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Head-to-head · Distributed Tracing Tools

Uptrace vs VictoriaTraces

  • 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
VictoriaTraces #8 in Distributed Tracing Tools 8.5/10 Open source ✓ 2 of 3 features Visit VictoriaTraces

Uptrace leads on 0 checks, VictoriaTraces 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 planonly Uptrace
  • Free trialonly Uptrace
  • Most featuresVictoriaTraces · 2 of 3

Uptrace scores higher on our rubric for distributed tracing tools: 8.8 against 8.5 out of 10; our editors rank them #5 and #8.

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

Uptrace is the better fit for flexible hybrid tracing with rich integrations. VictoriaTraces is the better fit for scalable self-hosted trace storage.

  • Uptrace fits best

    Flexible hybrid tracing with rich integrations

  • VictoriaTraces fits best

    Scalable self-hosted trace storage

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 ↗ VictoriaTraces 8.5/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score 8.8 8.5
Ranking #5 in Distributed Tracing Tools #8 in Distributed Tracing Tools
Best for Flexible hybrid tracing with rich integrations Scalable self-hosted trace storage
Pricing model Free plan + paid Free
Starting price $39/mo Open source
Free plan ✓ (best) Not checked yet
Free trial 14 days —
Deployment Cloud, Self-hosted Self-hosted
Support Email, Community, Docs Community, Docs
Integrations 5 integrations 7 integrations
Built for Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features Uptrace 0/3 · VictoriaTraces 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
  • Accepts OTLP over HTTP and gRPC, plus Jaeger and Tempo-compatible APIs
  • Supports single-binary and horizontally scalable cluster deployments
  • Combines trace exploration, dependency queries, retention, alerting, and multi-tenancy
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 teams to operate the infrastructure
  • Tail-based sampling is planned rather than currently supported
  • Requires familiarity with the VictoriaMetrics observability ecosystem
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 →

VictoriaTraces is an open-source distributed tracing database from VictoriaMetrics for SRE, DevOps, observability, and platform engineering teams managing distributed systems. It ingests OpenTelemetry trace data over OTLP HTTP and gRPC,…

Read the review →
  1. UptraceDistributed Tracing Tools 8.8Free plan · 14-day trial
  2. VictoriaTracesDistributed Tracing Tools 8.5Open source

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

  • VictoriaTraces — where it wins

    • Accepts OTLP over HTTP and gRPC, plus Jaeger and Tempo-compatible APIs
    • Supports single-binary and horizontally scalable cluster deployments
    • Combines trace exploration, dependency queries, retention, alerting, and multi-tenancy

    Where it doesn't

    • Self-hosted deployment requires teams to operate the infrastructure
    • Tail-based sampling is planned rather than currently supported
    • Requires familiarity with the VictoriaMetrics observability ecosystem
  • Uptrace8.8/10 · Free plan · 14-day trial

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

    Visit UptraceFull verdict →
  • VictoriaTraces8.5/10 · Open source

    A flexible self-hosted tracing backend for teams operating scalable observability infrastructure.

    Visit VictoriaTracesFull 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