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Head-to-head · Process Monitoring Software

Supervisor vs atop

  • Updated Oct 2026
  • Both researched from official sources
  • 5 checks side by side
Higher score Supervisor #4 in Process Monitoring Software 9.0/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 4 of 5 features Visit Supervisor
atop #7 in Process Monitoring Software 8.7/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 1 of 5 features Visit Atoptool.nl

Supervisor leads on 0 checks, atop on 0, and 5 are even. Who comes out ahead on the 5 yes/no, price and count checks where we have data for both products. The editor score weighs everything else too.

Our verdict

  • Highest scoreSupervisor · 9.0/10
  • Free planboth
  • Most featuresSupervisor · 4 of 5

Supervisor scores higher on our rubric for process monitoring software: 9.0 against 8.7 out of 10; our editors rank them #4 and #7.

Supervisor is the better fit for self-hosted process supervision with APIs. atop is the better fit for linux administrators needing historical process data.

  • Supervisor fits best

    Self-hosted process supervision with APIs

  • atop fits best

    Linux administrators needing historical process data

Advertiser disclosure: iTechGuides is reader-supported. Vendors can pay for top positions in our rankings and for a place on other products' pages, and we may earn a commission when you click some links. Bought places stand at the number bought; this page and our disclosure say so. Paying vendors may get a fuller, more detailed review from our editors, and that review can change their score. How we rank.

Side by side

Feature Supervisor 9.0/10 Visit ↗ atop 8.7/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score 9.0 8.7
Ranking #4 in Process Monitoring Software #7 in Process Monitoring Software
Best for Self-hosted process supervision with APIs Linux administrators needing historical process data
Pricing model Free Free
Starting price Free plan Free plan
Free plan ✓ ✓
Free trial — —
Deployment Cloud, Self-hosted Self-hosted
Platforms Web, Linux, macOS Linux
Support Community, Docs Email
Built for Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features Supervisor 4/5 · atop 1/5
Remote monitoring ✓ (best) Not checked yet
Service monitoring Not checked yet Not checked yet
Process alerting ✓ (best) Not checked yet
Process controls ✓ (best) Not checked yet
Activity logs ✓ ✓
Specs
Supported platforms Linux, macOS, self-hosted Unix-like systems, web interface, XML-RPC API linux
History retention Not checked yet Not checked yet
Our review
Pros
  • Automatically restarts crashed or exited processes
  • Groups processes for coordinated control and management
  • Combines CLI, web, XML-RPC, notifications, and logging
  • Per-process and per-thread resource views
  • Compressed activity logs support long-term analysis
  • Finished-process accounting and atopsar reports
Cons
  • Designed for Unix-like systems rather than broad cross-platform deployment
  • Requires self-hosted installation and ongoing administration
  • Emphasizes supervision more than resource metrics
  • Linux-only platform support
  • Alerting and automated actions are not included
  • Network and GPU statistics require optional components
Our verdict

Supervisor is an open-source client/server process-control system for developers and administrators managing application processes on servers. It starts and manages child processes, restarts crashed or exited processes, and provides…

Read the review →

atop is an open-source, terminal-based performance monitor for Linux systems. It combines live views of CPU, memory, swap, disk, and network utilization with per-process and per-thread resource consumption. Linux administrators,…

Read the review →
  1. SupervisorProcess Monitoring Software 9.0Free plan
  2. atopProcess Monitoring Software 8.7Free plan

Strengths and trade-offs

  • Supervisor — where it wins

    • Automatically restarts crashed or exited processes
    • Groups processes for coordinated control and management
    • Combines CLI, web, XML-RPC, notifications, and logging

    Where it doesn't

    • Designed for Unix-like systems rather than broad cross-platform deployment
    • Requires self-hosted installation and ongoing administration
    • Emphasizes supervision more than resource metrics

  • atop — where it wins

    • Per-process and per-thread resource views
    • Compressed activity logs support long-term analysis
    • Finished-process accounting and atopsar reports

    Where it doesn't

    • Linux-only platform support
    • Alerting and automated actions are not included
    • Network and GPU statistics require optional components

More comparisons

All process monitoring software comparisons → · Full ranking →

Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026

Last updated · How we research and update