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SigNoz

Open-source, OpenTelemetry-native observability platform with unified metrics, logs, and traces on a ClickHouse analytical backend.

Overview

SigNoz is a full-stack observability platform built natively on OpenTelemetry standards with ClickHouse as its high-performance analytical storage backend. It provides a unified interface for APM, distributed tracing, log management, metrics monitoring, alerting, and dashboarding — positioning itself as an open-source alternative to Datadog, New Relic, and Grafana Cloud.

Repository & Community

Attribute Detail
Repository github.com/SigNoz/signoz
Stars ~26k ⭐
Latest Version v0.118.0 (April 8, 2026)
Language Go (backend), TypeScript/React (frontend)
License Proprietary source-available (not strictly Apache 2.0 — check LICENSE)
Company SigNoz, Inc. (YC W21, raised $6.5M+)

Evaluation

  • Why it's better: First-class OpenTelemetry integration (no proprietary agents), unified single-pane-of-glass across all signals, ClickHouse delivers millisecond aggregation queries at massive scale, transparent usage-based pricing with no per-seat fees, and pioneering AI/LLM observability features.

  • When it fits (Applicability):

  • Teams already using or adopting OpenTelemetry
  • Organizations replacing Datadog/NewRelic for cost reduction
  • Engineering teams needing correlated traces → logs → metrics in one UI
  • AI/ML teams needing LLM observability (token tracking, cost monitoring)

  • Frontend teams needing RUM (Real User Monitoring) with Core Web Vitals

  • Pros and Cons:

Pros Cons
OTel-native (no proprietary agents) ClickHouse operational complexity at scale
Unified UI for all signals Pre-1.0 version (rapid iteration, breaking changes)
ClickHouse: fast aggregations, high compression Smaller ecosystem than Grafana
Transparent pricing ($0.30/GB logs) No continuous profiling (unlike Coroot)
AI/LLM observability No eBPF auto-instrumentation
Frontend RUM support Self-hosted requires ClickHouse expertise
Strong query builder UI Limited plugin ecosystem

Architecture

flowchart TB
    subgraph Collection["Data Collection"]
        APP["Application<br/>(OTel SDK)"]
        OTEL["SigNoz OTel<br/>Collector"]
    end

    subgraph Backend["SigNoz Backend"]
        direction TB
        QS["Query Service<br/>(API)"]
        Ruler["Ruler /<br/>Alertmanager"]
        OpAMP["OpAMP<br/>(dynamic config)"]
        FE["React Frontend"]
    end

    subgraph Storage["ClickHouse Cluster"]
        CH_T["signoz_traces<br/>.signoz_index_v2"]
        CH_L["signoz_logs<br/>.logs"]
        CH_M["signoz_metrics<br/>.samples_v4"]
    end

    APP -->|OTLP| OTEL
    OTEL -->|write| Storage
    QS -->|query| Storage
    Ruler -->|eval| Storage
    QS --> FE
    OpAMP --> OTEL

Key Components

Component Role
SigNoz OTel Collector OpenTelemetry Collector distribution: ingests, processes, routes all signals
Query Service Go API layer: queries ClickHouse, manages metadata, serves frontend
Ruler / Alertmanager Evaluates alert rules across all signal types
OpAMP Dynamic reconfiguration of log pipelines in the OTel Collector
ClickHouse Columnar analytical DB: traces, logs, metrics storage
React Frontend Unified dashboard, query builder, trace explorer, alert management

Key Features

Feature Detail
APM Service maps, latency tracking, error rates, flame graphs
Distributed Tracing Full trace waterfall, span analysis, trace-to-logs correlation
Log Management Pipeline-based log processing, search, tail, aggregation
Metrics PromQL + ClickHouse SQL, custom dashboards, time series
Alerting Multi-signal alerts, anomaly detection, alert history
AI/LLM Observability Token usage, cost tracking, multi-agent workflow traces
Frontend RUM Core Web Vitals (LCP, INP, CLS), page load, client errors
Dashboards Drag-and-drop, query builder, saved views
Query Languages ClickHouse SQL (logs/traces), PromQL (metrics)

Pricing

Tier Cost Notes
Self-Hosted (Free) $0 Full features, manage your own ClickHouse
SigNoz Cloud - Logs $0.30/GB ingested 15-day default retention
SigNoz Cloud - Traces $0.30/GB ingested 15-day default retention
SigNoz Cloud - Metrics $0.10/million samples 30-day default retention
Enterprise Custom SSO/SAML, SLA support, dedicated infrastructure

Compatibility

Dimension Support
Ingestion protocols OTLP (gRPC + HTTP), Prometheus remote_write, Jaeger, Zipkin, FluentD/FluentBit
Query languages ClickHouse SQL, PromQL
Storage backend ClickHouse (only)
Deployment Docker Compose, Kubernetes (Helm), SigNoz Foundry CLI, SigNoz Cloud
CPU architecture amd64, arm64
Platforms Linux, macOS (dev), Kubernetes

Sources