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
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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