Beszel vs Cacti

A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted monitoring & status options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.

Not the right match-up?
FeatureBeszelCacti
CategoryMonitoring & StatusMonitoring & Status
LicenseMITGPL-2.0
LanguageGoPHP
Setup difficultyEasyMedium
Min. RAM128 MB512 MB
Deploymentdocker, binarybare-metal, docker, source
GitHub stars★ 24,108★ 1,852
First released20242001
ReplacesUptimeRobotPRTG, SolarWinds

Why pick each one

Choose Beszel if…

  • Extremely lightweight
  • Simple multi-host view
  • Easy setup
Beszel details

Choose Cacti if…

  • Mature and reliable
  • Detailed graph templates
Cacti details

Frequently asked questions

Is Beszel or Cacti better?

Beszel is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Cacti if its specific feature set fits your needs better.

Are Beszel and Cacti free and open-source?

Yes. Beszel is licensed under MIT and Cacti under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Beszel and Cacti with Docker?

Beszel: yes. Cacti: yes.

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