If you’re using a modern Linux desktop environment it’ll will come with a system monitor app to help you know how much CPU, RAM etc. your programs use. But there are lots of alternatives available.
The tools featured in this roundup are targeted at a desktop user who wants to monitor resources being used on their machine. They all sport an attractive graphical user interface.
For command-line system resources monitoring tools, we suggest you view our roundup looking at alternatives to the top utility. We don’t include here software offering a more holistic view and designed primarily for system administrators, as they are explored in a separate roundup.
Here’s our verdict captured in a legendary LinuxLinks-style ratings chart. Only free and open source software is eligible for inclusion here.
Let’s explore the 11 tools in more detail.
| System Resource Monitoring GUI Tools | |
|---|---|
| Mission Center | Monitor CPU, memory, disk, network and GPU usage |
| System Monitoring Center | GTK-based multi-featured system monitor |
| Plasma System Monitor | KDE-based tool |
| System Monitor | View and manage system resources |
| Resources | GNOME-based tool |
| jdSystemMonitor | Desktop-independent system monitor |
| xfce4-taskmanager | Monitor system resources |
| Monitorets | Small utility application for monitoring resources |
| LXTask | Lightweight task manager for LXDE |
| Usage | GNOME lightweight system monitoring application |
| xosview2 | X11 system monitor |
This article has been updated to reflect the changes outlined in our recent announcement.
 Explore our comprehensive directory of recommended free and open source software. Our carefully curated collection spans every major software category.This directory is part of our ongoing series of informative articles for Linux enthusiasts. It features hundreds of detailed reviews, along with open source alternatives to proprietary solutions from major corporations such as Google, Microsoft, Apple, Adobe, IBM, Cisco, Oracle, and Autodesk. You’ll also find interesting projects to try, hardware coverage, free programming books and tutorials, and much more. Know a useful open source Linux program that we haven’t covered yet? Let us know by completing this form. |