Pulse Monitor vs Uptrace
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted monitoring & status options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Pulse Monitor | Uptrace |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 91 · Excellent | 88 · Excellent |
| Category | Monitoring & Status | Monitoring & Status |
| License | MIT | BSL-1.1 |
| Language | Go | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker | docker, kubernetes, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 6,742 | ★ 4,290 |
| First released | 2024 | 2021 |
| Replaces | Datadog | Datadog, New Relic |
What are Pulse Monitor and Uptrace?
Pulse Monitor
Pulse is a self-hosted monitoring application focused on Proxmox VE and PBS environments, surfacing node, VM, and backup health. It provides real-time dashboards and alerting.
- Proxmox monitoring
- VM and node health
- Backup status
- Real-time dashboards
Uptrace
Uptrace is an open-source observability tool that uses OpenTelemetry to collect distributed traces, metrics, and logs. It stores data in ClickHouse and provides a clean UI for analyzing application performance.
- Distributed tracing
- Metrics and logs support
- ClickHouse storage
- OpenTelemetry-native
Pulse Monitor vs Uptrace: key differences
Both projects are written in Go. Licensing differs — MIT for Pulse Monitor versus BSL-1.1 for Uptrace. Pulse Monitor is the lighter option, starting around 256 MB of RAM against 512 MB for Uptrace. Uptrace is the more established project (first released 2021), while Pulse Monitor arrived in 2024.
Why pick each one
Choose Pulse Monitor if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 6.7k GitHub stars
Choose Uptrace if…
- Efficient ClickHouse backend
- Easy to deploy
Watch out for
- BSL license restrictions
- Smaller community
Frequently asked questions
Is Pulse Monitor or Uptrace better?
Pulse Monitor is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Uptrace if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Pulse Monitor and Uptrace free and open-source?
Yes. Pulse Monitor is licensed under MIT and Uptrace under BSL-1.1. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Pulse Monitor and Uptrace with Docker?
Pulse Monitor: yes. Uptrace: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Pulse Monitor or Uptrace?
Pulse Monitor has the smaller minimum footprint at 256 MB of RAM, compared to about 512 MB for Uptrace. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.