tail AlternativesWeb Log Analyzers and other similar apps like tail

tail is described as 'A command line tool to output the last part of files' and is a web log analyzer in the network & admin category. There are more than 10 alternatives to tail for a variety of platforms, including Mac, Windows, Linux, BSD and Self-Hosted apps. The best tail alternative is ov, which is both free and Open Source. Other great apps like tail are less, slit, unxutils and Tail for Win32.

More about tail

tail alternatives page was last updated Aug 10, 2025

ov
2 likes
Feature-rich terminal-based text viewer. It is a so-called terminal pager.
Cost / License
Free
Open Source (MIT)
Platforms
Go (Programming Language)
Linux
Windows
Mac
FreeBSD
Homebrew
MacPorts
Is ov a good alternative to tail?
ov is the most popular Windows, Mac & Linux alternative to tail.
ov is the most popular Open Source & free alternative to tail.
ov is Free and Open Sourcetail is also Free and Open Source
less
20 likes
Less is a free, open-source file pager. It can be found on most versions of Linux, Unix and Mac OS, as well as on many other operating systems.
12 less alternatives
Cost / License
Free
Open Source
Origin
United States
Platforms
Mac
Linux
BSD
Is less a good alternative to tail?
slit
3 likes
A modern pager for viewing logs, get more than most in less time.
Cost / License
Free
Open Source
Application type
Web Log Analyzer
Platforms
Mac
Windows
Linux
BSD
Is slit a good alternative to tail?
unxutils
7 likes
Here are some ports of common GNU utilities to native Win32. In this context, native means the executables do only depend on the Microsoft C-runtime (msvcrt.dll) and not an emulation layer like that provided by Cygwin tools.
Cost / License
Free
Open Source
Platforms
Windows
Is unxutils a good alternative to tail?
Tail for Win32
3 likes
Tail for Win32 is used to monitor changes to files; displaying the changed lines in realtime. This makes Tail ideal for watching log files.
30 Tail for Win32 alternatives
Cost / License
Free
Open Source (GPL-2.0)
Alerts
Discontinued
Platforms
Windows
Is Tail for Win32 a good alternative to tail?
Logs
2 likes
Logs is a viewer for the systemd journal.
15 Logs alternatives
Cost / License
Free
Open Source (GPL-3.0)
Application type
Web Log Analyzer
Origin
United States
Platforms
Linux
Flathub
GNOME
Is Logs a good alternative to tail?
macOS Console
1 like
An application to view live log files.
Cost / License
Free
Proprietary
Application types
Log Analyzer
Web Log Analyzer
Origin
United States
Platforms
Mac
Is macOS Console a good alternative to tail?
Grafito
Like
Grafito is a simple, self-contained web-based log viewer for journalctl. It provides an intuitive interface to browse and filter system logs directly from your web browser.
Cost / License
Free
Open Source (MIT)
Origin
Argentina
Platforms
Self-Hosted
Is Grafito a good alternative to tail?
Grafito is the most popular Self-Hosted alternative to tail.
Grafito is Free and Open Sourcetail is also Free and Open Source
Log Transformer
1 like
Monitor log files in real time using customized filter and formatting rules. Use regular expressions to apply color and formatting. Go even further by filtering out unwanted text or lines. https://logtransformer.com.
Cost / License
Freemium (Subscription)
Proprietary
Application type
Web Log Analyzer
Platforms
Mac
Is Log Transformer a good alternative to tail?
tail for Windows
Like
tail for Windows is a UNIX/Linux like tail DOS Command for Windows that designed to display last lines of a file and trace/monitor file's change. You can also intercept a file from specified line by using the redirection symbol.
Cost / License
Pay once
Proprietary
Origin
United States
Platforms
Windows
Is tail for Windows a good alternative to tail?
tail for Windows is the most popular commercial alternative to tail.
tail for Windows is Paid and Proprietarytail is Free and Open Source
Goldilogs
Like
Intuitive and powerful real-time log viewer. Low CPU/RAM/network usage. Handles large files (gigabytes), instant loading, colour highlighting, tailing and powerful text/RegEx searching.
Cost / License
Freemium (Pay once)
Proprietary
Platforms
Windows
Is Goldilogs a good alternative to tail?
more
Like
More is a filter for paging through text one screenful at a time. This version is especially primitve. Users should realize that less(1) provides more(1) emulation and extensive enhancements.
Cost / License
Free
Open Source
Platforms
Mac
Linux
BSD
Is more a good alternative to tail?