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Sysdig combines cloud security with runtime context; developers may be looking to reduce monitoring costs or move more of the stack in-house. Reddit users have raised concerns about Sysdig’s price and about cloud-security findings that are hard to prioritize. The alternatives below focus on monitoring and observability, not like-for-like runtime security replacements. Compare costs against your actual telemetry volume, and ask vendors to confirm API, SDK, rate-limit and export details before planning a migration.
01Why people leave Sysdig
Monitoring costs are hard to justify
A Reddit user described Sysdig Cloud as costly and difficult to sell internally. Compare listed starting prices with your real usage before switching.
Findings need better prioritization
A Reddit team reported about 1,200 critical findings, including workloads it considered inactive or unreachable. Runtime context can help order investigations, not close them automatically.
More control over deployment
Teams wanting to run their own monitoring can consider Prometheus or Zabbix, while accounting for the work of operating and tuning the service.
02The alternatives, ranked by fit
- Self-run metrics
PrometheusPrometheusPrometheus is a fit if you want free metrics monitoring, PromQL and control over the servers that store and query telemetry. The trade is operating and scaling those servers yourself. Its listed price is $0, with a free plan. Confirm API access, client-library support, retention and export needs before moving dashboards and alerts; it is not a direct runtime-security replacement.
Trade-off: You operate the monitoring servers; runtime cloud security is not established.
7.8/10from
Freefree plan - Self-hosted infrastructure
ZabbixZabbixZabbix suits teams avoiding per-device license fees and willing to handle setup and tuning. It is listed as free, with a free plan, and supports self-hosted infrastructure monitoring. Before migrating, map existing metrics, alerts and integrations, then ask Zabbix to confirm API behavior, supported SDKs and production limits. Its listed positioning does not make it a like-for-like cloud security substitute.
Trade-off: Setup and tuning are yours; verify developer integration details.
7.8/10from
Freefree plan - OpenTelemetry and Prometheus
GrafanaGrafanaGrafana Cloud is aimed at teams consolidating telemetry, including OpenTelemetry and Prometheus users. It has a free plan and a listed starting price of $19; costs can rise with telemetry usage. Ask for a usage estimate based on your ingest and retention, plus confirmation of API, SDK, rate-limit and export terms. It covers observability, not a confirmed replacement for Sysdig runtime security.
Trade-off: Telemetry growth can increase costs; verify security coverage separately.
7.6/10from
$19/mofree plan - Telemetry consolidation
New RelicNew RelicNew Relic is an option for consolidating observability signals, with OpenTelemetry-first instrumentation and incident response among its listed use cases. Its free plan starts at a listed $10, but ingest and seat costs need close tracking. Ask the vendor to model your telemetry and seats, and confirm SDK, API, rate-limit and export details before porting instrumentation.
Trade-off: Ingest and seat costs need monitoring; runtime security coverage is unconfirmed.
7.2/10from
$10/mofree plan - Broad hosted monitoring
DatadogDatadogDatadog may suit teams consolidating cloud monitoring and security with telemetry in a hosted service. Its listed starting price is $500; confirm the billing basis and estimate costs using your actual hosts, telemetry and security needs. Before moving integrations, ask about API and SDK support, rate limits, data export and migration options. The listed price alone does not show total production cost.
Trade-off: The listed starting price is $500; confirm usage costs and security scope.
6.2/10from
$500/mo - Tracing and topology
DynatraceDynatraceDynatrace is positioned for teams consolidating observability, tracing and topology. Its listed price starts at $7, and annual commitment plus usage charges call for careful cost planning. Ask the vendor to price your expected workload and confirm API, SDK, rate-limit and data-export terms. Validate how existing instrumentation and alerts would migrate; the listed scope does not confirm parity with Sysdig’s runtime security.
Trade-off: Annual commitment and usage charges complicate cost comparisons.
7.1/10from
$7/mo - Code-level application traces
Scout APMScout APMScout APM is a narrower choice for developers who need production context at the application-code level, rather than a broad cloud-security platform. It supports specific language stacks, with a listed $19 starting price and a free plan. Check that your languages are supported, then confirm its API, SDK, rate limits and export options before moving instrumentation.
Trade-off: APM scope is narrower than a cloud-security platform.
7.0/10from
$19/mofree plan
03Side by side
| Tool | Score | From | Free plan | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Sysdig Sysdig (current) | 6.8 | Custom | No | Kubernetes security teams |
| Prometheus Prometheus | 7.8 | Free | Yes | Teams monitoring systems and services |
| Zabbix Zabbix | 7.8 | Free | Yes | Teams with self-hosting capacity |
| Grafana Grafana | 7.6 | $19/mo | Yes | Teams consolidating telemetry signals |
| New Relic New Relic | 7.2 | $10/mo | Yes | Teams consolidating observability tools |
| Datadog Datadog | 6.2 | $500/mo | No | Teams consolidating observability and security |
| Dynatrace Dynatrace | 7.1 | $7/mo | No | Teams consolidating observability tools |
| Scout APM Scout APM | 7.0 | $19/mo | Yes | Teams using supported application languages |
Questions people ask
What does Sysdig do?
Sysdig provides cloud security with runtime context, and a Reddit user described using Sysdig Cloud for container and PaaS monitoring. That combination makes it important to separate observability requirements from security requirements when comparing alternatives: a metrics or APM replacement may not replace runtime threat detection.
What are the top 5 cloud security companies?
There is no single useful top-five list for every team. Compare tools against your cloud providers, Kubernetes footprint, runtime detection needs, alert quality and total cost. During evaluation, include active deployment changes and check whether findings are actionable; a large critical-finding count alone does not show which product fits.
Can Prometheus replace Sysdig?
Prometheus can replace a metrics-monitoring component for teams prepared to run and scale its servers. It is not established here as a replacement for Sysdig’s cloud security and runtime context. If both matter, evaluate metrics and security separately, and confirm which alerts, integrations and data need to move.