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Head-to-head · Distributed Tracing Tools

SigNoz vs Grafana Tempo

  • Updated Oct 2026
  • Both researched from official sources
  • 4 checks side by side
Higher score SigNoz #3 in Distributed Tracing Tools 9.1/10 Free plan · 30-day trial Free planFree trial✓ 0 of 3 features Visit SigNoz
Grafana Tempo #4 in Distributed Tracing Tools 9.0/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 3 of 3 features Visit Grafana Tempo

SigNoz leads on 0 checks, Grafana Tempo 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 scoreSigNoz · 9.1/10
  • Free planboth
  • Free trialonly SigNoz
  • Most featuresGrafana Tempo · 3 of 3

SigNoz scores higher on our rubric for distributed tracing tools: 9.1 against 9.0 out of 10; our editors rank them #3 and #4.

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

SigNoz is the better fit for full-stack tracing on a modest budget. Grafana Tempo is the better fit for grafana-based trace storage and analysis.

  • SigNoz fits best

    Full-stack tracing on a modest budget

  • Grafana Tempo fits best

    Grafana-based trace storage and analysis

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 SigNoz 9.1/10 Visit ↗ Grafana Tempo 9.0/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score 9.1 9.0
Ranking #3 in Distributed Tracing Tools #4 in Distributed Tracing Tools
Best for Full-stack tracing on a modest budget Grafana-based trace storage and analysis
Pricing model Free plan + paid Free
Starting price $49/mo Free plan
Free plan ✓ ✓
Free trial 30 days —
Deployment Cloud, Self-hosted Self-hosted
Platforms Web Linux
Support Live chat, Email, Community Community, Docs
Integrations 45+ integrations 11 integrations
Built for Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features SigNoz 0/3 · Grafana Tempo 3/3
OpenTelemetry support Not checked yet ✓ (best)
Service map Not checked yet ✓ (best)
Tail-based sampling Not checked yet ✓ (best)
Specs
Trace retention Not checked yet Not checked yet
Deployment model Hybrid Self_hosted
Pricing basis Not checked yet Not checked yet
Our review
Pros
  • Combines traces, logs, metrics, alerts, and infrastructure visibility
  • OpenTelemetry support with flamegraphs, dependency maps, and trace funnels
  • Unlimited teammates and hosts on the $49 monthly Teams plan
  • OpenTelemetry, Jaeger, and Zipkin ingestion support
  • TraceQL, service graphs, and span metrics in one backend
  • Object-storage retention with monolithic or microservices deployment
Cons
  • Teams pricing grows with telemetry ingestion volume
  • Community Edition requires customer-managed deployment
  • Advanced enterprise support and security features are reserved for Enterprise
  • 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
Our verdict

SigNoz is an open-source observability platform for engineering teams monitoring cloud-native applications. It brings application performance monitoring, distributed tracing, logs, metrics, dashboards, alerts, and infrastructure visibility…

Read the review →

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 →
  1. SigNozDistributed Tracing Tools 9.1Free plan · 30-day trial
  2. Grafana TempoDistributed Tracing Tools 9.0Free plan

Strengths and trade-offs

  • SigNoz — where it wins

    • Combines traces, logs, metrics, alerts, and infrastructure visibility
    • OpenTelemetry support with flamegraphs, dependency maps, and trace funnels
    • Unlimited teammates and hosts on the $49 monthly Teams plan

    Where it doesn't

    • Teams pricing grows with telemetry ingestion volume
    • Community Edition requires customer-managed deployment
    • Advanced enterprise support and security features are reserved for Enterprise

  • 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

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