Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

GKrellM VS MemoryActivity

Compare GKrellM VS MemoryActivity and see what are their differences

GKrellM logo GKrellM

GKrellM is a single process stack of system monitors which supports applying themes to match its...

MemoryActivity logo MemoryActivity

Memory pressure and stats from Activity Monitor โ€” right in your menu bar! - skw398/MemoryActivity
  • GKrellM Landing page
    Landing page //
    2018-09-29
Not present

GKrellM features and specs

  • Customizable
    GKrellM allows users to customize the appearance and functionality, offering various themes and configuration options to fit different preferences and needs.
  • Lightweight
    The application is known for its low resource consumption, making it suitable for systems with limited resources.
  • Real-time Monitoring
    GKrellM provides real-time monitoring of various system metrics such as CPU usage, memory usage, disk activity, network traffic, and more.
  • Plugin Support
    The software supports various plugins, allowing users to extend its functionality according to their requirements.
  • Cross-Platform
    GKrellM is available for multiple operating systems, including Linux, BSD, Solaris, and Windows, providing flexibility for users on different platforms.

Possible disadvantages of GKrellM

  • Obsolete Design
    The user interface of GKrellM may appear outdated compared to modern applications, which might deter some users looking for a contemporary look.
  • Steep Learning Curve
    New users may find it challenging to get used to the configuration and customization options without prior experience or guidance.
  • Limited Support
    Since the software appears to be less actively maintained, users might face difficulties finding up-to-date support and documentation.
  • Dependency Issues
    On certain operating systems, users might encounter dependency issues when installing GKrellM, potentially complicating the setup process.
  • Limited Features Compared to Modern Tools
    Some modern system monitoring tools offer more advanced features and integrations, which may not be available in GKrellM.

MemoryActivity features and specs

  • Lightweight memory monitoring
    MemoryActivity is a small, focused iOS library that lets developers quickly overlay real-time memory usage information on top of an app, without needing to integrate a large or complex profiling suite.
  • Easy integration
    The library is designed to be simple to add to an existing iOS project, typically requiring minimal setup code to start displaying memory usage statistics, which speeds up adoption during development and debugging.
  • Useful for debugging memory leaks
    By providing continuous visibility into an app's memory footprint while it runs, developers can more easily spot unexpected spikes or leaks in real time during manual testing or QA sessions.
  • Open source and free
    Being hosted on GitHub and open source, developers can inspect the source code, modify it to fit their needs, and use it without licensing costs, which is beneficial for indie developers and small teams.
  • Non-intrusive UI overlay
    The tool typically displays memory information as an overlay (e.g., a small HUD or label) that doesn't require navigating away from the app under test, allowing developers to monitor performance while interacting with the app naturally.

Possible disadvantages of MemoryActivity

  • Limited scope
    MemoryActivity focuses narrowly on memory usage display and does not provide the broader profiling capabilities (CPU, network, disk I/O, etc.) that more comprehensive tools like Instruments offer.
  • Potential maintenance concerns
    As a smaller, community-maintained open source project, there is a risk of infrequent updates, lack of support for the newest iOS/Swift versions, or slower bug fixes compared to officially maintained Apple tools.
  • Not suitable for production use
    Tools that overlay debug information are generally intended for development and testing only; using them in production builds could expose internal metrics or add unnecessary overhead, so developers must ensure it's stripped out for release builds.
  • Limited documentation
    Smaller open-source utilities like this often have minimal documentation, which can make it harder for new users to understand advanced configuration options or troubleshoot issues without diving into the source code.
  • Platform-specific
    The library is built specifically for iOS, so it cannot be used for cross-platform projects or apps targeting Android, web, or other platforms, limiting its usefulness in multi-platform teams.

Analysis of GKrellM

Overall verdict

  • Yes, GKrellM is a good system monitoring tool.

Why this product is good

  • GKrellM is a highly customizable and efficient system monitor that provides detailed information about various system resources like CPU, memory, disk, and network usage. It supports themes and third-party plugins, making it versatile and appealing for users who want to track their system's performance in real time.

Recommended for

  • Users who enjoy customizing and theming their desktop environments.
  • System administrators who need a lightweight and real-time monitoring tool.
  • Advanced users looking for a detailed view of their system resources.
  • Linux users, as GKrellM is most commonly used in Unix-like operating systems.

GKrellM videos

Remembering & Rediscovering Gkrellm on FreeBSD 12

More videos:

  • Review - Ubuntu : GKrellM Desktop Themes
  • Review - Gkrellm Theme Downloader

MemoryActivity videos

No MemoryActivity videos yet. You could help us improve this page by suggesting one.

Add video

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to GKrellM and MemoryActivity)
Monitoring Tools
91 91%
9% 9
Log Management
68 68%
32% 32
Command Line Tools
100 100%
0% 0
Error Tracking
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

Share your experience with using GKrellM and MemoryActivity. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
Log in or Post with

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, GKrellM seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 11 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

GKrellM mentions (11)

  • Hard disk LEDs and noisy machines
    I always wanted more feedback, so that even in the mechanical disks and lots of fans era my desktop has always shown more data with GKrellM plus some of its plugins, namely multiping to show the status of my NAS and router, and bubblefishymon for a funny but very effective and immediate way to show that system load is growing suspiciously before fans start screaming. http://gkrellm.srcbox.net/ As for servers,... - Source: Hacker News / over 2 years ago
  • Cool but Obscure X11 Apps
    Possibly not old enough to be included in that list, but my oldest piece of desktop software I always run on my main machine is GKrellm with BubbleFishyMon as system load monitor. http://gkrellm.srcbox.net/. - Source: Hacker News / about 3 years ago
  • Any alternatives to Gnome extensions to display CPU load and such?
    That doesn't always give correct readings depending on the chipset on your MB. There was a driver missing for like IT87 that returned voltage and temps to psensor. I finally gave up trying. gkrellm can monitor cpu, and many other things. You can add what you want. Source: almost 4 years ago
  • sysinfo-gui: A gui app based on sysinfo
    Gkrellm was not really part of GNOME or KDE, but it was one of the best tools and there was recently talk about porting it to modern GTK releases. Source: about 4 years ago
  • New to mint, i really dont like system monitor so what is a good alternative.
    OP: Another option is GKrellM. It has not been updated in a couple of years, but it still appears in Software Manager. It should work with the current versions of LM. I used it for a while on LM 17.2 because I wanted a desktop system monitor and I was too lazy to mess with Conky - I stopped using it when I moved to LM 18.1 and eliminated eye candy. Http://gkrellm.srcbox.net/. Source: over 4 years ago
View more

MemoryActivity mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of MemoryActivity yet. Tracking of MemoryActivity recommendations started around Aug 2026.

What are some alternatives?

When comparing GKrellM and MemoryActivity, you can also consider the following products

Conky - Latest commit 262a292 on Dec 7, 2017 brndnmtthws Add missing build dep. Conky is a free, light-weight system monitor for X, that displays any kind of information on your desktop.

Stats - Simple macOS system monitor in your menu bar.

Desktop Info - This little application displays system information on your desktop in a similar way to some other...

iStat Menus - "An advanced Mac system monitor for your menubar."

Bginfo - This fully-configurable program automatically generates desktop backgrounds that include important information about the system.

Atmonitor - Mac OS X System Monitor and Process Explorer Tool