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iftop VS lsof

Compare iftop VS lsof and see what are their differences

i
iftop

iftop does for network usage what top(1) does for CPU usage.

Rating
0 reviews
Alternatives Is it good?
l
lsof

Lsof lists open files for running UNIX processes. It is a

Rating
0 reviews
Alternatives Is it good?
Netumo
Ensure healthy website performance, uptime, and free from vulnerabilities. Automatic checks for SSL Certificates, domains and monitor issues with your websites all from one console and get instant notifications on any issues. sponsored

Which is more popular?

Monitoring Tools popularity
85% vs 15%
alternatives listed
59 vs 22

Base details

Website, pricing, platforms and company facts side by side.

i
iftop
l
lsof
Website pdw.ex-parrot.com people.freebsd.org
Listed in
Monitoring Tools Command Line Tools OS & Utilities Performance Monitoring +1
Monitoring Tools Command Line Tools Performance Monitoring Accounting +1

Features and specs

What each product offers, as listed by its team.

i
iftop 5 features
l
lsof 0 features
  • Real-time Monitoring
    iftop provides real-time bandwidth monitoring, enabling users to quickly identify network usage and any potential issues.
  • User-Friendly Interface
    The tool features a simple, text-based user interface that is easy to navigate, making it accessible for users with varying levels of experience.
  • Detailed Traffic Insight
    iftop offers detailed information about network traffic, including source and destination IP addresses, service ports, and data flow rates.
  • Lightweight
    Being a command-line tool, iftop is lightweight in nature and does not consume significant system resources.
  • Open Source
    iftop is open source, allowing users to access, modify, and distribute the software freely, which can lead to community-driven improvements.

Possible disadvantages

  • Lacks Historical Data
    iftop does not have the capability to store historical data, making it unsuitable for long-term network monitoring and analysis.
  • Limited Features
    Compared to other network monitoring tools, iftop has a limited feature set and may not meet the requirements of advanced network analysis needs.
  • Requires Root Permissions
    The tool requires root or elevated permissions to run, which might be a security concern in certain environments.
  • Text-based Output
    As a text-based tool, iftop may not provide the most visually appealing outputs, which can be a drawback for users who prefer graphical interfaces.
  • Not Cross-Platform
    iftop is primarily designed for Unix-like systems and may not be available or easily operable on non-Unix platforms like Windows.

No features have been listed yet.

Analysis

An editorial look at what each product does well and who it suits.

i
iftop
l
lsof

No analysis of iftop yet.

Overall verdict

  • lsof (List Open Files) is a mature, battle-tested Unix/Linux utility that reliably reveals which files, sockets, and resources are opened by processes, making it an indispensable diagnostic tool for system administrators and developers.

Why this product is good

  • Provides comprehensive visibility into open files, network sockets, pipes, and devices tied to running processes
  • Extremely useful for troubleshooting 'device busy' errors, port conflicts, and locating processes holding onto deleted files
  • Highly portable across many Unix-like systems including FreeBSD, Linux, macOS, and Solaris
  • Long history of stable, well-maintained releases with extensive documentation and community support
  • Powerful filtering options let you query by user, process, port, file, or network connection

Recommended for

  • System administrators diagnosing resource and file-locking issues
  • Developers debugging network connections and socket usage
  • Security professionals investigating suspicious process activity and open network ports
  • Anyone needing to identify which process is using a specific file, directory, or port before unmounting or killing

Videos

Walkthroughs and reviews on video.

i
iftop 3 videos + Add
l
lsof 2 videos + Add

How to monitor network bandwidth using Iftop

More videos

  • - How to install iftop and use it on Linux Mint 18.3
  • - Untangle Traffic monitoring with Iftop

8 Basic lsof Commands Every Sysadmin Needs to Know

More videos

  • - HakTip - Network monitoring in Linux with lsof

Category popularity

How often each product is chosen within a category, 0–100% relative to the other.

Score bands 0–20 21–40 41–50 51–60 61–100
i
iftop
l
lsof
85% 85%
Monitoring Tools
15% 15%
72% 72%
Command Line Tools
28% 28%
0% 0%
Performance Monitoring
100% 100%
100% 100%
Tool
0% 0%

User comments

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Alternatives to iftop and lsof

When comparing iftop and lsof, you can also consider the following products.

  • nmon

    This systems administrator, tuner, benchmark tool gives you a huge amount of important performance...

    Compare nmon to iftop or lsof:

    nmon vs iftop nmon vs lsof
  • htop

    htop - an interactive process viewer for Unix. This is htop, an interactive process viewer for Unix systems. It is a text-mode application (for console or X terminals) and requires ncurses. Latest release: htop 2.

    Compare htop to iftop or lsof:

    htop vs iftop htop vs lsof
  • psutil

    psutil is a module providing an interface for retrieving information on all running processes and...

    Compare psutil to iftop or lsof:

    psutil vs iftop psutil vs lsof
  • Sysdig

    Sysdig is an open source, system-level exploration that capture system state and activity from a running Linux instance, then save, filter and analyze.

    Compare Sysdig to iftop or lsof:

    Sysdig vs iftop Sysdig vs lsof
  • gtop

    System monitoring dashboard for terminal

    Compare gtop to iftop or lsof:

    gtop vs iftop gtop vs lsof
  • v
    vtop

    vtop is a graphical command-line tool that uses unicode braille to chart CPU and memory usage.

    Compare vtop to iftop or lsof:

    vtop vs iftop vtop vs lsof
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