Grafana Beyla review
A free, zero-code path to application, tracing, and network telemetry on Linux.
Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026
Grafana Beyla is an open-source eBPF-based observability tool for teams that need application and network telemetry without changing application code or configuration. It captures RED metrics and basic or distributed trace spans from HTTP/S and gRPC services, with support for Go, Java, .NET, Node.js, Python, Ruby, Rust, C/C++, and other languages. Its deployment options include a standalone process, Docker container, Kubernetes DaemonSet, or sidecar, making it suited to Linux environments that want zero-code instrumentation and Kubernetes-aware visibility.
Beyla fits established telemetry ecosystems through OpenTelemetry and Prometheus export, with integrations including Grafana Alloy, Grafana Cloud, and Kubernetes. It can enrich metrics and traces with Kubernetes metadata, discover instrumentation targets by port, executable, or process ID, and collect network flow metrics through eBPF socket filters or TC. That combination gives platform and observability teams a focused way to connect application signals with service and network context without selecting a separate language agent for every supported runtime.
The main trade-off is scope and operating model. Beyla is Linux-only and self-hosted, so teams seeking cross-platform coverage or a managed deployment may need an alternative. Its feature set centers on application telemetry, tracing, and network flow metrics rather than kernel profiling, and it does not include AI features. Choose Grafana Beyla when free, open-source, zero-code instrumentation is the priority and your workloads run on Linux, particularly in Kubernetes. Look elsewhere when broader operating-system support, managed operations, or deeper kernel analysis is central to the evaluation.
Grafana Beyla pros and cons
- Where it wins
- Zero-code RED metrics and tracing for HTTP/S and gRPC services
- OpenTelemetry and Prometheus exports fit common observability stacks
- Kubernetes enrichment plus broad language support
- Where it doesn't
- Linux-only deployment limits operating-system coverage
- Self-hosted operation requires teams to manage deployment and runtime
- No kernel profiling or AI features
Grafana Beyla fact sheet, pricing and score →
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.
Last updated · How we research and update