Side by side

Glances vs HWall

Both stand on hardware monitoring software. Which one you can start free with, which one lets you read the code, and what each costs once you pay.

Glances

Free plan Open source AndroidAPILinux+4

Glances covers a broad set of system metrics and offers several ways to monitor remotely or export statistics. Check its Python requirement and optional dependency setup against the features you need.

Visit Glances

HWall

Free plan APILinux

HWall combines Linux sensor monitoring, hardware inventory, alerting, and export features in read-only interfaces. Its usefulness depends on the running kernel, installed drivers, hardware, and optional helper tools.

Visit HWall

The facts

	Glances	HWall
Free plan	Yes	Yes
Open source	Yes	Not published
Runs on	Android, API, Linux, Mac, Self-hosted, Web, Windows	API, Linux
Lowest paid plan	Free or on request	Not published
Plans published	2	None
Maker	Not published	Not published
Website	nicolargo.github.io	github.com
On hardware monitoring software	#2 of 59	#41 of 59

Glances: what it does well

Monitors CPU, memory, network, disks, sensors and uptime.
Remote checks available through terminal, Web UI or API.
Exports statistics to files, databases, brokers or REST.
Documents Docker and Podman monitoring support.
Free and open source under LGPL version 3.

What to know first

Glances 4 requires Python 3.10 or later.
Web interface dependencies are not included by default.
Features such as exports and MCP need optional dependencies.

HWall: what it does well

Free Linux application
GTK 4 and terminal interfaces
Per-sensor warning and critical alerts
Broad hardware inventory coverage
CSV and JSON Lines exports

What to know first

Hardware support depends on kernel and drivers
Optional helpers are needed for some readings
Very short intervals can consume substantial resources
Accuracy and compatibility are not guaranteed

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