Glances vs Observium

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?
FeatureGlancesObservium
CategoryMonitoring & StatusMonitoring & Status
LicenseLGPL-3.0GPL-3.0
LanguagePythonShell
Setup difficultyEasyMedium
Min. RAM128 MB1,024 MB
Deploymentdocker, bare-metal, binarybare-metal, source
GitHub stars★ 33,269★ 1
First released20122010
ReplacesDatadogSolarWinds, PRTG

Why pick each one

Choose Glances if…

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

Choose Observium if…

  • Discovers devices automatically
  • Clean interface
Observium details

Frequently asked questions

Is Glances or Observium better?

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

Are Glances and Observium free and open-source?

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

Can I run Glances and Observium with Docker?

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

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