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Head-to-head · Profiling Software

Pyroscope vs PerfView

  • Updated Oct 2026
  • Both researched from official sources
  • 4 checks side by side
Higher score Pyroscope #3 in Profiling Software 9.1/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 3 of 3 features Visit Pyroscope
PerfView #21 in Profiling Software 7.8/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 3 of 3 features Visit PerfView

Pyroscope leads on 0 checks, PerfView 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 scorePyroscope · 9.1/10
  • Free planboth

Pyroscope scores higher on our rubric for profiling software: 9.1 against 7.8 out of 10; our editors rank them #3 and #21.

On profiling modes, Pyroscope gives you Both where PerfView offers Sampling.

Pyroscope is the better fit for teams needing scalable continuous profiling. PerfView is the better fit for free Windows and .NET diagnostics.

  • Pyroscope fits best

    Teams needing scalable continuous profiling

  • PerfView fits best

    Free Windows and .NET diagnostics

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 Pyroscope 9.1/10 Visit ↗ PerfView 7.8/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score 9.1 7.8
Ranking #3 in Profiling Software #21 in Profiling Software
Best for Teams needing scalable continuous profiling Free Windows and .NET diagnostics
Pricing model Free plan + paid Free
Starting price $19/mo Free plan
Free plan ✓ ✓
Free trial — —
Deployment Cloud, Self-hosted Desktop
Platforms Web, Windows, macOS, Linux Windows
Support Email, Community, Docs Community, Docs
Built for Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features Pyroscope 3/3 · PerfView 3/3
CPU profiling ✓ ✓
Memory profiling ✓ ✓
Thread profiling ✓ ✓
Specs
Profiling modes Both Sampling
Supported languages C/C++, Go, Rust, Zig, Java, .NET, Python, Ruby, PHP, Node.js, Perl C/C++, .NET, JScript
Deployment model Not checked yet Desktop
Our review
Pros
  • Free plan includes 50 GB monthly ingestion and 14-day retention
  • Supports CPU, memory, and thread profiling across many languages
  • Grafana, eBPF, APIs, multi-tenancy, and horizontal scaling
  • Free and open source for desktop-based performance analysis
  • Combines CPU, memory, heap, thread, ETW, and EventPipe analysis
  • Supports .NET, C/C++, JScript, symbols, dumps, and trace comparison
Cons
  • Pro adds usage-based charges for processed, written, and retained data
  • Free plan support is limited to the community
  • Advanced deployments may require instrumentation or platform configuration
  • Windows desktop application limits native platform coverage
  • Linux support is limited to analyzing some collected data
  • Its wide diagnostic scope may require specialist performance knowledge
Our verdict

Pyroscope is an open-source continuous profiling database for development and platform teams investigating application performance. It aggregates, stores, queries, and visualizes profiles covering CPU usage, memory allocation,…

Read the review →

PerfView is a free, open-source Windows desktop application from Microsoft for investigating CPU and memory-related performance issues. It is aimed at developers and performance engineers working with .NET, native Windows applications, and…

Read the review →
  1. PyroscopeProfiling Software 9.1Free plan
  2. PerfViewProfiling Software 7.8Free plan

Strengths and trade-offs

  • Pyroscope — where it wins

    • Free plan includes 50 GB monthly ingestion and 14-day retention
    • Supports CPU, memory, and thread profiling across many languages
    • Grafana, eBPF, APIs, multi-tenancy, and horizontal scaling

    Where it doesn't

    • Pro adds usage-based charges for processed, written, and retained data
    • Free plan support is limited to the community
    • Advanced deployments may require instrumentation or platform configuration

  • PerfView — where it wins

    • Free and open source for desktop-based performance analysis
    • Combines CPU, memory, heap, thread, ETW, and EventPipe analysis
    • Supports .NET, C/C++, JScript, symbols, dumps, and trace comparison

    Where it doesn't

    • Windows desktop application limits native platform coverage
    • Linux support is limited to analyzing some collected data
    • Its wide diagnostic scope may require specialist performance knowledge

More comparisons

All profiling software comparisons → · Full ranking →

Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026

Last updated · How we research and update