Glances vs Serial-Studio
Side-by-side comparison of features, pricing, ratings, and alternatives.
Glances is an open‑source, cross‑platform monitoring tool that provides a concise, real‑time view of system resources such as CPU, memory, disk I/O, network, and processes. It runs on Linux, Windows, macOS and can be accessed via a web interface, making it ideal for both local and remote monitoring. Designed for system administrators and DevOps teams, Glances aggregates metrics into a single dashboard, supports customizable alerts, and integrates with scripts or APIs for automated workflows. Its lightweight design ensures minimal overhead while delivering comprehensive performance insights.
Serial-Studio is a free, open‑source telemetry dashboard that lets engineers visualize and record data from a wide range of serial interfaces. It supports UART, Bluetooth Low Energy, MQTT, Modbus, CAN Bus and many other protocols, making it ideal for embedded development and hardware testing. The application runs on Windows, macOS and Linux, offering live graphs, customizable widgets, and data export options. Its lightweight design and community‑driven development ensure rapid updates and extensibility for hobbyists and professional engineers alike.
- Fully open‑source and free
- Runs on all major operating systems
- Lightweight with low resource overhead
- Extensible via plugins and API
- Fully free and open‑source.
- Supports a wide variety of serial protocols out of the box.
- Runs on all major desktop operating systems.
- Highly customizable UI with drag‑and‑drop widgets.
- No native mobile app
- Limited built‑in visualization compared to commercial tools
- Alerting requires manual configuration or external scripts
- No native mobile app; requires a PC for operation.
- Limited built‑in alerting or notification system.
- Advanced scripting requires knowledge of JavaScript.
More alternatives & similar tools
Alternatives to Glances
View all →Alternatives to Serial-Studio
View all →The Verdict
AI-generated from listing dataGlances is the go‑to free tool for cross‑platform system monitoring with extensible plugins, while Serial‑Studio excels at desktop‑based, multi‑protocol telemetry dashboards for embedded work.
Key differences
- •Glances focuses on OS‑level metrics (CPU, memory, disk, network) and server‑side integrations; Serial‑Studio focuses on serial/IoT protocols (UART, BLE, MQTT, Modbus, CAN).
- •Glances provides a built‑in web server and REST‑style API for remote access; Serial‑Studio offers drag‑and‑drop UI and live web sharing but no API.
- •Glances runs as a lightweight CLI/web tool with low resource overhead; Serial‑Studio is a full desktop app with richer visual widgets.
- •Glances integrates with monitoring stacks like InfluxDB, Prometheus, Elasticsearch; Serial‑Studio integrates directly with hardware communication protocols.
Pricing & value
Both are free and open‑source, offering comparable cost‑free value.
Ease of use / learning curve
Serial‑Studio provides a drag‑and‑drop UI and visual widgets, making it easier for non‑CLI users.
Features & depth
Glances includes system metrics, plugin sensor support, alert thresholds, and a REST API, giving deeper monitoring capabilities.
Integrations & ecosystem
Glances lists integrations with InfluxDB, Prometheus, Elasticsearch, Cassandra, Kafka, RabbitMQ, Docker, covering broader server ecosystems.
Collaboration
Both provide web‑based sharing (Glances remote UI, Serial‑Studio live dashboard) but no native mobile or team features.
Scalability
Glances can export data to time‑series stores (InfluxDB, Prometheus) for large‑scale analysis; Serial‑Studio logs locally.
Choose Glances if…
System administrators needing lightweight, cross‑platform server/infra monitoring with plugin and API support.
Choose Serial-Studio if…
Embedded or hardware engineers needing a desktop dashboard for UART, BLE, MQTT, Modbus, CAN telemetry.
Common questions
Is there any cost to use either tool?
Both Glances and Serial‑Studio are free and open‑source.
Can I monitor server metrics like CPU and memory with Serial‑Studio?
No; Serial‑Studio focuses on serial and IoT protocols, not OS‑level system metrics.
Which tool supports exporting data to external monitoring systems?
Glances can export to JSON, CSV, InfluxDB and integrates with Prometheus, Elasticsearch, etc.; Serial‑Studio only logs to CSV/JSON.