SigNoz

SigNoz is an OpenTelemetry-based observability platform for application and infrastructure telemetry. It is best suited to teams that want logs, metrics and traces in one workflow, with a choice between operating it themselves and paying for managed cloud service. The key decision is whether that operational control is worth managing storage, scaling and upgrades—or whether usage-based cloud charges fit better.

Overview

SigNoz brings logs, metrics, traces and exceptions together, with dedicated explorers and alerting across signals. Its OpenTelemetry-native approach avoids proprietary agents, which gives teams flexibility in how they instrument their systems. That is a practical advantage for organizations aiming to keep telemetry collection vendor-neutral; the self-hosted route, however, puts the work of running the platform on the user.

Its APM views cover p99 latency, error rate, Apdex and operations per second, with database and external-call monitoring to help narrow down where performance problems originate. Distributed tracing adds flamegraph and Gantt-chart views for following requests across services. Together, these are useful for teams investigating both service-level behavior and individual request paths.

Key features

Cross-signal querying and dashboards

The Query Builder supports aggregations, filters and formulas across signal types, and custom dashboards can combine metrics, logs and traces. This gives teams a way to build investigations around their systems rather than relying only on fixed views. Alerts support threshold, anomaly and Apdex-based detection, covering both straightforward limits and less predictable changes in telemetry.

Storage and integrations

ClickHouse underpins the storage engine, with hot and cold storage tiers intended to support fast queries and cost-effective telemetry retention. The integrations directory spans 45 integrations, including Temporal, databases and the major cloud platforms. That breadth helps teams connect varied environments, though the choice between self-managed and cloud service still determines who handles the underlying infrastructure.

Pricing

SigNoz offers a free self-hosted Community option and a 30-day free access period for new SigNoz Cloud users, including all features. The free cloud access is useful for evaluating the product, but it is a trial rather than a permanent free cloud tier.

Self Hosted SigNoz (Community): free. The software is free, but users manage infrastructure, storage, scaling, upgrades and backups. This fits teams with the operational capacity to run their own observability platform.

SigNoz Cloud for Startups: $19 a month, billed for the first 12 months, with $19 telemetry usage included. Eligibility is limited to companies less than 3 years old, with fewer than 30 employees and less than $6 million raised. It gives eligible startups a lower-cost managed entry point, but the price is temporary and usage beyond the included amount may affect the bill.

SigNoz Cloud (Teams): $49 a month, billed at a $49/month minimum, including $49 usage. Logs cost $0.30/GB, traces $0.30/GB and metrics $0.10/mn samples; teammates and hosts are unlimited. This suits teams wanting managed service without seat or host caps, but telemetry charges remain tied to consumption.

SigNoz Enterprise: $4,000 a month, starting at $4000/month. It includes Cloud Dedicated, BYOC, self-hosted enterprise support, volume discounts, annual contracts and dedicated support. This is aimed at organizations needing deployment choice and dedicated assistance; its minimum and annual-contract terms make it a substantial commitment.

The listed paid entry point is $49/mo, while the startup offer is a qualifying first-year exception. Cloud pricing should be weighed against the appeal of avoiding self-managed operations, particularly by teams with variable or growing telemetry volumes.

Platforms

SigNoz is available on Android, iOS, web and API, as well as self-hosted deployments. Self-host installation options include Docker, Docker Swarm and Kubernetes. The deployment model is hybrid, so teams can choose between managed cloud and self-managed infrastructure.

Who it's for

SigNoz is a strong fit for engineering teams standardizing on OpenTelemetry that want to investigate logs, metrics, traces and exceptions in one platform. Its cross-signal queries, dashboards, alerting and trace views are especially relevant where application performance and request paths need to be understood together. Teams that lack the capacity to maintain infrastructure may prefer cloud, while organizations seeking predictable costs regardless of telemetry volume should scrutinize its usage charges.

Pros and cons

Pro: OpenTelemetry-native instrumentation avoids proprietary agents, supporting vendor-neutral collection.

Pro: Queries, dashboards, alerting and tracing span multiple signal types, making it possible to move between telemetry views within one platform.

Pro: Teams and hosts are unlimited on the $49 a month Teams plan, avoiding seat- and host-based pricing constraints.

Con: Community self-hosting leaves infrastructure, storage, scaling, upgrades and backups to the user.

Con: Cloud usage charges are metered by signal type, so bills can rise as telemetry ingestion grows.

Con: The discounted startup plan has strict eligibility rules and lasts only the first 12 months.

Alternatives

For AI-focused observability, W&B Weave offers AI application evaluations, tracing and scorers on its free plan, capped at 1 GB/mo of data ingestion and 5 GB/mo of storage. PetalTrace is another free option. Opik may suit teams that want open-source observability and evaluation features they can download and run locally, alongside a free cloud plan. OpenLIT offers unlimited self-hosted usage, users, projects and environments on its free OSS plan, making it a fit for teams prioritizing uncapped self-hosting.

Traccia has a free Hobby plan with 50K events and 7 days of retention, while its Observe plan is $99 a month with 500K events. VoltOps has a free Developer plan capped at 1 seat, 1 prompt, 1 project and 250 traces/month. Helicone is a freemium, open-source alternative. Maxim AI offers a free Developer plan with up to 3 seats, one workspace, up to 10k logs per month and 3-day retention.

Browse related options in AI Agent Observability Tools, Application Performance Monitoring, Distributed Tracing Tools, Observability Platforms, Metrics Monitoring Tools and Kubernetes Monitoring.

Verdict

Choose SigNoz if your team wants OpenTelemetry-native observability that brings multiple telemetry signals, alerting and distributed tracing together, and can either operate the stack or budget for managed usage. Look elsewhere if you need cloud costs that do not scale with telemetry volume or cannot take on the obligations of self-hosting.