Best Grafana Tempo Alternatives in 2026
The top Grafana Tempo alternatives are Apache SkyWalking, Jaeger and SigNoz: 15 distributed tracing tools our editors would look at instead of Grafana Tempo, in our ranking order.
Grafana Tempo: A self-hosted Tempo backend for Grafana-centered tracing and trace analysis. Where it falls short: self-managed deployment requires linux or API-based infrastructure.
Switching from Grafana Tempo? For most distributed tracing tools buyers the best Grafana Tempo alternative is Apache SkyWalking, built for broad, self-hosted observability teams. On a budget, Sematext Tracing starts at $17.10/mo. Alibaba Cloud Managed Service for OpenTelemetry offers the most trace retention (30 days).
Why People Look for a Grafana Tempo Alternative
- 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
Quick Picks by What You Need
- Best overallApache SkyWalking9.4
Broad, self-hosted observability teams
Visit Apache SkyWalking - Lowest priceSematext Tracing7.8
Paid plans from $17.10/mo
Visit Sematext Tracing - Best free optionApache SkyWalking9.4
Has a free plan
Visit Apache SkyWalking - Most trace retentionAlibaba Cloud Managed Service for OpenTelemetry8.0
30 days
Visit Alibaba Cloud Managed Service for OpenTelemetry
All 15 Grafana Tempo Alternatives, Ranked
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.
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Best forBroad, self-hosted observability teams
- Better than Grafana Tempo:
- Editor score 9.4 vs 9.0
A broad self-hosted stack that connects traces, topology, metrics, logs, profiles, and alerts.
9.4/10★★★★★Visit site -
Best forOpen-source tracing with sampling flexibility
- Better than Grafana Tempo:
- Editor score 9.2 vs 9.0
A flexible self-hosted tracer for teams that need control over sampling and storage.
9.2/10★★★★★Visit Jaeger -
Best forFull-stack tracing on a modest budget
- Better than Grafana Tempo:
- Editor score 9.1 vs 9.0
Full-stack tracing and observability with a free edition and $49 monthly Teams tier.
9.1/10★★★★★Visit SigNoz -
Best forFlexible hybrid tracing with rich integrations
A flexible tracing platform with broad telemetry, dashboard, alerting, and notification support.
8.8/10★★★★☆Visit Uptrace -
Best forJava-heavy self-hosted environments
A self-hosted tracing and JVM observability tool for Java-heavy distributed environments.
- Service map
- OpenTelemetry support
8.7/10★★★★☆Visit Pinpoint -
Best forTeams wanting simple open-source Zipkin tracing
A focused, self-hosted Zipkin system for collecting and exploring service traces.
- Service map
- OpenTelemetry support
8.6/10★★★★☆Visit OpenZipkin -
Best forScalable self-hosted trace storage
A flexible self-hosted tracing backend for teams operating scalable observability infrastructure.
- Service map
- OpenTelemetry support
8.5/10★★★★☆Visit VictoriaTraces -
Best forOpen-source telemetry investigation with AI
A self-hosted tracing backend with broad telemetry support and AI-assisted investigation.
- Tail-based sampling
- Service map
- OpenTelemetry support
8.4/10★★★★☆Visit DataBuff -
Best forSelf-hosted OpenTelemetry trace exploration
A self-hosted OpenTelemetry tracing console with service graphs, metrics, and dashboards.
- Service map
- OpenTelemetry support
8.3/10★★★★☆Visit Hypertrace -
Best forUsage-priced tracing in Google Cloud
A usage-priced tracing service with strong Google Cloud and OpenTelemetry coverage.
8.1/10★★★★☆Visit Google Cloud -
Best forManaged OpenTelemetry tracing on Alibaba Cloud
A cloud service for OpenTelemetry tracing, service maps, and trace analysis on Alibaba Cloud.
- Service map
- OpenTelemetry support
8.0/10★★★★☆Visit Alibaba Cloud -
Best forAWS-native distributed tracing
A focused tracing service for AWS workloads with OpenTelemetry ingestion and usage-based pricing.
- Tail-based sampling
- Service map
- OpenTelemetry support
7.9/10★★★★☆Visit AWS X-Ray -
Best forAffordable managed tracing with RED metrics
Affordable managed tracing with RED metrics, dependency maps, and OTLP ingestion.
