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Head-to-head · Distributed Tracing Tools

Grafana Tempo vs Pinpoint

  • 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
Pinpoint #6 in Distributed Tracing Tools 8.7/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 2 of 3 features Visit Pinpoint

Grafana Tempo leads on 0 checks, Pinpoint on 0, and 4 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 8.7 out of 10; our editors rank them #4 and #6.

Grafana Tempo is the better fit for grafana-based trace storage and analysis. Pinpoint is the better fit for java-heavy self-hosted environments.

  • Grafana Tempo fits best

    Grafana-based trace storage and analysis

  • Pinpoint fits best

    Java-heavy self-hosted environments

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 ↗ Pinpoint 8.7/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score 9.0 8.7
Ranking #4 in Distributed Tracing Tools #6 in Distributed Tracing Tools
Best for Grafana-based trace storage and analysis Java-heavy self-hosted environments
Pricing model Free Free
Starting price Free plan Free plan
Free plan ✓ ✓
Free trial — —
Deployment Self-hosted Self-hosted
Platforms Linux Web, Windows
Support Community, Docs Community, Docs
Integrations 11 integrations 15 integrations
Built for Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise Mid-market, Enterprise
Features Grafana Tempo 3/3 · Pinpoint 2/3
OpenTelemetry support ✓ ✓
Service map ✓ ✓
Tail-based sampling ✓ (best) Not checked yet
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
  • Detailed transaction traces with code-level call-stack inspection
  • ServerMap visualizes application topology and dependencies
  • JVM, thread, memory, GC, TPS, and application inspection
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-managed deployment requires multiple infrastructure components
  • Its strongest coverage is centered on Java application environments
  • Rate-based sampling may require careful trace-volume configuration
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 →

Pinpoint is an open-source application performance management tool for large-scale distributed systems. It is aimed at teams that need to trace transactions across applications, inspect service relationships, and investigate Java…

Read the review →
  1. Grafana TempoDistributed Tracing Tools 9.0Free plan
  2. PinpointDistributed Tracing Tools 8.7Free 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

  • Pinpoint — where it wins

    • Detailed transaction traces with code-level call-stack inspection
    • ServerMap visualizes application topology and dependencies
    • JVM, thread, memory, GC, TPS, and application inspection

    Where it doesn't

    • Self-managed deployment requires multiple infrastructure components
    • Its strongest coverage is centered on Java application environments
    • Rate-based sampling may require careful trace-volume configuration

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