htop vs Iotop

Struggling to choose between htop and Iotop? Both products offer unique advantages, making it a tough decision.

htop is a Os & Utilities solution with tags like process-viewer, task-manager, linux.

It boasts features such as Interactive interface with ability to scroll, sort processes, kill processes, change priority, Color-coded meters for CPU, memory, swap usage, Ability to monitor multiple processes and system resource usage, Tree view to see parent-child process relationships, Search and filter processes, Customizable interface and color schemes, Mouse support and pros including More intuitive and user-friendly than top, Additional features for analyzing processes, Improved visibility into system resource usage, Easy to kill processes or change priority, Customizable layout and colors.

On the other hand, Iotop is a System & Hardware product tagged with disk, io, monitoring, processes.

Its standout features include Monitors disk I/O usage in real time, Displays table of processes sorted by I/O usage, Shows bandwidth used, I/O type (read/write), process ID, process name, Interactive terminal based UI, Color coded output for easy identification of high I/O processes, and it shines with pros like Lightweight and low overhead, Easy to use terminal interface, Helps identify processes causing disk I/O bottlenecks, Open source and free.

To help you make an informed decision, we've compiled a comprehensive comparison of these two products, delving into their features, pros, cons, pricing, and more. Get ready to explore the nuances that set them apart and determine which one is the perfect fit for your requirements.

htop

htop

htop is an interactive process viewer for Linux. It is similar to the default top command but with a customizable interface, additional features, and improved usability.

Categories:
process-viewer task-manager linux

Htop Features

  1. Interactive interface with ability to scroll, sort processes, kill processes, change priority
  2. Color-coded meters for CPU, memory, swap usage
  3. Ability to monitor multiple processes and system resource usage
  4. Tree view to see parent-child process relationships
  5. Search and filter processes
  6. Customizable interface and color schemes
  7. Mouse support

Pricing

  • Open Source

Pros

More intuitive and user-friendly than top

Additional features for analyzing processes

Improved visibility into system resource usage

Easy to kill processes or change priority

Customizable layout and colors

Cons

Requires familiarity with Linux/Unix systems

Steeper learning curve than top

Configuration can be complex for new users


Iotop

Iotop

Iotop is a Linux program that provides detailed monitoring of disk I/O usage by processes. It shows a table of current I/O usage with columns for process IDs, process names, type of I/O, bandwidth used, and more.

Categories:
disk io monitoring processes

Iotop Features

  1. Monitors disk I/O usage in real time
  2. Displays table of processes sorted by I/O usage
  3. Shows bandwidth used, I/O type (read/write), process ID, process name
  4. Interactive terminal based UI
  5. Color coded output for easy identification of high I/O processes

Pricing

  • Open Source

Pros

Lightweight and low overhead

Easy to use terminal interface

Helps identify processes causing disk I/O bottlenecks

Open source and free

Cons

Terminal based only, no GUI available

Limited to monitoring disk I/O only

Requires some Linux/Unix command line knowledge to use effectively