Graphite vs HyperDX
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted monitoring & status options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Graphite
Scalable real-time graphing and time series storage
VS
HyperDX
Open-source observability for logs, traces, and session replay
| Feature | Graphite | HyperDX |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 72 · Good | 93 · Excellent |
| Category | Monitoring & Status | Monitoring & Status |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Language | JavaScript | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | docker, kubernetes, helm |
| GitHub stars | ★ 6,119 | ★ 9,912 |
| First released | 2008 | 2023 |
| Replaces | Datadog | Datadog, Sentry |
What are Graphite and HyperDX?
Graphite
Graphite is a monitoring tool that stores numeric time series data and renders graphs of it on demand. It consists of Carbon for metric ingestion, Whisper for storage, and a Django-based web app for visualization.
- Time series storage with Whisper
- On-demand graph rendering
- Plain-text metric protocol
- Widely supported by collectors
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
Graphite vs HyperDX: key differences
Graphite is written in JavaScript, while HyperDX is built with TypeScript. Licensing differs — Apache-2.0 for Graphite versus MIT for HyperDX. Graphite is the lighter option, starting around 512 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for HyperDX. Graphite is the more established project (first released 2008), while HyperDX arrived in 2023.
Why pick each one
Choose Graphite if…
- Simple metric protocol
- Mature and stable
Watch out for
- Dated architecture
- Scaling requires extra components
Choose HyperDX if…
- Session replay correlation
- Developer-focused UX
Watch out for
- Newer project
- Requires ClickHouse
Frequently asked questions
Is Graphite or HyperDX better?
Neither is universally better. HyperDX has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Graphite and HyperDX free and open-source?
Yes. Graphite is licensed under Apache-2.0 and HyperDX under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Graphite and HyperDX with Docker?
Graphite: yes. HyperDX: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Graphite or HyperDX?
Graphite has the smaller minimum footprint at 512 MB of RAM, compared to about 1,024 MB for HyperDX. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.