Checkmk 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?
FeatureCheckmkGlances
CategoryMonitoring & StatusMonitoring & Status
LicenseGPL-2.0LGPL-3.0
LanguagePythonPython
Setup difficultyMediumEasy
Min. RAM1,024 MB128 MB
Deploymentdocker, bare-metaldocker, bare-metal, binary
GitHub stars★ 2,336★ 33,269
First released20092012
ReplacesNagios, DatadogDatadog

Why pick each one

Choose Checkmk if…

  • Strong auto-discovery
  • Scales well
  • Good defaults
Checkmk details

Choose Glances if…

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

Frequently asked questions

Is Checkmk or Glances better?

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

Are Checkmk and Glances free and open-source?

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

Can I run Checkmk and Glances with Docker?

Checkmk: yes. Glances: yes.

Related comparisons