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It's a split decision.
Choose VictoriaMetrics if your stack needs metrics, logs and traces in one observability suite, or you want its managed cloud option. Choose Prometheus for open-source metrics collection, PromQL queries and alerting without usage fees, with your team operating the servers. Both can be self-hosted and integrate with Kubernetes. VictoriaMetrics lists cloud capacity and overage prices; Prometheus has no software usage fees, but you still run its infrastructure.
01Side by side
| VictoriaMetrics | Prometheus | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Free self-hosting; cloud starts at $200/month | Free software; infrastructure costs remain yours |
| Free tier | Open Source; no enforced retention or seat limits | Free; no imposed seat or usage limits |
| Open source and licence | Open source; licence not specified | Apache 2.0 across components |
| Self-hosting | On-premise observability stack available | Independent servers use local storage |
| Integrations | Kubernetes and OpenTelemetry compatibility | Hundreds of integrations; Kubernetes support |
| Deployment model | Open source, enterprise, cloud and on-premise | Open-source system operated on your servers |
| Limits and scaling | Cloud tier lists series, ingestion and read caps | No software usage limits imposed |
| Platforms | Web; Kubernetes and OpenTelemetry compatible | Web; Kubernetes and cloud/container managers |
VictoriaMetrics Choose VictoriaMetrics if
- Choose VictoriaMetrics if you need metrics, logs and traces together.
- Choose VictoriaMetrics if managed observability is worth a monthly bill.
- Choose VictoriaMetrics if you want enterprise support or on-premise options.
Prometheus Choose Prometheus if
- Choose Prometheus if you want a free metrics system and PromQL.
- Choose Prometheus if your team will operate independent monitoring servers.
- Choose Prometheus if its instrumentation libraries and integrations fit your stack.
02Pricing at real usage
Both projects have free self-hosted options. VictoriaMetrics Open Source is listed at $0, with no enforced retention or seat limits; usage limits are not published. Prometheus is also free, with no imposed seat or usage limits. Those prices cover the software, not the compute and storage needed to run it.
VictoriaMetrics Cloud starts at $200/month. Its initial tier lists 500k active time series, 16.6k datapoints per second and 170 GB of daily read volume, plus $200 in credits valid for 30 days. The pricing details list storage at $0.511/GB/month and external egress at $0.09/GB. Enterprise pricing is custom, based on active series, ingestion rate and cluster size. Prometheus has no usage-based software bill; infrastructure costs grow with the deployment you operate.
03API, SDKs and integration
Prometheus centers on a dimensional time-series model and PromQL, which queries, correlates and transforms metrics. Its homepage describes PromQL-based alerting rules, with a separate Alertmanager component for notifications and silencing. Prometheus provides official and community instrumentation libraries covering most major languages, plus hundreds of integrations for extracting metrics from existing systems. The homepage does not name specific languages or SDK packages.
VictoriaMetrics covers metrics through VictoriaMetrics, logs through VictoriaLogs and traces through VictoriaTraces. Its homepage lists Kubernetes and OpenTelemetry compatibility and says its products support integrations, without naming them. A customer quote describes backwards compatibility with Prometheus, but confirm the compatibility needed for your queries and ingestion path. Neither homepage specifies API endpoint conventions or named SDKs. Check the current documentation for protocol details and client support before wiring either system into application code.
04Open source, self-hosting and lock-in
Both products are open source and self-hostable. Prometheus states that all components are available under the Apache 2.0 licence. VictoriaMetrics identifies its Open Source offering, but does not specify a licence on its homepage; check the repository licence before redistributing or modifying it.
Prometheus servers operate independently and rely on local storage. VictoriaMetrics offers an on-premise stack as well as cloud and enterprise options, so teams can choose between operating it themselves and buying managed service or support. VictoriaMetrics also describes Prometheus backwards compatibility in a customer quote, which may help with migration, but does not establish compatibility for every query or workflow. Neither homepage describes data export formats or migration procedures. Before adopting either system, verify how to export stored data and preserve labels, alerts and query behavior if you later move.
Questions people ask
What are the key differences between Grafana and Prometheus?
Prometheus is a metrics system for instrumenting, collecting, storing and querying data, with PromQL-based alerting. Its homepage also lists dashboarding as a use case, but does not describe Grafana’s product or their integration. Check Grafana’s documentation for its role and current connection details before comparing the two.
How does Prometheus get metrics?
Prometheus supports instrumentation libraries and integrations that extract metrics from existing systems. Its homepage describes monitoring applications, systems and services, including Kubernetes and other cloud and container managers. It does not specify a single collection path for every integration, so check the relevant integration documentation for configuration details.
Is Prometheus still used?
Prometheus remains an open-source metrics and monitoring project. Its homepage describes use across applications, systems and services, and notes Kubernetes and other cloud and container-manager integrations. Whether it fits your current stack depends on your collection, retention and operations requirements; the project’s homepage does not publish adoption statistics.
What is the difference between OpenTelemetry and Prometheus?
Prometheus is an open-source system for collecting, storing and querying metrics, with its own dimensional data model and PromQL. VictoriaMetrics lists OpenTelemetry compatibility, but the product descriptions here do not define OpenTelemetry’s scope or compare its protocols with Prometheus. Check the OpenTelemetry documentation for those details.