Netdata vs Uptrace
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted monitoring & status options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Netdata
Real-time per-second infrastructure monitoring
VS
Uptrace
OpenTelemetry-based tracing, metrics, and logs tool
| Feature | Netdata | Uptrace |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 100 · Excellent | 88 · Excellent |
| Category | Monitoring & Status | Monitoring & Status |
| License | GPL-3.0 | BSL-1.1 |
| Language | Go | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, kubernetes | docker, kubernetes, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 80,637 | ★ 4,290 |
| First released | 2013 | 2021 |
| Replaces | Datadog, New Relic | Datadog, New Relic |
What are Netdata and Uptrace?
Netdata
Netdata is a real-time monitoring agent that collects thousands of metrics per second and visualizes them with zero configuration. It targets administrators who want instant, granular system insight. It is deployed via Docker or native packages.
- Per-second real-time metrics
- Zero-configuration auto-discovery
- Built-in anomaly detection
- Thousands of collectors
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
Netdata vs Uptrace: key differences
Both projects are written in Go. Licensing differs — GPL-3.0 for Netdata versus BSL-1.1 for Uptrace. Netdata is the lighter option, starting around 256 MB of RAM against 512 MB for Uptrace. Netdata is the more established project (first released 2013), while Uptrace arrived in 2021. Netdata has the considerably larger community, at 80,637 GitHub stars versus 4,290.
Why pick each one
Choose Netdata if…
- Instant insight out of the box
- Beautiful real-time charts
- Easy install
Watch out for
- Long retention needs tuning
- Cloud features are commercial
Choose Uptrace if…
- Efficient ClickHouse backend
- Easy to deploy
Watch out for
- BSL license restrictions
- Smaller community
Frequently asked questions
Is Netdata or Uptrace better?
Netdata 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 Netdata and Uptrace free and open-source?
Yes. Netdata is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Uptrace under BSL-1.1. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Netdata and Uptrace with Docker?
Netdata: yes. Uptrace: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Netdata or Uptrace?
Netdata 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.