collectd 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?
FeaturecollectdGlances
CategoryMonitoring & StatusMonitoring & Status
LicenseMITLGPL-3.0
LanguageCPython
Setup difficultyMediumEasy
Min. RAM32 MB128 MB
Deploymentbare-metal, binarydocker, bare-metal, binary
GitHub stars★ 3,366★ 33,269
First released20052012
ReplacesDatadog AgentDatadog

Why pick each one

Choose collectd if…

  • Extremely lightweight
  • Runs almost anywhere
collectd details

Choose Glances if…

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

Frequently asked questions

Is collectd or Glances better?

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

Are collectd and Glances free and open-source?

Yes. collectd is licensed under MIT and Glances under LGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run collectd and Glances with Docker?

collectd: check the project docs for container support. Glances: yes.

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