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Developer Tools · head to head

Frappe vs Jaeger

Frappe logo

Frappe

Developer Tools

The Python web framework behind ERPNext, sold as managed hosting through Frappe Cloud

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Jaeger logo

Jaeger

Cloud

Open-source end-to-end distributed tracing

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Frappe the framework is strongly opinionated: its own ORM, templating and job queue mean general Python and Django experience transfers only partly, and onboarding a new developer takes weeks rather than days.; Jaeger tracing is only as good as the instrumentation, and partial instrumentation produces misleading gaps
  • They diverge on capability: Frappe covers DocType modelling, Jaeger covers Distributed trace search.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Frappe and Jaeger actually diverge.

Attributes where Frappe and Jaeger differ
AttributeFrappeJaeger
Pricing modelPer month by site or serverOpen source, no licence fee
PlatformsWeb, Linux, DockerLinux, Kubernetes, Docker
CategoryDeveloper ToolsCloud

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

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 Frappe

  • DocType modelling
  • Role and field permissions
  • Built-in REST API
  • Background jobs
  • Bench CLI
  • Frappe Cloud hosting
  • App marketplace
  • Multi-tenancy

Only in Jaeger

  • Distributed trace search
  • Dependency graph
  • Adaptive sampling
  • Pluggable storage

What people use each for

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

Frappe

  • A team building an internal business application that needs permissions, audit trail and an API on day one rather than in month threenot Jaeger
  • An ERPNext user who wants managed hosting, automatic updates and offsite backups without hiring a systems administratornot Jaeger
  • An Indian or emerging-market business that wants to pay for application hosting in local currency at local price pointsnot Jaeger
  • A consultancy shipping custom vertical apps to clients on a shared framework with per-client site isolationnot Jaeger

Jaeger

  • Finding which service in a request path causes the latencynot Frappe
  • Understanding real service dependencies rather than the diagram on the wikinot Frappe
  • Debugging failures that only appear under production traffic patternsnot Frappe

Where each one falls short

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

Frappe

  • The framework is strongly opinionated: its own ORM, templating and job queue mean general Python and Django experience transfers only partly, and onboarding a new developer takes weeks rather than days.
  • The developer pool is small and heavily concentrated in India, so hiring Frappe experience elsewhere is slow and expensive relative to mainstream stacks.
  • Documentation is uneven in depth and lags behind releases in places, so real answers often come from reading the source or the community forum.
  • Major version upgrades of the framework have historically broken custom apps that reach past the DocType layer, so bespoke code carries a recurring maintenance cost at each upgrade.
  • Frappe Cloud recommends against its cheapest Hetzner-backed option for mission-critical production, so the headline $5 entry price is not the price of a production-grade deployment.

Jaeger

  • Tracing is only as good as the instrumentation, and partial instrumentation produces misleading gaps
  • Storage is the real operational cost: high-volume tracing on Elasticsearch or Cassandra is a cluster to run and pay for
  • Traces alone, without correlated metrics and logs, leave you switching between tools during an incident

Pricing, plan by plan

Frappe

Free
  • Framework, self-hostedFree
    • MIT licensed, no licence fee
    • Install with bench on your own Linux servers
    • You carry updates, backups and security patching
  • Frappe Cloud Sites$5/month
    • Also listed at ₹410 per month
    • Shared servers with 150+ installable apps
    • Automatic updates and offsite backups
  • Frappe Cloud Servers$40/month
    • Also listed at ₹3,600 per month
    • Dedicated or shared virtual machines
    • Unlimited sites on your server

Jaeger

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

Which should you pick?

Choose Frappe if

  • You need doctype modelling.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Linux, Docker.
  • You also want role and field permissions.
Frappe review

Choose Jaeger if

  • You need distributed trace search.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Kubernetes, Docker.
  • You also want dependency graph.
Jaeger review

Questions people ask

Is Frappe or Jaeger better?
Neither clearly leads. Frappe starts at Free and Jaeger at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Frappe or Jaeger?
Frappe starts at Free and Jaeger at Free.
Does Frappe or Jaeger run on more platforms?
Frappe runs on Web, Linux, Docker. Jaeger runs on Linux, Kubernetes, Docker.
Can I use Frappe for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Frappe best used for?
Frappe is most often used for a team building an internal business application that needs permissions, audit trail and an api on day one rather than in month three, an erpnext user who wants managed hosting, automatic updates and offsite backups without hiring a systems administrator, an indian or emerging-market business that wants to pay for application hosting in local currency at local price points, a consultancy shipping custom vertical apps to clients on a shared framework with per-client site isolation. Of those, a team building an internal business application that needs permissions, audit trail and an api on day one rather than in month three and an erpnext user who wants managed hosting, automatic updates and offsite backups without hiring a systems administrator are not what Jaeger is typically brought in for.
What can Frappe do that Jaeger cannot?
Frappe covers DocType modelling, Role and field permissions, Built-in REST API, Background jobs. Jaeger covers Distributed trace search, Dependency graph, Adaptive sampling, Pluggable storage.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Frappe: Is Frappe the same as ERPNext?

No. Frappe is the framework; ERPNext is the ERP application written on it. You can run Frappe without ERPNext to build your own applications.

Jaeger: Is Jaeger free?

Yes, open source and CNCF-graduated. Costs are the storage backend you run.

Frappe: What licence is the framework under?

MIT, which is permissive and imposes no obligation to publish your changes, unlike the AGPL used by several open source ERP rivals.

Jaeger: Do I use Jaeger or OpenTelemetry?

Both, usually. Instrument with OpenTelemetry and use Jaeger to store and query the traces.

Frappe: Can I pay in rupees?

Yes. Frappe Cloud publishes the same plans in Indian rupees, ₹410 a month for sites and ₹3,600 for servers, rather than converting a dollar price at checkout.

Jaeger: Does Jaeger handle metrics and logs?

No. It is a tracing system. Metrics and logs need Prometheus, Loki or an equivalent.

Frappe: Do I have to use Frappe Cloud?

No, self-hosting with bench or Docker is fully supported and free. Frappe Cloud is a convenience purchase, and it funds the open source work.

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