Node Exporter vs Process Exporter
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?
Node Exporter
Prometheus exporter for hardware and OS metrics
VS
Process Exporter
Prometheus exporter for per-process metrics
| Feature | Node Exporter | Process Exporter |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Monitoring & Status | Monitoring & Status |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Language | Go | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 32 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | docker, kubernetes, binary | docker, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 13,680 | ★ 2,137 |
| First released | 2015 | 2016 |
| Replaces | Datadog Agent | Datadog Agent |
Why pick each one
Choose Process Exporter if…
- Released under the MIT license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (2.1k GitHub stars)
- Written in Go
Frequently asked questions
Is Node Exporter or Process Exporter better?
Node Exporter is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Process Exporter if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Node Exporter and Process Exporter free and open-source?
Yes. Node Exporter is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Process Exporter under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Node Exporter and Process Exporter with Docker?
Node Exporter: yes. Process Exporter: yes.