cAdvisor vs Graphite

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?
FeaturecAdvisorGraphite
CategoryMonitoring & StatusMonitoring & Status
LicenseApache-2.0Apache-2.0
LanguageGoJavaScript
Setup difficultyEasyMedium
Min. RAM64 MB512 MB
Deploymentdocker, kubernetes, binarydocker, bare-metal, source
GitHub stars★ 19,342★ 6,102
First released20142008
ReplacesDatadogDatadog

Why pick each one

Choose cAdvisor if…

  • Zero configuration
  • Lightweight
cAdvisor details

Choose Graphite if…

  • Simple metric protocol
  • Mature and stable
Graphite details

Frequently asked questions

Is cAdvisor or Graphite better?

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

Are cAdvisor and Graphite free and open-source?

Yes. cAdvisor is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Graphite under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run cAdvisor and Graphite with Docker?

cAdvisor: yes. Graphite: yes.

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