Cortex vs M3DB
Cortex: CNCF multi-tenant, horizontally scalable long-term storage for Prometheus metrics on object storage. M3DB: Uber-born distributed TSDB and aggregator for Prometheus-scale metrics with tunable replication.
key differences
- These two are very similar on paper. Compare ecosystems, pricing and team familiarity.
choose cortex for
- +Internal metrics-as-a-service for many teams
- +Long-term Prometheus storage on object storage
- +Multi-tenant SaaS monitoring backends
best at · Observability, Time-series
choose m3db for
- +Very large Prometheus remote-write backends
- +Migrating Graphite at scale to PromQL
- +Multi-resolution metrics retention
best at · Observability, Time-series
Cortex vs M3DB: FAQ
What is the difference between Cortex and M3DB?
Cortex: CNCF multi-tenant, horizontally scalable long-term storage for Prometheus metrics on object storage. M3DB: Uber-born distributed TSDB and aggregator for Prometheus-scale metrics with tunable replication.
When should I choose Cortex over M3DB?
Choose Cortex for internal metrics-as-a-service for many teams, long-term Prometheus storage on object storage and multi-tenant SaaS monitoring backends. Choose M3DB for very large Prometheus remote-write backends, migrating Graphite at scale to PromQL and multi-resolution metrics retention.
Is Cortex or M3DB more popular?
Cortex ranks #347 on the WhichDB Score (7.2/100) and M3DB ranks #416 (4.2/100). Popularity is not fit: check the requirements that matter for your project.
Are Cortex and M3DB open source?
Yes. Cortex is open source. License: Apache License 2.0. Yes. M3DB is open source. License: Apache License 2.0.