Prometheus vs Zabbix

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?
FeaturePrometheusZabbix
CategoryMonitoring & StatusMonitoring & Status
LicenseApache-2.0AGPL-3.0
LanguageGoGo Template
Setup difficultyMediumHard
Min. RAM512 MB1,024 MB
Deploymentdocker, binary, helmdocker, bare-metal
GitHub stars★ 65,616★ 6,228
First released20152001
ReplacesDatadogDatadog, Nagios

Why pick each one

Choose Prometheus if…

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

Choose Zabbix if…

  • Comprehensive and mature
  • Scales to large estates
  • Fully free
Zabbix details

Frequently asked questions

Is Prometheus or Zabbix better?

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

Are Prometheus and Zabbix free and open-source?

Yes. Prometheus is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Zabbix under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Prometheus and Zabbix with Docker?

Prometheus: yes. Zabbix: yes.

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