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Prometheus vs VictoriaMetrics

Prometheus: CNCF-graduated pull-based monitoring system with a local TSDB, PromQL and alerting rules. VictoriaMetrics: Resource-frugal, Prometheus-compatible metrics database, run as a single binary or a sharded cluster.

key differences

  • VictoriaMetrics is built for larger datasets (≤ 1 PB) than Prometheus (≤ 100 GB).
  • Horizontal scaling is manual in Prometheus and native in VictoriaMetrics.

choose prometheus for

  • +Kubernetes and microservice monitoring
  • +SLO and symptom-based alerting
  • +Host and infrastructure metrics via exporters
  • +Short-term metrics store feeding a long-term backend via remote write

best at · Observability, Time-series

choose victoriametrics for

  • +Long-term storage for Prometheus metrics
  • +Kubernetes monitoring with vmagent and the operator
  • +Consolidating Graphite, Influx and Prometheus metrics in one store
  • +High-rate IoT telemetry

best at · Observability, Time-series, IoT

PrometheusCNCF-graduated pull-based monitoring system with a local TSDB, PromQL and alerting rules.
VictoriaMetricsResource-frugal, Prometheus-compatible metrics database, run as a single binary or a sharded cluster.
overview
Primary model
Time-Series
Time-Series
Also supports
–
–
Type
Database engine
Database engine
Status
Active
Active
Developer
Prometheus Authors (CNCF)
VictoriaMetrics Inc.
First release
2012
2018
Latest version
3.15.1 (Oct 21, 2026)
1.155.0 (Oct 26, 2026)
License
Open source (permissive)Apache License 2.0
Open source (permissive)Apache License 2.0
Free tier
✓
✓
popularity
WhichDB Score
70.8
26.8
Rank
#9
#109
GitHub stars
66.8K
17.9K
Stack Overflow questions
7K
143
scale & guarantees
Comfortable data size
Small (≤ 100 GB)
Large (≤ 1 PB)
Horizontal scaling
Manual
Native
Multi-region
None
None
ACID
None
None
Consistency
Eventual
Eventual
Schema
Schemaless
Schemaless
Architecture
Single node
Single node, 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
PromQL
MetricsQL, PromQL
Client languages
Go, Java, Python, Ruby, Rust
–
Best for
Observability, Time-series
Observability, Time-series, IoT
Add more to this comparisonNot sure either fits? Try smart match

Prometheus vs VictoriaMetrics: FAQ

What is the difference between Prometheus and VictoriaMetrics?

Prometheus: CNCF-graduated pull-based monitoring system with a local TSDB, PromQL and alerting rules. VictoriaMetrics: Resource-frugal, Prometheus-compatible metrics database, run as a single binary or a sharded cluster. VictoriaMetrics is built for larger datasets (≤ 1 PB) than Prometheus (≤ 100 GB). Horizontal scaling is manual in Prometheus and native in VictoriaMetrics.

When should I choose Prometheus over VictoriaMetrics?

Choose Prometheus for kubernetes and microservice monitoring; SLO and symptom-based alerting; and host and infrastructure metrics via exporters. Choose VictoriaMetrics for long-term storage for Prometheus metrics; kubernetes monitoring with vmagent and the operator; and consolidating Graphite, Influx and Prometheus metrics in one store.

Is Prometheus or VictoriaMetrics more popular?

Prometheus ranks #9 on the WhichDB Score (70.8/100) and VictoriaMetrics ranks #109 (26.8/100). Popularity is not fit: check the requirements that matter for your project.

Are Prometheus and VictoriaMetrics open source?

Yes. Prometheus is open source. License: Apache License 2.0. Yes. VictoriaMetrics is open source. License: Apache License 2.0.