Developer Tools
Prometheus
Open-source metrics collection and alerting.
What it is
Prometheus is an open-source systems monitoring and alerting toolkit that has run as a standalone project since 2012 and joined the Cloud Native Computing Foundation as its second hosted project. It stores every measurement as time series data - a number recorded with the timestamp it was taken at, alongside optional key-value pairs called labels - and queries that dimensionality with its own language rather than with SQL. Collection works by pulling over HTTP from targets discovered through service discovery or listed in static configuration; short-lived jobs that finish before a scrape can push through an intermediary gateway instead. Server nodes are autonomous and depend on no distributed storage, which is why a single binary on one machine is already a working monitoring system.
Prometheus pricing
Prometheus does not publish a plan ladder we could verify. Free.
Prices read from the vendor's own pricing page on 2026-09-08. Vendors change plans without notice — check the source before you budget.
Key features
Multi-dimensional data model
Time series are identified by a metric name plus key/value labels, not by a fixed schema.
PromQL query language
A query language built to exploit label dimensionality, used for both graphs and alert rules.
Pull collection over HTTP
Targets are scraped over HTTP and found through service discovery or static configuration.
Autonomous server nodes
Each server relies on local storage with no distributed storage dependency.
Push gateway for short jobs
Batch jobs that end before a scrape push their metrics through an intermediary gateway.
Strengths and trade-offs
What works well
- The de facto standard for metrics in Kubernetes
- Pull model means no agent pushing to you
- Free and open source
Where it falls short
- Long-term storage needs an extra component
- PromQL takes time to learn
- Not built for logs or traces
Who it is for
Teams running services that need metrics and alerting they control.
Pick it or skip it
Pick Prometheus if
- Teams that want a free, Apache-licensed metrics store with a pull model and PromQL
- Kubernetes environments where Prometheus is the de-facto monitoring standard
- Engineers who want alerting rules in the same query language
Skip it if
- You need long-term, multi-year storage out of the box — that requires Thanos, Cortex or a vendor
- You want logs and traces in the same tool
- You need vendor support without a managed provider
Our verdict
Pair it with Grafana and you have a complete metrics stack. Plan for long-term storage before you need it.
Frequently asked questions
- How much does Prometheus cost?
- Prometheus is free to use. We verified this against the vendor's own page; see "What we checked" below for the date.
- Does Prometheus have a free plan?
- Yes. Prometheus is free to use at its base level.
- Who is Prometheus best for?
- Teams running services that need metrics and alerting they control.
- What are the main drawbacks of Prometheus?
- The trade-offs we noted: Long-term storage needs an extra component; PromQL takes time to learn; Not built for logs or traces.
- When should you not use Prometheus?
- Skip Prometheus if: You need long-term, multi-year storage out of the box — that requires Thanos, Cortex or a vendor; You want logs and traces in the same tool; You need vendor support without a managed provider.
What we checked
- Public APIOffers a documented API you can build against.Yes
- Mobile appHas a native app for iOS or Android, not just a mobile website.No
- Open source / self-hostableSource is open and the tool can be run on your own infrastructure.Yes
- SSO (SAML)Supports SAML single sign-on on at least one plan.No
“Not checked” means exactly that — we have not verified it, and we do not guess.
Evidence and freshness
Status: Open source, free — vendor page verifiedReviewed: 2026-09-08
- Prometheus — Home ↗
Checked 2026-09-08 · Supports: Apache 2 licence; CNCF graduated, dimensional time-series model, pull-based collection, PromQL, Alertmanager
Limit: Vendor pricing page was reviewed by an editor on this date; this record is not a ToolCompare benchmark. Prices and limits change.
Tools that do the same job as Prometheus
Same job, different pricing. Verified starting price first.
More Developer Tools tools: see the full Developer Tools category
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