Dashy vs Glance
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted dashboards & startpages options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Glance
Self-hosted feeds and info dashboard
| Feature | Dashy | Glance |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | ≈5-minute setup | ≈5-minute setup |
| Health score | 97 · Excellent | 99 · Excellent |
| Category | Dashboards & Startpages | Dashboards & Startpages |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | Vue | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | docker | docker, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 26,552 | ★ 37,187 |
| First released | 2021 | 2024 |
| Replaces | Heimdall | Heimdall |
What are Dashy and Glance?
Dashy
Dashy is a highly configurable personal dashboard with status checks, widgets, themes, and authentication. It targets home labbers who want a feature-packed start page. It is deployed via Docker.
- Status checking for services
- Many widgets and themes
- Optional authentication
- Cloud backup option
Glance
Glance is a self-hosted dashboard that aggregates feeds, weather, calendars, and service widgets into a single page. It targets users who want an information-dense home page. It is deployed via Docker or a binary.
- Aggregates RSS, weather and more
- YAML configuration
- Lots of built-in widgets
- Single lightweight binary
Dashy vs Glance: key differences
Dashy is written in Vue, while Glance is built with Go. Licensing differs — MIT for Dashy versus AGPL-3.0 for Glance. Glance is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 256 MB for Dashy. Dashy is the more established project (first released 2021), while Glance arrived in 2024.
Why pick each one
Choose Dashy if…
- Very feature-rich
- Lots of themes
- Built-in status checks
Watch out for
- Many options to configure
- Slower recent development
Choose Glance if…
- Information-dense layout
- Very lightweight
- Easy config
Watch out for
- YAML-only configuration
- Young project
Frequently asked questions
Is Dashy or Glance better?
Neither is universally better. Glance has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Dashy and Glance free and open-source?
Yes. Dashy is licensed under MIT and Glance under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Dashy and Glance with Docker?
Dashy: yes. Glance: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Dashy or Glance?
Glance has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 256 MB for Dashy. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.