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Head-to-head · Distributed Tracing Tools

Grafana Tempo vs Uptrace

  • 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
Uptrace #5 in Distributed Tracing Tools 8.8/10 Free plan · 14-day trial Free planFree trial✓ 0 of 3 features Visit Uptrace

Grafana Tempo leads on 0 checks, Uptrace 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
  • Free trialonly Uptrace
  • Most featuresGrafana Tempo · 3 of 3

Grafana Tempo scores higher on our rubric for distributed tracing tools: 9.0 against 8.8 out of 10; our editors rank them #4 and #5.

On deployment model, Uptrace gives you Hybrid where Grafana Tempo offers Self_hosted.

Grafana Tempo is the better fit for grafana-based trace storage and analysis. Uptrace is the better fit for flexible hybrid tracing with rich integrations.

  • Grafana Tempo fits best

    Grafana-based trace storage and analysis

  • Uptrace fits best

    Flexible hybrid tracing with rich integrations

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 ↗ Uptrace 8.8/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score 9.0 8.8
Ranking #4 in Distributed Tracing Tools #5 in Distributed Tracing Tools
Best for Grafana-based trace storage and analysis Flexible hybrid tracing with rich integrations
Pricing model Free Free plan + paid
Starting price Free plan $39/mo
Free plan ✓ ✓
Free trial — 14 days
Deployment Self-hosted Cloud, Self-hosted
Platforms Linux Web
Support Community, Docs Email, Community, Docs
Integrations 11 integrations 5 integrations
Built for Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features Grafana Tempo 3/3 · Uptrace 0/3
OpenTelemetry support ✓ (best) Not checked yet
Service map ✓ (best) Not checked yet
Tail-based sampling ✓ (best) Not checked yet
Specs
Trace retention Not checked yet Not checked yet
Deployment model Self_hosted Hybrid
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
  • Trace waterfalls, dependency maps, and distributed transaction tracing
  • OpenTelemetry, PromQL, logs, metrics, and broad integrations
  • Managed cloud, free self-hosting, and commercial on-premises options
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
  • Cloud costs increase with telemetry volume
  • Commercial on-premises deployments require a paid edition
  • Its broad observability scope may exceed tracing-only needs
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 →

Uptrace is an OpenTelemetry-native application performance monitoring and observability platform for engineering and DevOps teams. It collects traces, metrics, and logs, then combines distributed tracing, trace waterfalls, service…

Read the review →
  1. Grafana TempoDistributed Tracing Tools 9.0Free plan
  2. UptraceDistributed Tracing Tools 8.8Free plan · 14-day trial

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

  • Uptrace — where it wins

    • Trace waterfalls, dependency maps, and distributed transaction tracing
    • OpenTelemetry, PromQL, logs, metrics, and broad integrations
    • Managed cloud, free self-hosting, and commercial on-premises options

    Where it doesn't

    • Cloud costs increase with telemetry volume
    • Commercial on-premises deployments require a paid edition
    • Its broad observability scope may exceed tracing-only needs

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