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Grafana Pyroscope vs SigNoz

Grafana Pyroscope: Continuous profiling database that stores CPU and memory profiles over time on object storage. SigNoz: OpenTelemetry-native APM and observability platform storing logs, metrics and traces in ClickHouse.

key differences

  • Grafana Pyroscope is primarily a time-series database; SigNoz is columnar / OLAP.
  • Licensing: Grafana Pyroscope is open source (copyleft) (GNU AGPL v3.0); SigNoz is open source (permissive) (MIT (core) with separately licensed enterprise directory).
  • Only SigNoz has joins, json, role-based access.

choose grafana-pyroscope for

  • +Finding CPU and memory hot spots in production
  • +Comparing performance between releases
  • +Reducing cloud compute cost

best at · Observability

choose signoz for

  • +Self-hosted Datadog or New Relic replacement
  • +OpenTelemetry backend for microservices
  • +APM with trace-to-log correlation
  • +Kubernetes infrastructure monitoring

best at · Observability, Real-time analytics

Grafana PyroscopeContinuous profiling database that stores CPU and memory profiles over time on object storage.
SigNozOpenTelemetry-native APM and observability platform storing logs, metrics and traces in ClickHouse.
overview
Primary model
Time-Series
Columnar / OLAP
Also supports
Columnar / OLAP
Time-Series
Type
Database engine
Backend platform
Status
Active
Active
Developer
Grafana Labs
SigNoz Inc.
First release
2021
2021
Latest version
2.4.2 (Oct 26, 2026)
0.147.0 (Oct 22, 2026)
License
Open source (copyleft)GNU AGPL v3.0
Open source (permissive)MIT (core) with separately licensed enterprise directory
Free tier
✓
✓
popularity
WhichDB Score
12.7
17.0
Rank
#263
#195
GitHub stars
11.7K
32.5K
Stack Overflow questions
–
–
scale & guarantees
Comfortable data size
Large (≤ 1 PB)
Large (≤ 1 PB)
Horizontal scaling
Native
Native
Multi-region
None
None
ACID
None
None
Consistency
Eventual
Eventual
Schema
Schemaless
Schemaless
Architecture
Single node, Distributed, Shared storage
Distributed, Client server
deployment
Self-hosted
✓
✓
Vendor-managed cloud
✓
✓
Serverless
—
—
Embedded
—
—
Edge
—
—
Clouds
AWS, Google Cloud, Azure
AWS
capabilities
Transactions
—
—
Joins
—
✓
Secondary indexes
—
—
Full-text search
—
—
Vector search
—
—
Geospatial
—
—
JSON
—
✓
Change data capture
—
—
Triggers
—
—
Stored procedures
—
—
Materialized views
—
—
TTL / expiry
✓
✓
Pub/Sub
—
—
Columnar storage
✓
✓
In-memory
—
—
Durable persistence
✓
✓
Compression
✓
✓
Encryption at rest
—
—
Role-based access
—
✓
Time travel
—
—
Branching
—
—
Online schema changes
—
—
Streaming ingest
✓
✓
Offline sync
—
—
Runs in WebAssembly
—
—
interfaces
Query languages
Label selectors (PromQL-style)
SQL (ClickHouse), PromQL, Query builder
Client languages
Go, Java, Python, Ruby, .NET, Rust, JavaScript
–
Best for
Observability
Observability, Real-time analytics
Add more to this comparisonNot sure either fits? Try smart match

Grafana Pyroscope vs SigNoz: FAQ

What is the difference between Grafana Pyroscope and SigNoz?

Grafana Pyroscope: Continuous profiling database that stores CPU and memory profiles over time on object storage. SigNoz: OpenTelemetry-native APM and observability platform storing logs, metrics and traces in ClickHouse. Grafana Pyroscope is primarily a time-series database; SigNoz is columnar / OLAP. Licensing: Grafana Pyroscope is open source (copyleft) (GNU AGPL v3.0); SigNoz is open source (permissive) (MIT (core) with separately licensed enterprise directory). Only SigNoz has joins, json, role-based access.

When should I choose Grafana Pyroscope over SigNoz?

Choose Grafana Pyroscope for finding CPU and memory hot spots in production; comparing performance between releases; and reducing cloud compute cost. Choose SigNoz for self-hosted Datadog or New Relic replacement, OpenTelemetry backend for microservices and APM with trace-to-log correlation.

Is Grafana Pyroscope or SigNoz more popular?

SigNoz ranks #195 on the WhichDB Score (17.0/100) and Grafana Pyroscope ranks #263 (12.7/100). Popularity is not fit: check the requirements that matter for your project.

Are Grafana Pyroscope and SigNoz open source?

Yes. Grafana Pyroscope is open source. License: GNU AGPL v3.0. Yes. SigNoz is open source. License: MIT (core) with separately licensed enterprise directory.