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AWS (Amazon Web Services) vs OpenTelemetry

AWS (Amazon Web Services) logo

AWS (Amazon Web Services)

Cloud

The leading cloud computing platform

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
OpenTelemetry logo

OpenTelemetry

Cloud

Vendor-neutral standard for traces, metrics and logs

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: AWS (Amazon Web Services) data transfer in is free and data transfer out is charged, which is the standard source of unexpected bills; OpenTelemetry genuinely complex to adopt: collectors, pipelines, samplers and exporters are a system to run in their own right
  • They diverge on capability: AWS (Amazon Web Services) covers EC2 - Virtual Servers, OpenTelemetry covers Vendor-neutral SDKs.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which AWS (Amazon Web Services) and OpenTelemetry actually diverge.

Attributes where AWS (Amazon Web Services) and OpenTelemetry differ
AttributeAWS (Amazon Web Services)OpenTelemetry
Pricing modelusage-basedOpen source, no licence fee
PlatformsWeb, Api, Cli, MobileLinux, macOS, Windows, Kubernetes, Docker
Founded2006Unknown

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 AWS (Amazon Web Services)

  • EC2 - Virtual Servers
  • S3 - Object Storage
  • RDS - Managed Database
  • Lambda - Serverless Computing
  • CloudFront - CDN
  • VPC - Virtual Network
  • IAM - Access Management
  • CloudWatch - Monitoring

Only in OpenTelemetry

  • Vendor-neutral SDKs
  • Collector
  • Three signals
  • Auto-instrumentation

What people use each for

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

AWS (Amazon Web Services)

  • Web hostingnot OpenTelemetry
  • Data storagenot OpenTelemetry
  • Machine learningnot OpenTelemetry
  • Big data analyticsnot OpenTelemetry
  • Application developmentnot OpenTelemetry

OpenTelemetry

  • Instrumenting once and keeping the option to change observability vendor laternot AWS (Amazon Web Services)
  • Standardising telemetry across services written in different languagesnot AWS (Amazon Web Services)
  • Routing and filtering telemetry centrally to control observability spendnot AWS (Amazon Web Services)

Where each one falls short

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

AWS (Amazon Web Services)

  • Data transfer in is free and data transfer out is charged, which is the standard source of unexpected bills
  • Discounts require one or three year Savings Plan commitments rather than being automatic
  • Every service is priced separately, so a working architecture has no single published cost
  • The free tier is a promotional allowance rather than an ongoing free plan

OpenTelemetry

  • Genuinely complex to adopt: collectors, pipelines, samplers and exporters are a system to run in their own right
  • Language SDKs mature at different rates, so a polyglot estate gets uneven support
  • It produces and moves telemetry but does not store or visualise it, so a backend is still required and still billed

Pricing, plan by plan

AWS (Amazon Web Services)

Free
  • AWS Free TierFree
    • EC2 750 hours/month
    • 5GB S3 storage
    • 20GB data transfer
  • Pay-As-You-GoFree
    • No upfront payment
    • No long-term commitments
    • Pay only for what you use

OpenTelemetry

Free
  • OpenTelemetryFree
    • Full functionality
    • No usage limits
    • Community support

Which should you pick?

Choose AWS (Amazon Web Services) if

  • You need ec2 - virtual servers.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Api, Cli, Mobile.
  • You also want s3 - object storage.
AWS (Amazon Web Services) review

Choose OpenTelemetry if

  • You need vendor-neutral sdks.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, macOS, Windows, Kubernetes, Docker.
  • You also want collector.
OpenTelemetry review

Questions people ask

Is AWS (Amazon Web Services) or OpenTelemetry better?
Neither clearly leads. AWS (Amazon Web Services) starts at Free and OpenTelemetry at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, AWS (Amazon Web Services) or OpenTelemetry?
AWS (Amazon Web Services) starts at Free and OpenTelemetry at Free.
Does AWS (Amazon Web Services) or OpenTelemetry run on more platforms?
AWS (Amazon Web Services) runs on Web, Api, Cli, Mobile. OpenTelemetry runs on Linux, macOS, Windows, Kubernetes, Docker.
Can I use AWS (Amazon Web Services) for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is AWS (Amazon Web Services) best used for?
AWS (Amazon Web Services) is most often used for web hosting, data storage, machine learning, big data analytics. Of those, web hosting and data storage are not what OpenTelemetry is typically brought in for.
What can AWS (Amazon Web Services) do that OpenTelemetry cannot?
AWS (Amazon Web Services) covers EC2 - Virtual Servers, S3 - Object Storage, RDS - Managed Database, Lambda - Serverless Computing. OpenTelemetry covers Vendor-neutral SDKs, Collector, Three signals, Auto-instrumentation.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

AWS (Amazon Web Services): What are AWS's payment options and pricing models?

AWS offers four pricing approaches: pay-as-you-go (you pay only for what you use), flat-rate plans combining multiple services into one monthly price without overages, Savings Plans offering discounts on compute and machine learning with 1- or 3-year commitments, and volume-based tiered pricing where costs decrease as usage increases.

Source
OpenTelemetry: Is OpenTelemetry free?

Yes, open source under the CNCF. What you pay for is the backend you export to.

AWS (Amazon Web Services): Are there contracts, termination fees, or commitments required for AWS?

No long-term contracts are required for AWS services. No termination fees apply once you stop using the service. Savings Plans provide optional 1- or 3-year commitments with discounted hourly rates, but you can revert to pay-as-you-go pricing anytime.

Source
OpenTelemetry: Does OpenTelemetry replace Datadog or Grafana?

No. It replaces their proprietary agents and instrumentation libraries. You still need a backend to store and query the data.

AWS (Amazon Web Services): Does AWS offer a free tier?

AWS provides a free tier that offers hands-on experience with AWS products at no charge. The free tier allows new customers to try eligible services before committing to paid usage.

Source
OpenTelemetry: Why adopt a vendor-neutral standard?

Because instrumentation is the expensive part. Once code emits OTel, changing observability vendor is a collector config change instead of re-instrumenting every service.

AWS (Amazon Web Services): How do I estimate my AWS costs?

AWS provides the AWS Pricing Calculator and Cost Explorer tool to estimate costs for single or multiple services. AWS also offers cost optimization recommendations, performance reporting, and budget alerts to help track and control spending.

Source
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