PM2 vs Tilt in 2026

Q: Is PM2 free to use?

PM2 Runtime remains free because it is open source . PM2 Plus does not offer any free plan . Its page also mentions a 20% discount on a subscription, and says it only refers to PM2 Plus . The facts here do not give a dollar price for PM2 Plus, so the price is not published here .

Q: Is Tilt open source?

Tilt's page says it is open source . The sources here do not give a price for any paid Tilt features, so check Tilt's own pages.

Q: What does Tilt live_update do compared with PM2?

PM2 can be installed globally with npm . The sources here say no more than that about Tilt's features, so read each page against your own setup.

Q: Is DevWebUI free and open source?

DevWebUI is free, and its core features need no account . It is open source under the MIT License . The sources here do not state any paid tier, so the only price they give is free. Check the project's own pages for future plans.

PM2 and Tilt compared on what each does, what each costs and how each is set up, with DevWebUI as a third option for local dev servers.

By SayDeploy · 2026-10-24

SayDeploy is published by LunarWerx, which makes some of the tools compared here.

PM2 is open source and its Runtime stays free for running applications, installed globally with npm ^[1] ^[2]. Tilt is an open source development tool ^[3]. DevWebUI is a third option that starts and watches local dev servers from one dashboard ^[4].

Option	Free to use	Paid plan	Maintainer or account	Install
PM2	PM2 Runtime remains free as it is open source ^[1]	PM2 Plus does not offer a free plan. ^[1] The PM2 Plus subscription has a 20% discount when paid yearly. ^[1] The price is not published.	PM2.io account for the AI assistant ^[2]	npm install pm2 -g ^[2]
Tilt	Open source ^[3]	Not published	Not published	Not published
DevWebUI	Free, core features need no account ^[4]	DevWebUI says it is free, and its core features need no account. ^[4]	No account for core features ^[4]	devwebui-windows-x64.exe from GitHub Releases, or bun install then bun run dev ^[4]

The short answer

PM2 is installed globally with npm ^[2]. Its page says it works with Claude Code, Claude Desktop and Cursor ^[2]. Tilt is an open source development tool ^[3]. DevWebUI lets a developer start, stop and restart local dev servers from one dashboard, and see each one's status, CPU, memory and logs ^[4].

PM2 Runtime remains free because it is open source, and PM2 Plus does not offer a free plan. ^[1] DevWebUI's sources cover a dashboard for starting and watching local servers ^[4].

What PM2 and Tilt are built for

PM2 can be installed globally with npm ^[2]. The page says 44 AI tools are available ^[2] and that it works with Claude Code, Claude Desktop and Cursor ^[2].

Support is in the #tilt channel of the Kubernetes Slack, Mon-Fri EST business hours ^[3]. The Tilt sources given here are otherwise brief.

What DevWebUI is built for

DevWebUI is made by the team that publishes this site.

It lets you start, stop and restart your local dev servers from one dashboard, and see each one's status, CPU, memory and logs ^[4]. One small file per repo lists the servers to run, and processes changed in the GUI are written back to that file ^[4].

When a port is already taken, it shows which process holds it and can free the port if you ask ^[4]. Errors are collected into one log that merges repeats and is kept across restarts, and each file:line link opens in your editor ^[4].

A setting in the repo file can start the project's Docker services first, wait until they are ready and pass their connection settings to your servers ^[4]. You can also set threshold alert rules and see a history of the alerts that fired ^[4]. AI assistants can control your dev servers through 43 tools, using the same background service as the dashboard ^[4].

Pricing and fees

PM2 Runtime remains free because it is open source, and PM2 Plus does not offer a free plan. ^[1] The PM2 Plus subscription has a 20% discount when paid yearly. ^[1] After you cancel a subscription, you finish the current month and then access is disabled ^[1]. The PM2 sources given here do not state a dollar price for PM2 Plus, so the price is not published here ^[1].

Tilt's page says it is open source ^[3]. A price for Tilt's team features is not published in the sources here.

DevWebUI is free, and its core features need no account ^[4]. It is open source under the MIT License ^[4]. No paid tier price is stated in its sources.

Setting it up and daily use

PM2 can be installed globally with npm using npm install pm2 -g ^[2]. PM2's page says it works with Claude Code, Claude Desktop and Cursor ^[2].

The Tilt sources here give no install steps. They say support is in the #tilt channel of the Kubernetes Slack, Mon-Fri EST business hours ^[3].

On Windows, DevWebUI is installed by downloading devwebui-windows-x64.exe from GitHub Releases, and on any OS you run bun install and then bun run dev ^[4]. DevWebUI's tray app runs only on Windows ^[4]. Daily, you control servers from the dashboard ^[4] or from a devwebui command-line tool ^[4]. If the last DevWebUI shutdown was not clean, the next launch loads your projects but starts nothing automatically ^[4].

Things to check before you choose

Ask what you need managed: local dev servers, containers, or an application kept online around the clock. DevWebUI lets you start, stop and restart your local dev servers from one dashboard ^[4].

Check your operating system. DevWebUI has a prebuilt Windows x64 app, and other systems run it from source with Bun ^[4].

Check cost and accounts. PM2 Plus has no free plan ^[1]. Ask Tilt what its team features cost.

Check what data leaves your machine. DevWebUI sends an anonymous install ping with update checks unless you set DEVWEBUI_NO_PING=1 ^[4]. Check PM2's and Tilt's own pages for data handling.

How to choose

If you want a free runtime, PM2 Runtime remains free as it is open source ^[1].

If you want the tool to work with Claude Code, Claude Desktop or Cursor, PM2's page says its feature works with those tools ^[2].

If you want to start, stop and restart local dev servers from one dashboard with status, CPU, memory and logs, DevWebUI's claims describe that ^[4].

If you want a free tool with no account for core features, DevWebUI's claims say that ^[4].

Frequently asked questions

Is PM2 free to use?

PM2 Runtime remains free because it is open source ^[1]. PM2 Plus does not offer any free plan ^[1]. Its page also mentions a 20% discount on a subscription, and says it only refers to PM2 Plus ^[1]. The facts here do not give a dollar price for PM2 Plus, so the price is not published here ^[1].

Is Tilt open source?

Tilt's page says it is open source ^[3]. The sources here do not give a price for any paid Tilt features, so check Tilt's own pages.

How do you install PM2 and Tilt?

PM2 can be installed globally with npm using npm install pm2 -g ^[2]. The Tilt sources here give no install steps, so check Tilt's own pages. Tilt support is in the #tilt channel of the Kubernetes Slack, Mon-Fri EST business hours ^[3].

What does Tilt live_update do compared with PM2?

PM2 can be installed globally with npm ^[2]. The sources here say no more than that about Tilt's features, so read each page against your own setup.

Is DevWebUI free and open source?

DevWebUI is free, and its core features need no account ^[4]. It is open source under the MIT License ^[4]. The sources here do not state any paid tier, so the only price they give is free. Check the project's own pages for future plans.

DevWebUI is free, and its core features need no account. ^[4]

Try DevWebUI