Overview

PM2 pairs application process management with optional remote monitoring. Its Runtime plan provides an open-source manager and real-time web interface; paid tiers add production monitoring and, at Enterprise level, optimization and profiling. It can be a practical choice when process control and application visibility belong in the same workflow, but the Plus fee and process-limit behavior deserve attention before adopting it at scale. See our Process Monitoring Software list for more options.

Key features

Process management

Cluster mode, zero-downtime reloads, watch-and-restart, startup scripts, log management, and memory-based reloads give teams several ways to keep applications available and respond to changing runtime conditions. Those controls suit services that need managed restarts and deliberate reloads; they are more than a basic system monitor offers, but are specific to managing application processes.

For containers, PM2 documents pm2-runtime for Node.js applications, with process fallback, flow control, monitoring, and source-map support. Its integration documentation covers Docker, cloud providers, Heroku, AWS Elastic Beanstalk, Nginx, and deployment workflows, making it relevant to teams already working across those environments.

Monitoring and AI

PM2 Plus adds a web monitoring interface, application overview, issue tracking, custom metrics, server health checks, and Node.js V8 monitoring. Email and Slack notifications help teams follow issues without constantly watching the dashboard. The PM2 AI Assistant connects Claude, Cursor, and other MCP-compatible assistants to monitoring data through OAuth with a PM2.io account, so access is secured through that account rather than being an unrestricted connection.

Enterprise adds advanced rule-based alerting, profiling, transaction tracing, Go and Python integration, cloud-shared or on-premise installation, and up to one year of data retention. These capabilities suit teams that need deeper analysis or deployment choice; they go beyond the Runtime process-management focus.

Pricing

Runtime: Free. This open-source process manager includes a real-time web interface, making it a sensible starting point for individuals and teams that primarily need process controls. It does not include the Plus monitoring feature set.

Plus: 79.00 USD per month. This plan targets Node.js production applications and adds the monitoring features, issue tracking, custom metrics, health checks, and email and Slack notifications. It is the more appropriate fit when operators need ongoing production visibility, but its monthly price is a meaningful step up from Runtime.

Enterprise: custom pricing. It adds optimization and profiling capabilities, including advanced alerting, tracing, broader language integration, deployment options, and up to one year of retention. Organizations needing those capabilities should contact sales for terms.

A trial is possible by contacting the sales team through the form. The pricing FAQ says that when a plan's process limit is exceeded, the system automatically ignores randomly chosen excess processes. That behavior can leave some processes unmanaged, so check the applicable limit before relying on PM2 for a larger workload.

Platforms

PM2 supports Linux, macOS, and Windows, with a web dashboard and self-hosted availability. API support is also listed. Remote monitoring, process controls, process alerting, and activity logs are supported, making the offering relevant both to developers managing runtimes and operators monitoring them remotely.

Who it's for

PM2 is best suited to developers and operations teams running Node.js applications that need process lifecycle controls and, with Plus or Enterprise, production monitoring. Runtime fits those who want the open-source manager and web interface without a subscription. Teams that only need general system monitoring, or that cannot accept randomly ignored processes after exceeding a plan limit, should consider a different tool.

Pros and cons

Pros: Runtime includes an open-source process manager and real-time web interface at no cost, giving teams a no-cost route to process controls.
Pros: Process features span cluster mode, zero-downtime reloads, restart behavior, log management, startup scripts, and memory-based reloads, addressing several operational needs in one manager.
Pros: Plus combines application and server monitoring with issue tracking and email or Slack alerts, while Enterprise adds profiling, tracing, and deployment options.
Cons: Plus costs 79.00 USD per month, so teams that need its monitoring must budget for a paid plan rather than relying on Runtime.
Cons: Excess processes are randomly ignored after a plan limit is exceeded, a serious operational caveat for workloads that may grow beyond their allowance.
Cons: The advanced Enterprise feature set is custom pricing, so teams must contact sales to assess its cost.

Alternatives

Glances is a free monitoring tool available across Android, API, Linux, macOS, self-hosted, web, and Windows; choose it when broad system monitoring matters more than PM2's application process-management features.

Monit is free, open-source software for Linux, macOS, and self-hosted use, a reasonable alternative when those platforms and a free tool are the priority.

atop is a free Linux performance monitor; choose it when Linux performance monitoring, rather than application process management, is the need.

Process Lasso is a freemium Windows option with monthly and annual single-PC plans, worth considering when the requirement is Windows process management on one PC.

Ambih Monitor offers Windows monitoring with a free plan capped at five-session history per project and a Pro plan; consider it when that project-history model better fits your monitoring needs.

OpenProcMon is free, MIT-licensed software for 64-bit Windows, with live capture requiring Administrator privileges; choose it when those constraints suit the job.

Remote Process Explorer offers Windows personal and business licenses, making it an option to compare for Windows process exploration.

Autoruns is free for Windows with no limit on installs or use on devices you own or support; consider it when that specific licensing model suits your situation.

Verdict

Choose PM2 if you run Node.js applications and want one toolset for process recovery, controlled reloads, and optional production monitoring. Runtime makes process management accessible without a subscription, while Plus and Enterprise add increasingly capable monitoring and analysis. Look elsewhere if you need only general system monitoring or cannot risk excess processes being randomly ignored when a plan limit is crossed.

	btop	PM2
Free plan	Yes	Yes
Free trial	No	Yes
Paid from	Free	$79/mo
Platforms	Linux, macOS	api, Linux, macOS, self-hosted, Web, Windows
Free plan	Yes	Yes
Supported platforms	Linux, macOS, FreeBSD, NetBSD, OpenBSD	Linux, macOS, Windows, web dashboard
Process controls	Yes	Yes
Remote monitoring		Yes
Process alerting		Yes
Activity logs		Yes

btop vs PM2

btop

PM2