Compare htop and iotop

htop is interactive process-viewer and process-manager for Linux and Unix-like operating system based on ncurses. If you take top and put it on steroids, you get htop.

Iotop is like top but for monitoring disk I/O by processes. It lists running processes alongwith the disk bandwidth (read/write bytes per second) they are using in real-time. It is written in Python and requires Python >= 2.7 to run.

Let's see how htop and iotop compare on various factors and features.

htop

iotop

Overall

Type

Type
Interactive system-monitor, process-viewer and process-manager
Type
Disk I/O and bandwidth monitor

Author

Operating System

Operating System
Linux distributions, macOS
Operating System
Linux distributions, macOS

Installation

Installation
Doesn't come preinstalled on most Linux distros. Manual installation is needed
Installation
Doesn't come preinstalled. Manual installation is needed

Release Date

Release Date
2004
Release Date
2010

License

License
GNU General Public License (GPL-2.0)
License
GNU General Public License (GPL-2.0)

Website

Website
Features

Screenshot

Screenshot
Htop output on Ubuntu
Output of htop on Ubuntu
Screenshot
iotop output
Output of iotop

User Interface

User Interface
5 Stars
Colorful and nicer text-graphics interface
User Interface
2.5 Stars
Basic ASCII monochrome screen which refreshes automatically.

Scrolling Support

Scrolling Support
Yes, supports horizontal and vertical scrolling
Scrolling Support
No

Mouse Support

Mouse Support
Yes
Mouse Support
No

Process utilization

Process utilization
Yes, including user and kernel threads
Process utilization
No

Network Utilization

Network Utilization
No
Network Utilization
No

Disk Utilization

Disk Utilization
No
Disk Utilization
Yes

Comments

Comments
Easier to use and supports vi like searching with `/`. Sending messages to processes (kill, renice) is easier and doesn't require typing in the process number like top. Personally, it is my favorite tool.
Comments
Useful for monitoring disk I/O activity by process or threads. Use the -o flag to only display processes which are performing I/O. atop also displays disk usage.

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