PM2 vs Monit

PM29.2Visit Monit9.1Visit

Higher score PM2 #2 in Process Monitoring Software 9.2/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 4 of 5 features Visit PM2

vs

Monit #3 in Process Monitoring Software 9.1/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 1 of 5 features Visit Monit

• PM2 fits best

  Node.js application process operations

• Monit fits best

  Self-hosted service health and auto-recovery

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Side by side

Feature	PM2 9.2/10 Visit ↗	Monit 9.1/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	9.2	9.1
Ranking	#2 in Process Monitoring Software	#3 in Process Monitoring Software
Best for	Node.js application process operations	Self-hosted service health and auto-recovery
Pricing model	Free plan + paid	Free
Starting price	—	Free plan
Free plan	✓	✓
Free trial	—	—
Deployment	Cloud, Self-hosted	Self-hosted
Platforms	Web, Windows, macOS, Linux	Linux, macOS
Support	Docs	Community, Docs
Integrations	5 integrations	4 integrations
Built for	Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise	Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features PM2 4/5 · Monit 1/5
Remote monitoring	✓ (best)	Not checked yet
Service monitoring	Not checked yet	✓ (best)
Process alerting	✓ (best)	Not checked yet
Process controls	✓ (best)	Not checked yet
Activity logs	✓ (best)	Not checked yet
Specs
Supported platforms	Linux, macOS, Windows, web dashboard	Not checked yet
History retention	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Our review
Pros	Automatic restarts for crashes, exits, thresholds, file changes, and schedules Zero-downtime reloads and cluster-mode load balancing for Node.js Logs, reboot persistence, terminal monitoring, and web monitoring options	Automatic start, stop, and restart actions for monitored services Broad checks for processes, filesystems, resources, networks, and protocols Open-source deployment with init, systemd, upstart, and M/Monit support
Cons	Advanced remote monitoring depends on PM2 Plus Enterprise capabilities are reserved for the highest tier The product is centered on process operations rather than broad observability	Requires self-hosted deployment and local daemon configuration Not designed as a general agentless infrastructure-monitoring platform Broader fleet management depends on the separate M/Monit product
Our verdict	PM2 is an open-source daemon process manager for keeping Node.js and other applications online. It supports process actions such as starting, stopping, restarting, reloading, and deleting managed processes, while also providing automatic… Read the review →	Monit is a lightweight, open-source utility for monitoring and managing Unix systems. It runs locally as a daemon and is aimed at teams that want self-hosted service health checks with automated responses. Monit can watch processes,… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• PM2 — where it wins

  • Automatic restarts for crashes, exits, thresholds, file changes, and schedules
  • Zero-downtime reloads and cluster-mode load balancing for Node.js
  • Logs, reboot persistence, terminal monitoring, and web monitoring options

  Where it doesn't

  • Advanced remote monitoring depends on PM2 Plus
  • Enterprise capabilities are reserved for the highest tier
  • The product is centered on process operations rather than broad observability

• Monit — where it wins

  • Automatic start, stop, and restart actions for monitored services
  • Broad checks for processes, filesystems, resources, networks, and protocols
  • Open-source deployment with init, systemd, upstart, and M/Monit support

  Where it doesn't

  • Requires self-hosted deployment and local daemon configuration
  • Not designed as a general agentless infrastructure-monitoring platform
  • Broader fleet management depends on the separate M/Monit product

• PM29.2/10 · Free plan

  A capable Node.js process manager with deeper monitoring in paid tiers.

  Visit PM2Full verdict →
• Monit9.1/10 · Free plan

  A focused self-hosted monitor for service health, system checks, and automatic recovery.

  Visit MonitFull verdict →