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Head-to-head · Distributed Tracing Tools

Grafana Tempo vs OpenZipkin

  • Updated Oct 2026
  • Both researched from official sources
  • 4 checks side by side
Higher score Grafana Tempo #4 in Distributed Tracing Tools 9.0/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 3 of 3 features Visit Grafana Tempo
OpenZipkin #7 in Distributed Tracing Tools 8.6/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 2 of 3 features Visit OpenZipkin

Grafana Tempo leads on 1 check, OpenZipkin on 0, and 3 are even. Who comes out ahead on the 4 yes/no, price and count checks where we have data for both products. The editor score weighs everything else too.

Our verdict

  • Highest scoreGrafana Tempo · 9.0/10
  • Free planboth
  • Most featuresGrafana Tempo · 3 of 3

Grafana Tempo scores higher on our rubric for distributed tracing tools: 9.0 against 8.6 out of 10; our editors rank them #4 and #7.

Grafana Tempo offers tail-based sampling; OpenZipkin doesn't.

Grafana Tempo is the better fit for grafana-based trace storage and analysis. OpenZipkin is the better fit for teams wanting simple open-source Zipkin tracing.

  • Grafana Tempo fits best

    Grafana-based trace storage and analysis

  • OpenZipkin fits best

    Teams wanting simple open-source Zipkin tracing

Advertiser disclosure: iTechGuides is reader-supported. Vendors can pay for top positions in our rankings and for a place on other products' pages, and we may earn a commission when you click some links. Bought places stand at the number bought; this page and our disclosure say so. Paying vendors may get a fuller, more detailed review from our editors, and that review can change their score. How we rank.

Side by side

Feature Grafana Tempo 9.0/10 Visit ↗ OpenZipkin 8.6/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score 9.0 8.6
Ranking #4 in Distributed Tracing Tools #7 in Distributed Tracing Tools
Best for Grafana-based trace storage and analysis Teams wanting simple open-source Zipkin tracing
Pricing model Free Free
Starting price Free plan Free plan
Free plan ✓ ✓
Free trial — —
Deployment Self-hosted Cloud, Self-hosted
Platforms Linux Web
Support Community, Docs Community, Docs
Integrations 11 integrations 10 integrations
Built for Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features Grafana Tempo 3/3 · OpenZipkin 2/3
OpenTelemetry support ✓ ✓
Service map ✓ ✓
Tail-based sampling ✓ (best) —
Specs
Trace retention Not checked yet Not checked yet
Deployment model Self_hosted Self_hosted
Pricing basis Not checked yet Not checked yet
Our review
Pros
  • OpenTelemetry, Jaeger, and Zipkin ingestion support
  • TraceQL, service graphs, and span metrics in one backend
  • Object-storage retention with monolithic or microservices deployment
  • Search traces by service, operation, tags, duration, or trace ID
  • Dependency diagrams and web trace views clarify service behavior
  • Supports HTTP, Kafka, gRPC, RabbitMQ, and configurable storage backends
Cons
  • Self-managed deployment requires Linux or API-based infrastructure
  • Grafana Cloud Traces is a separate managed offering
  • Platform coverage is narrower than some distributed tracing tools
  • Self-hosted deployment requires managing the Java executable, Docker, or source setup
  • OpenTelemetry OTLP/HTTP ingestion is provided through an experimental extension
  • No documented tail-sampling capability for trace volume control
Our verdict

Grafana Tempo is an open-source distributed tracing backend for teams operating microservices and other distributed systems. It ingests trace data through OpenTelemetry, Jaeger, and Zipkin protocols, stores traces in object storage, and…

Read the review →

OpenZipkin is an open-source distributed tracing system for service architectures. It collects, stores, searches, and visualizes trace data through a web UI and query API. Teams can look up traces by service, operation, tags, duration, or…

Read the review →
  1. Grafana TempoDistributed Tracing Tools 9.0Free plan
  2. OpenZipkinDistributed Tracing Tools 8.6Free plan

Strengths and trade-offs

  • Grafana Tempo — where it wins

    • OpenTelemetry, Jaeger, and Zipkin ingestion support
    • TraceQL, service graphs, and span metrics in one backend
    • Object-storage retention with monolithic or microservices deployment

    Where it doesn't

    • Self-managed deployment requires Linux or API-based infrastructure
    • Grafana Cloud Traces is a separate managed offering
    • Platform coverage is narrower than some distributed tracing tools

  • OpenZipkin — where it wins

    • Search traces by service, operation, tags, duration, or trace ID
    • Dependency diagrams and web trace views clarify service behavior
    • Supports HTTP, Kafka, gRPC, RabbitMQ, and configurable storage backends

    Where it doesn't

    • Self-hosted deployment requires managing the Java executable, Docker, or source setup
    • OpenTelemetry OTLP/HTTP ingestion is provided through an experimental extension
    • No documented tail-sampling capability for trace volume control

More comparisons

All distributed tracing tools comparisons → · Full ranking →

Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026

Last updated · How we research and update