nmon review
A focused, free Linux monitor for collecting and analyzing system performance data.
Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026
nmon is a command-line performance monitoring and benchmarking tool for Linux systems. It is designed for system administrators, performance tuners, and users investigating server or system performance. The interactive curses interface displays CPU, memory, network, disk, filesystem, NFS, resource, and top-process metrics. The project provides open-source source code and precompiled binaries for Linux on POWER, x86, x86_64, mainframe, and ARM systems, making it a focused option for Linux performance measurement and reporting.
Its strongest fit is measurement over time rather than ongoing operational response. nmon can save performance measurements to comma-separated files for later analysis, supporting longer-term collection and comparison. HTML chart generation is available through the related nmonchart tool, while nmon Analyser is listed as an integration. These capabilities give technical users a path from interactive terminal inspection to captured data and report-style output. Choose nmon when the priority is collecting broad host and process metrics in a Linux environment.
The product is free and open source, with source code and precompiled binaries available. Its scope is narrower than a monitoring system built around verified alerts, process actions, or remote monitoring, none of which are part of the published positioning. Teams that need a command-line measurement tool for local or server performance analysis should find the feature set aligned with that goal. Teams seeking centralized remote oversight or automated intervention should choose a product built for those needs instead.
nmon pros and cons
- Where it wins
- Covers CPU, memory, network, disk, filesystem, NFS, and top processes
- Captures comma-separated data for longer-term measurement and later analysis
- Supports POWER, x86, x86_64, mainframe, and ARM Linux systems
- Where it doesn't
- Linux-only, with no support for other operating system platforms
- No verified alerts, process actions, or remote monitoring
- Terminal-focused interface may not suit teams seeking a broader monitoring workflow
nmon fact sheet, pricing and score →
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