- Service map
- OpenTelemetry support
7.8/10★★★★☆Visit Sematext -
Best forManaged Tempo tracing in Grafana Cloud
A managed Tempo backend with strong TraceQL, protocol support, and a usage-based upgrade path.
- Tail-based sampling
- Service map
- OpenTelemetry support
7.7/10★★★★☆Visit Grafana Cloud -
Best forAI-assisted trace investigation
A cloud tracing platform pairing detailed investigation tools with AI-assisted root-cause analysis.
- Service map
- OpenTelemetry support
7.6/10★★★★☆Visit Tracekit
Grafana Tempo Alternatives: Common Questions
What is the best alternative to Grafana Tempo?
Apache SkyWalking: #1 in our Distributed Tracing Tools ranking, with an editor score of 9.4 out of 10. A broad self-hosted stack that connects traces, topology, metrics, logs, profiles, and alerts.
Is there a free alternative to Grafana Tempo?
Yes. Apache SkyWalking, Jaeger, SigNoz, Uptrace and Pinpoint have a free plan or a free tier (12 of the 15 alternatives on this page).
What is the cheapest paid alternative to Grafana Tempo?
Of the alternatives here that publish a price, Sematext Tracing starts lowest, at $17.10/mo.
Why do people look for Grafana Tempo alternatives?
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.
Which Grafana Tempo alternative has the most trace retention?
Alibaba Cloud Managed Service for OpenTelemetry, with 30 days.
How do I switch from Grafana Tempo?
Export your data from Grafana Tempo (most tools have an export in their settings). Sign up for the alternative; start on its free plan or trial if it has one. Import your export and set up the integrations your team relies on. Run both side by side for a short while, then cancel Grafana Tempo.
How to Switch from Grafana Tempo
- Export your data from Grafana Tempo (most tools have an export in their settings).
- Sign up for the alternative; start on its free plan or trial if it has one.
- Import your export and set up the integrations your team relies on.
- Run both side by side for a short while, then cancel Grafana Tempo.
Grafana Tempo vs Each Alternative
| # | Tool | Free plan | Paid from | OpenTelemetry support | Service map | Tail-based sampling | Deployment model | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | Grafana Tempo | Yes | Free | Yes | Yes | Yes | Self_hosted | 9.0 |
| 1 | Apache SkyWalking | Yes | Free | Self_hosted | 9.4 | |||
| 2 | Jaeger | Yes | Free | Self_hosted | 9.2 | |||
| 3 | SigNoz | Yes | $49/mo | Hybrid | 9.1 | |||
| 4 | Uptrace | Yes | $39/mo | Hybrid | 8.8 | |||
| 5 | Pinpoint | Yes | Free | Yes | Yes | Self_hosted | 8.7 | |
| 6 | OpenZipkin | Yes | Free | Yes | Yes | No | Self_hosted | 8.6 |
| 7 | VictoriaTraces | Free | Yes | Yes | No | Self_hosted | 8.5 | |
| 8 | DataBuff | Free | Yes | Yes | Yes | Self_hosted | 8.4 | |
| 9 | Hypertrace | Free | Yes | Yes | No | Hybrid | 8.3 | |
| 10 | Google Cloud Trace | Yes | $0.20/unit usage-based | Cloud | 8.1 | |||
| 11 | Alibaba Cloud Managed Service for OpenTelemetry | No | $0.06/GB usage-based | Yes | Yes | Cloud | 8.0 | |
| 12 | AWS X-Ray | No | $0.50/unit usage-based | Yes | Yes | Yes | Cloud | 7.9 |
| 13 | Sematext Tracing | No | $17.10/mo | Yes | Yes | No | Cloud | 7.8 |
| 14 | Grafana Cloud Traces | Yes | $19/mo | Yes | Yes | Yes | Cloud | 7.7 |
| 15 | Tracekit | Yes | $24/mo | Yes | Yes | Cloud | 7.6 |
Head-to-Head
- Grafana Tempo vs Apache SkyWalking
- Grafana Tempo vs Jaeger
- Grafana Tempo vs SigNoz
- Grafana Tempo vs Uptrace
- Grafana Tempo vs Pinpoint
- Grafana Tempo vs OpenZipkin
Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026
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