Coroot vs Glances
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted monitoring & status options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Glances
Cross-platform system monitoring at a glance
| Feature | Coroot | Glances |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 92 · Excellent | 98 · Excellent |
| Category | Monitoring & Status | Monitoring & Status |
| License | Apache-2.0 | LGPL-3.0 |
| Language | Go | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | docker, kubernetes, helm | docker, bare-metal, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 7,932 | ★ 33,655 |
| First released | 2022 | 2012 |
| Replaces | Datadog, New Relic | Datadog |
What are Coroot and Glances?
Coroot
Coroot is an open-source observability tool that uses eBPF to gather metrics, logs, traces, and profiles with zero instrumentation. It automatically surfaces service maps, SLOs, and root-cause insights.
- eBPF zero-instrumentation telemetry
- Automatic service maps
- Built-in SLO tracking
- Root-cause analysis
Glances
Glances is a cross-platform system monitoring tool that presents a wide range of host metrics in a terminal or web view. It targets administrators wanting a quick overview of a single machine. It is deployed via Docker, pip, or packages.
- Terminal and web monitoring views
- Wide range of metrics
- REST API and exporters
- Cross-platform support
Coroot vs Glances: key differences
Coroot is written in Go, while Glances is built with Python. Licensing differs — Apache-2.0 for Coroot versus LGPL-3.0 for Glances. Glances is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for Coroot. Glances is the more established project (first released 2012), while Coroot arrived in 2022. Glances has the considerably larger community, at 33,655 GitHub stars versus 7,932.
Why pick each one
Choose Coroot if…
- No code changes required
- Insightful out of the box
Watch out for
- Needs a recent Linux kernel
- Resource use grows with scale
Choose Glances if…
- Very easy to run
- Lightweight
- Good single-host overview
Watch out for
- Best for one host at a time
- Limited history
Frequently asked questions
Is Coroot or Glances better?
Glances is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Coroot if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Coroot and Glances free and open-source?
Yes. Coroot is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Glances under LGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Coroot and Glances with Docker?
Coroot: yes. Glances: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Coroot or Glances?
Glances has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 1,024 MB for Coroot. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.