Chronograf vs Portainer CE
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted dashboards & startpages options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
Chronograf
Visualization and admin interface for the InfluxData stack
VS
Portainer CE
Lightweight management UI for Docker and Kubernetes
| Feature | Chronograf | Portainer CE |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Dashboards & Startpages | Dashboards & Startpages |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | Zlib |
| Language | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, binary | docker, kubernetes, helm |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,566 | ★ 38,184 |
| First released | 2016 | 2016 |
| Replaces | Grafana Cloud, Datadog Dashboards | Rancher, Docker Desktop |
Why pick each one
Frequently asked questions
Is Chronograf or Portainer CE better?
Neither is universally better. Portainer CE has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Chronograf and Portainer CE free and open-source?
Yes. Chronograf is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Portainer CE under Zlib. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Chronograf and Portainer CE with Docker?
Chronograf: yes. Portainer CE: yes.