Glances vs Uptrace
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
Uptrace
OpenTelemetry-based tracing, metrics, and logs tool
| Feature | Glances | Uptrace |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 98 · Excellent | 88 · Excellent |
| Category | Monitoring & Status | Monitoring & Status |
| License | LGPL-3.0 | BSL-1.1 |
| Language | Python | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, binary | docker, kubernetes, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 33,666 | ★ 4,290 |
| First released | 2012 | 2021 |
| Replaces | Datadog | Datadog, New Relic |
What are Glances and Uptrace?
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
Uptrace
Uptrace is an open-source observability tool that uses OpenTelemetry to collect distributed traces, metrics, and logs. It stores data in ClickHouse and provides a clean UI for analyzing application performance.
- Distributed tracing
- Metrics and logs support
- ClickHouse storage
- OpenTelemetry-native
Glances vs Uptrace: key differences
Glances is written in Python, while Uptrace is built with Go. Licensing differs — LGPL-3.0 for Glances versus BSL-1.1 for Uptrace. Glances is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 512 MB for Uptrace. Glances is the more established project (first released 2012), while Uptrace arrived in 2021. Glances has the considerably larger community, at 33,666 GitHub stars versus 4,290.
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 Uptrace if…
- Efficient ClickHouse backend
- Easy to deploy
Watch out for
- BSL license restrictions
- Smaller community
Frequently asked questions
Is Glances or Uptrace better?
Glances is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Uptrace if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Glances and Uptrace free and open-source?
Yes. Glances is licensed under LGPL-3.0 and Uptrace under BSL-1.1. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Glances and Uptrace with Docker?
Glances: yes. Uptrace: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Glances or Uptrace?
Glances has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 512 MB for Uptrace. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.