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Alibaba Cloud vs VictoriaMetrics

Alibaba Cloud logo

Alibaba Cloud

Cloud

Asia's leading cloud computing provider

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
VictoriaMetrics logo

VictoriaMetrics

Cloud

Fast, cost-effective time series database for metrics

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Alibaba Cloud technical support is a separate subscription, from $19.99 a month for Developer up to $8,000 a month for Enterprise, with only Basic included; VictoriaMetrics promQL compatibility is very close but not identical, and MetricsQL extensions do not port back
  • They diverge on capability: Alibaba Cloud covers Elastic Compute Service, VictoriaMetrics covers PromQL compatible.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Alibaba Cloud and VictoriaMetrics actually diverge.

Attributes where Alibaba Cloud and VictoriaMetrics differ
AttributeAlibaba CloudVictoriaMetrics
Pricing modelusage-basedOpen source, no licence fee
PlatformsLinux, Windows, Api, CliLinux, Docker, Kubernetes, Self-hosted
Founded2009Unknown

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Cloud).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Alibaba Cloud

  • Elastic Compute Service
  • Object Storage Service
  • RDS Database
  • MaxCompute
  • Function Compute
  • CDN
  • Load Balancer
  • API Gateway

Only in VictoriaMetrics

  • PromQL compatible
  • Low resource use
  • Single binary or cluster
  • Remote write target

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Alibaba Cloud

  • Cloud compute and storage with a strong footprint in China and Asia Pacificnot VictoriaMetrics
  • Pay-as-you-go infrastructure without upfront commitmentnot VictoriaMetrics
  • Committed-use discounts through savings plans for steady workloadsnot VictoriaMetrics
  • CDN and data transfer packages for content deliverynot VictoriaMetrics

VictoriaMetrics

  • Keeping months or years of Prometheus metrics without the memory costnot Alibaba Cloud
  • High-cardinality metrics where Prometheus strugglesnot Alibaba Cloud
  • Consolidating metrics from many Prometheus instances into one queryable storenot Alibaba Cloud

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Alibaba Cloud

  • Technical support is a separate subscription, from $19.99 a month for Developer up to $8,000 a month for Enterprise, with only Basic included
  • Service prices are not shown as a rate card and route through a calculator or sales
  • Committed discounts require savings plans, reserved instances or capacity packages rather than being automatic

VictoriaMetrics

  • PromQL compatibility is very close but not identical, and MetricsQL extensions do not port back
  • Smaller community than Prometheus, so fewer guides and third-party integrations
  • The clustered version has meaningfully more moving parts than the single binary suggests
  • Some enterprise features sit outside the open-source offering

Pricing, plan by plan

Alibaba Cloud

Free
  • Free TrialFree
    • Free tier credits
    • ECS instances
    • Cloud storage
  • Pay-as-You-GoFree
    • Flexible billing
    • No commitments
    • Global reach

VictoriaMetrics

Free
  • VictoriaMetricsFree
    • Full functionality
    • No data limits
    • Community support

Which should you pick?

Choose Alibaba Cloud if

  • You need elastic compute service.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Windows, Api, Cli.
  • You also want object storage service.
Alibaba Cloud review

Choose VictoriaMetrics if

  • You need promql compatible.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Self-hosted.
  • You also want low resource use.
VictoriaMetrics review

Questions people ask

Is Alibaba Cloud or VictoriaMetrics better?
Neither clearly leads. Alibaba Cloud starts at Free and VictoriaMetrics at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Alibaba Cloud or VictoriaMetrics?
Alibaba Cloud starts at Free and VictoriaMetrics at Free.
Does Alibaba Cloud or VictoriaMetrics run on more platforms?
Alibaba Cloud runs on Linux, Windows, Api, Cli. VictoriaMetrics runs on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Self-hosted.
Can I use Alibaba Cloud for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Alibaba Cloud best used for?
Alibaba Cloud is most often used for cloud compute and storage with a strong footprint in china and asia pacific, pay-as-you-go infrastructure without upfront commitment, committed-use discounts through savings plans for steady workloads, cdn and data transfer packages for content delivery. Of those, cloud compute and storage with a strong footprint in china and asia pacific and pay-as-you-go infrastructure without upfront commitment are not what VictoriaMetrics is typically brought in for.
What can Alibaba Cloud do that VictoriaMetrics cannot?
Alibaba Cloud covers Elastic Compute Service, Object Storage Service, RDS Database, MaxCompute. VictoriaMetrics covers PromQL compatible, Low resource use, Single binary or cluster, Remote write target.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

VictoriaMetrics: Is VictoriaMetrics free?

The open-source version is free with no data limits. An enterprise edition and cloud service are paid.

VictoriaMetrics: Does it replace Prometheus?

It can, but most teams keep Prometheus for scraping and use VictoriaMetrics as the long-term store behind it.

VictoriaMetrics: Is PromQL fully supported?

Very nearly. It implements PromQL and extends it with MetricsQL, though a small number of edge-case behaviours differ.

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