cAdvisor vs HyperDX
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted monitoring & status options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
cAdvisor
Container resource usage and performance analysis
VS
HyperDX
Open-source observability for logs, traces, and session replay
| Feature | cAdvisor | HyperDX |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 96 · Excellent | 93 · Excellent |
| Category | Monitoring & Status | Monitoring & Status |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Language | Go | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, kubernetes, binary | docker, kubernetes, helm |
| GitHub stars | ★ 19,440 | ★ 9,912 |
| First released | 2014 | 2023 |
| Replaces | Datadog | Datadog, Sentry |
What are cAdvisor and HyperDX?
cAdvisor
cAdvisor provides container users with an understanding of the resource usage and performance characteristics of their running containers. It exposes per-container CPU, memory, network, and filesystem metrics.
- Per-container resource metrics
- Live web UI
- Prometheus metrics export
- Auto-discovers containers
HyperDX
HyperDX is an open-source observability platform that correlates logs, metrics, traces, and session replays in one place. Built on OpenTelemetry and ClickHouse, it helps developers debug production issues quickly.
- Correlated logs, traces, and replays
- OpenTelemetry-native
- ClickHouse storage
- Full-text log search
cAdvisor vs HyperDX: key differences
CAdvisor is written in Go, while HyperDX is built with TypeScript. Licensing differs — Apache-2.0 for cAdvisor versus MIT for HyperDX. CAdvisor is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for HyperDX. CAdvisor is the more established project (first released 2014), while HyperDX arrived in 2023.
Why pick each one
Choose cAdvisor if…
- Zero configuration
- Lightweight
Watch out for
- Limited historical retention
- Best paired with Prometheus
Choose HyperDX if…
- Session replay correlation
- Developer-focused UX
Watch out for
- Newer project
- Requires ClickHouse
Frequently asked questions
Is cAdvisor or HyperDX better?
cAdvisor is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider HyperDX if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are cAdvisor and HyperDX free and open-source?
Yes. cAdvisor is licensed under Apache-2.0 and HyperDX under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run cAdvisor and HyperDX with Docker?
cAdvisor: yes. HyperDX: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, cAdvisor or HyperDX?
cAdvisor has the smaller minimum footprint at 64 MB of RAM, compared to about 1,024 MB for HyperDX. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.