Alternatives to htop
The interactive process viewer standard
htop ranks #7 of 8 in System monitors, with an Alt Score of 45. It is licensed under GPL-2.0, free from Free and available on Linux and macOS. 5 of 9 checklist rows are verified against a public source.
System administrators, developers, and other technical users who need to monitor and manage running processes on Linux, macOS, BSD, or Solaris systems.
An interactive, color text-mode process viewer built on ncurses that shows real-time CPU, memory, and swap usage alongside a full process list. You can scroll and search the process tree, and send signals (like kill) or change priorities directly from the UI. It supports mouse interaction and customizable columns/meters, going beyond the static, keyboard-limited view of traditional top.
Run htop in a terminal to see a live-updating dashboard of system resource meters and a scrollable, sortable list of processes; navigate with arrow keys or the mouse, and use function-key shortcuts to search, filter, kill, renice, or tree-view processes.
Where htop stands out
Verified capabilities most alternatives don't have.
Why people leave htop
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 htop compares with its alternatives, feature by feature.
| System monitors checklist | htop | Glances | MenuBar Stats | iStat Menus | btop | Stats |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | ||||||
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| License | ||||||
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| 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 htop is verified against its own pages. Each alternative is sourced on its own page.
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License GPL-2.0 verified 2026-07-10
GNU GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE Version 2, June 1991
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/htop-dev/htop/main/COPYING -
Starts at Free verified 2026-07-10
GNU GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE Version 2, June 1991
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/htop-dev/htop/main/COPYING -
Pricing model Free verified 2026-07-10
Free OSS (GPL-2.0); no paid tier.
GNU GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE Version 2, June 1991
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/htop-dev/htop/main/COPYING -
Platforms Linux, macOS verified 2026-07-10
macOS via README build section; not Windows.
`htop` is a cross-platform interactive process viewer.
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/htop-dev/htop/main/README.md -
CPU / GPU / RAM / disk Partial verified 2026-07-10
CPU/memory/swap; no GPU/disk.
to see their full command lines and related information like memory and CPU consumption. Also system wide information, like load average or swap usage, is shown.
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/htop-dev/htop/main/README.md -
Per-process detail Yes verified 2026-07-10
Tasks related to processes (e.g. killing and renicing) can be done without entering their PIDs.
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/htop-dev/htop/main/README.md -
Terminal UI Yes verified 2026-07-10
Running `htop` requires `ncurses` libraries, typically named libncurses(w).
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/htop-dev/htop/main/README.md -
Open source Yes verified 2026-07-10
GNU GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE Version 2, June 1991
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/htop-dev/htop/main/COPYING -
One-time purchase option No verified 2026-07-10
Free OSS; no purchase.
GNU GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE Version 2, June 1991
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/htop-dev/htop/main/COPYING
FAQ
Yes. Glances, btop and Stats have a free tier or are fully free. Free-tier limits in the comparison table are verified and dated.
Glances, btop and Stats — every license claim links its source.