OpenSearch vs Prometheus

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?
FeatureOpenSearchPrometheus
CategoryMonitoring & StatusMonitoring & Status
LicenseApache-2.0Apache-2.0
LanguageJavaGo
Setup difficultyHardMedium
Min. RAM2,048 MB512 MB
Deploymentdocker, kubernetes, helmdocker, binary, helm
GitHub stars★ 13,480★ 65,616
First released20212015
ReplacesElasticsearch, SplunkDatadog

Why pick each one

Choose OpenSearch if…

  • Truly open-source license
  • Rich analytics features
OpenSearch details

Choose Prometheus if…

  • Powerful query language
  • Reliable and scalable
  • Huge ecosystem
Prometheus details

Frequently asked questions

Is OpenSearch or Prometheus better?

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

Are OpenSearch and Prometheus free and open-source?

Yes. OpenSearch is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Prometheus under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run OpenSearch and Prometheus with Docker?

OpenSearch: yes. Prometheus: yes.

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