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Head-to-head · Distributed Tracing Tools

Uptrace vs OpenZipkin

  • Updated Oct 2026
  • Both researched from official sources
  • 4 checks side by side
Higher score Uptrace #5 in Distributed Tracing Tools 8.8/10 Free plan · 14-day trial Free planFree trial✓ 0 of 3 features Visit Uptrace
OpenZipkin #7 in Distributed Tracing Tools 8.6/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 2 of 3 features Visit OpenZipkin

Uptrace leads on 0 checks, OpenZipkin 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 scoreUptrace · 8.8/10
  • Free planboth
  • Free trialonly Uptrace
  • Most featuresOpenZipkin · 2 of 3

Uptrace scores higher on our rubric for distributed tracing tools: 8.8 against 8.6 out of 10; our editors rank them #5 and #7.

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

Uptrace is the better fit for flexible hybrid tracing with rich integrations. OpenZipkin is the better fit for teams wanting simple open-source Zipkin tracing.

  • Uptrace fits best

    Flexible hybrid tracing with rich integrations

  • 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 Uptrace 8.8/10 Visit ↗ OpenZipkin 8.6/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score 8.8 8.6
Ranking #5 in Distributed Tracing Tools #7 in Distributed Tracing Tools
Best for Flexible hybrid tracing with rich integrations Teams wanting simple open-source Zipkin tracing
Pricing model Free plan + paid Free
Starting price $39/mo Free plan
Free plan ✓ ✓
Free trial 14 days —
Deployment Cloud, Self-hosted Cloud, Self-hosted
Platforms Web Web
Support Email, Community, Docs Community, Docs
Integrations 5 integrations 10 integrations
Built for Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features Uptrace 0/3 · OpenZipkin 2/3
OpenTelemetry support Not checked yet ✓ (best)
Service map Not checked yet ✓ (best)
Tail-based sampling Not checked yet —
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
  • 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
  • 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
  • Cloud costs increase with telemetry volume
  • Commercial on-premises deployments require a paid edition
  • Its broad observability scope may exceed tracing-only needs
  • 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

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 →

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. UptraceDistributed Tracing Tools 8.8Free plan · 14-day trial
  2. OpenZipkinDistributed Tracing Tools 8.6Free plan

Strengths and trade-offs

  • 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

  • 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
  • Uptrace8.8/10 · Free plan · 14-day trial

    A flexible tracing platform with broad telemetry, dashboard, alerting, and notification support.

    Visit UptraceFull verdict →
  • OpenZipkin8.6/10 · Free plan

    A focused, self-hosted Zipkin system for collecting and exploring service traces.

    Visit OpenZipkinFull verdict →

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