Sampler Dashboard vs Heimdall
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted dashboards & startpages options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
Sampler Dashboard
Terminal dashboard for visualizing shell command output
VS
Heimdall
Simple application dashboard and launcher
| Feature | Sampler Dashboard | Heimdall |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Dashboards & Startpages | Dashboards & Startpages |
| License | GPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Language | Go | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, binary | docker |
| GitHub stars | ★ 14,727 | ★ 9,291 |
| First released | 2019 | 2017 |
| Replaces | Grafana | Heimdall |
Why pick each one
Frequently asked questions
Is Sampler Dashboard or Heimdall better?
Neither is universally better. Sampler Dashboard has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Sampler Dashboard and Heimdall free and open-source?
Yes. Sampler Dashboard is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Heimdall under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Sampler Dashboard and Heimdall with Docker?
Sampler Dashboard: check the project docs for container support. Heimdall: yes.