Fluentd vs Netdata

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?
FeatureFluentdNetdata
CategoryMonitoring & StatusMonitoring & Status
LicenseApache-2.0GPL-3.0
LanguageRubyGo
Setup difficultyMediumEasy
Min. RAM128 MB256 MB
Deploymentdocker, kubernetes, binarydocker, bare-metal, kubernetes
GitHub stars★ 13,576★ 80,075
First released20112013
ReplacesLogstashDatadog, New Relic

Why pick each one

Choose Fluentd if…

  • Huge plugin ecosystem
  • Proven at scale
Fluentd details

Choose Netdata if…

  • Instant insight out of the box
  • Beautiful real-time charts
  • Easy install
Netdata details

Frequently asked questions

Is Fluentd or Netdata better?

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

Are Fluentd and Netdata free and open-source?

Yes. Fluentd is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Netdata under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Fluentd and Netdata with Docker?

Fluentd: yes. Netdata: yes.

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