Glances vs Pulse Monitor
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
VS
Pulse Monitor
Self-hosted monitoring of Proxmox and infrastructure
| Feature | Glances | Pulse Monitor |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 98 · Excellent | 91 · Excellent |
| Category | Monitoring & Status | Monitoring & Status |
| License | LGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Language | Python | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, binary | docker |
| GitHub stars | ★ 33,666 | ★ 6,742 |
| First released | 2012 | 2024 |
| Replaces | Datadog | Datadog |
What are Glances and Pulse Monitor?
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
Pulse Monitor
Pulse is a self-hosted monitoring application focused on Proxmox VE and PBS environments, surfacing node, VM, and backup health. It provides real-time dashboards and alerting.
- Proxmox monitoring
- VM and node health
- Backup status
- Real-time dashboards
Glances vs Pulse Monitor: key differences
Glances is written in Python, while Pulse Monitor is built with Go. Licensing differs — LGPL-3.0 for Glances versus MIT for Pulse Monitor. Glances is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 256 MB for Pulse Monitor. Glances is the more established project (first released 2012), while Pulse Monitor arrived in 2024. Glances has the considerably larger community, at 33,666 GitHub stars versus 6,742.
Why pick each one
Choose Glances if…
- Very easy to run
- Lightweight
- Good single-host overview
Watch out for
- Best for one host at a time
- Limited history
Choose Pulse Monitor if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 6.7k GitHub stars
Frequently asked questions
Is Glances or Pulse Monitor better?
Neither is universally better. Glances has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Glances and Pulse Monitor free and open-source?
Yes. Glances is licensed under LGPL-3.0 and Pulse Monitor under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Glances and Pulse Monitor with Docker?
Glances: yes. Pulse Monitor: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Glances or Pulse Monitor?
Glances has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 256 MB for Pulse Monitor. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.