Cortex vs VictoriaMetrics
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?
Cortex
Horizontally scalable, multi-tenant Prometheus as a service
VS
VictoriaMetrics
Fast, cost-effective time series database and monitoring solution
| Feature | Cortex | VictoriaMetrics |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Monitoring & Status | Monitoring & Status |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Go | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, kubernetes, helm | docker, kubernetes, helm |
| GitHub stars | ★ 5,844 | ★ 17,488 |
| First released | 2016 | 2018 |
| Replaces | Datadog, Grafana Cloud | Datadog, Grafana Cloud |
Why pick each one
Choose VictoriaMetrics if…
- Excellent compression and speed
- Easy single-binary deployment
Frequently asked questions
Is Cortex or VictoriaMetrics better?
VictoriaMetrics is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler medium setup. Consider Cortex if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Cortex and VictoriaMetrics free and open-source?
Yes. Cortex is licensed under Apache-2.0 and VictoriaMetrics under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Cortex and VictoriaMetrics with Docker?
Cortex: yes. VictoriaMetrics: yes.