Grafana Tempo vs SigNoz
Self-host pick — both replace Honeycomb (Distributed tracing / observability).
Both Grafana Tempo and SigNoz self-host as a replacement for Honeycomb (Distributed tracing / observability). Pick Grafana Tempo if you want a AGPL-licensed codebase (AGPL-3.0); pick SigNoz for MIT (MIT). Both run in roughly the same cost bracket — $15-50/mo vps — s3-backed for trace storage keeps cost predictable vs $30-60/mo vps for production traffic.
| Grafana Tempoopen-source | SigNozopen-source | |
|---|---|---|
| License | AGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Setup time | 30min docker-compose (Tempo + Grafana + collector) | 30min docker-compose (SigNoz + ClickHouse + collector) |
| Monthly cost | $15-50/mo VPS — S3-backed for trace storage keeps cost predictable. | $30-60/mo VPS for production traffic. |
| GitHub | grafana/tempo | SigNoz/signoz |
| Replaces | Honeycomb | Honeycomb + 2 other |
Good fit for
Grafana Tempo
Teams already invested in Grafana that want traces in the same pane as metrics and logs.
Weak at:No first-class anomaly-explore UX; you build dashboards manually.
SigNoz
Teams already using OpenTelemetry that want a single product covering traces + metrics + logs.
Weak at:Honeycomb's BubbleUp / interactive explorer doesn't have a one-for-one match — query workflows are more SQL-shaped.
In a terminal? npx -y github:SolvoHQ/os-alt-cli honeycomb prints Honeycomb's self-host options including both —
how the CLI works →
FAQ
Which is easier to self-host, Grafana Tempo or SigNoz?
Grafana Tempo: 30min docker-compose (Tempo + Grafana + collector). SigNoz: 30min docker-compose (SigNoz + ClickHouse + collector).
What does each cost to run?
Grafana Tempo: $15-50/mo VPS — S3-backed for trace storage keeps cost predictable.. SigNoz: $30-60/mo VPS for production traffic.. Both projects are free and open source.
Do Grafana Tempo and SigNoz replace the same SaaS?
Yes — both are open-source alternatives to Honeycomb.