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OpenObserve vs SigNoz

OpenObserve: Single-binary Rust observability platform storing logs, metrics and traces as Parquet on object storage. SigNoz: OpenTelemetry-native APM and observability platform storing logs, metrics and traces in ClickHouse.

key differences

  • OpenObserve is primarily a search engine database; SigNoz is columnar / OLAP.
  • Licensing: OpenObserve is open source (copyleft) (GNU AGPL v3.0 (open source); Enterprise is commercial); SigNoz is open source (permissive) (MIT (core) with separately licensed enterprise directory).
  • Only OpenObserve has full-text search.

choose openobserve for

  • +Self-hosted Datadog or Elastic replacement
  • +Kubernetes logs and traces on S3
  • +Small teams needing one observability tool
  • +Front-end RUM and session replay with backend logs

best at · Observability, Search, Time-series

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

OpenObserveSingle-binary Rust observability platform storing logs, metrics and traces as Parquet on object storage.
SigNozOpenTelemetry-native APM and observability platform storing logs, metrics and traces in ClickHouse.
overview
Primary model
Search Engine
Columnar / OLAP
Also supports
Time-Series, Columnar / OLAP
Time-Series
Type
Database engine
Backend platform
Status
Active
Active
Developer
OpenObserve Inc.
SigNoz Inc.
First release
2023
2021
Latest version
1.1.2 (Oct 20, 2026)
0.147.0 (Oct 22, 2026)
License
Open source (copyleft)GNU AGPL v3.0 (open source); Enterprise is commercial
Open source (permissive)MIT (core) with separately licensed enterprise directory
Free tier
✓
✓
popularity
WhichDB Score
20.4
17.0
Rank
#156
#195
GitHub stars
22.5K
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
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
SQL, PromQL
SQL (ClickHouse), PromQL, Query builder
Client languages
–
–
Best for
Observability, Search, Time-series
Observability, Real-time analytics
Add more to this comparisonNot sure either fits? Try smart match

OpenObserve vs SigNoz: FAQ

What is the difference between OpenObserve and SigNoz?

OpenObserve: Single-binary Rust observability platform storing logs, metrics and traces as Parquet on object storage. SigNoz: OpenTelemetry-native APM and observability platform storing logs, metrics and traces in ClickHouse. OpenObserve is primarily a search engine database; SigNoz is columnar / OLAP. Licensing: OpenObserve is open source (copyleft) (GNU AGPL v3.0 (open source); Enterprise is commercial); SigNoz is open source (permissive) (MIT (core) with separately licensed enterprise directory). Only OpenObserve has full-text search.

When should I choose OpenObserve over SigNoz?

Choose OpenObserve for self-hosted Datadog or Elastic replacement; kubernetes logs and traces on S3; and small teams needing one observability tool. Choose SigNoz for self-hosted Datadog or New Relic replacement, OpenTelemetry backend for microservices and APM with trace-to-log correlation.

Is OpenObserve or SigNoz more popular?

OpenObserve ranks #156 on the WhichDB Score (20.4/100) and SigNoz ranks #195 (17.0/100). Popularity is not fit: check the requirements that matter for your project.

Are OpenObserve and SigNoz open source?

Yes. OpenObserve is open source. License: GNU AGPL v3.0 (open source); Enterprise is commercial. Yes. SigNoz is open source. License: MIT (core) with separately licensed enterprise directory.