQ
Yes. btop, Stats and CrystalDiskInfo have a free tier or are fully free. Free-tier limits in the comparison table are verified and dated.
btop, Stats and CrystalDiskInfo — every license claim links its source.