AWS X-Ray vs SigNoz

AWS X-Ray is a cloud service for collecting and examining application request traces. A trace can show request and response details alongside calls to downstream AWS resources, microservices, databases and web APIs. X-Ray also uses trace data to map clients, front-end services and backend services, helping identify bottlenecks and latency spikes.

Applications can send traces through X-Ray SDKs or APIs, AWS Distro for OpenTelemetry, or CloudWatch Application Signals. AWS integrations can add tracing headers, transmit data, run the daemon or instrument requests. For Lambda, the daemon can record invocation details, while the SDK can trace outgoing calls and add annotations and metadata. The SDK samples requests by default, with configurable sampling rules. Trace data is retained for 30 days and encrypted at rest; AWS Identity and Access Management controls access. X-Ray has a free allowance of 100,000 traces recorded and the first 1,000,000 traces retrieved or scanned per month; additional usage is billed by usage. Beginning February 25, 2026, AWS limits X-Ray SDK and daemon releases to security fixes and recommends migration to OpenTelemetry.

SigNoz is an open-source observability tool for monitoring applications and infrastructure. It brings logs, metrics, traces, and exceptions together with alerting and separate explorers for Trace, Logs, and Metrics. The OpenTelemetry-native design does not require proprietary agents. A Query Builder supports aggregations, filters, and formulas across signal types, while alerts can detect thresholds, anomalies, and Apdex conditions. Users can create dashboards from metrics, logs, and traces. APM charts cover p99 latency, error rate, Apdex, and operations per second, alongside database and external-call monitoring. Distributed tracing uses flamegraph and Gantt-chart views to follow requests across services. SigNoz stores telemetry in ClickHouse with hot and cold tiers. It can run in the cloud or be self-hosted using Docker, Docker Swarm, or Kubernetes. Cloud provides 30-day access to all features for new users; the self-hosted Community option is free but requires users to manage infrastructure, storage, scaling, upgrades, and backups.