Beszel vs Zipkin

A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted monitoring & status options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.

Not the right match-up?
FeatureBeszelZipkin
CategoryMonitoring & StatusMonitoring & Status
LicenseMITApache-2.0
LanguageGoJava
Setup difficultyEasyMedium
Min. RAM128 MB512 MB
Deploymentdocker, binarydocker, binary
GitHub stars★ 24,108★ 17,452
First released20242015
ReplacesUptimeRobotDatadog APM

Why pick each one

Choose Beszel if…

  • Extremely lightweight
  • Simple multi-host view
  • Easy setup
Beszel details

Choose Zipkin if…

  • Simple to run
  • Long-established project
Zipkin details

Frequently asked questions

Is Beszel or Zipkin better?

Beszel is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Zipkin if its specific feature set fits your needs better.

Are Beszel and Zipkin free and open-source?

Yes. Beszel is licensed under MIT and Zipkin under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Beszel and Zipkin with Docker?

Beszel: yes. Zipkin: yes.

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