Cacti vs Glances

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?
FeatureCactiGlances
CategoryMonitoring & StatusMonitoring & Status
LicenseGPL-2.0LGPL-3.0
LanguagePHPPython
Setup difficultyMediumEasy
Min. RAM512 MB128 MB
Deploymentbare-metal, docker, sourcedocker, bare-metal, binary
GitHub stars★ 1,852★ 33,269
First released20012012
ReplacesPRTG, SolarWindsDatadog

Why pick each one

Choose Cacti if…

  • Mature and reliable
  • Detailed graph templates
Cacti details

Choose Glances if…

  • Very easy to run
  • Lightweight
  • Good single-host overview
Glances details

Frequently asked questions

Is Cacti or Glances better?

Glances 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 Cacti and Glances free and open-source?

Yes. Cacti is licensed under GPL-2.0 and Glances under LGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Cacti and Glances with Docker?

Cacti: yes. Glances: yes.

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