Softwr

Cloud · head to head

Jaeger vs Scaleway

Jaeger logo

Jaeger

Cloud

Open-source end-to-end distributed tracing

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Scaleway logo

Scaleway

Cloud

European cloud for developers

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Jaeger tracing is only as good as the instrumentation, and partial instrumentation produces misleading gaps; Scaleway no free tier or trial period mentioned on homepage
  • They diverge on capability: Jaeger covers Distributed trace search, Scaleway covers Virtual Instances.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Jaeger and Scaleway actually diverge.

Attributes where Jaeger and Scaleway differ
AttributeJaegerScaleway
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feeusage-based
PlatformsLinux, Kubernetes, DockerWeb, Api, Cli
FoundedUnknown1999

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 Jaeger

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

Only in Scaleway

  • Virtual Instances
  • Bare Metal
  • Kubernetes Kapsule
  • Object Storage
  • Serverless Functions
  • Managed Databases
  • Container Registry
  • Load Balancer

What people use each for

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

Jaeger

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

Scaleway

  • Web hostingnot Jaeger
  • Container orchestrationnot Jaeger
  • Development environmentsnot Jaeger
  • Data storagenot Jaeger

Where each one falls short

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

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

Scaleway

  • No free tier or trial period mentioned on homepage
  • Specific pricing requires navigating to individual product category pages
  • Base pricing starts at 4.99 EUR per month but varies significantly by service type

Pricing, plan by plan

Jaeger

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

Scaleway

Free
  • DEV1-S$7.99/month
    • 2 vCPU
    • 2GB RAM
    • 20GB SSD

Which should you pick?

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

Choose Scaleway if

  • You need virtual instances.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Api, Cli.
  • You also want bare metal.
Scaleway review

Questions people ask

Is Jaeger or Scaleway better?
Neither clearly leads. Jaeger starts at Free and Scaleway at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Jaeger or Scaleway?
Jaeger starts at Free and Scaleway at Free.
Does Jaeger or Scaleway run on more platforms?
Jaeger runs on Linux, Kubernetes, Docker. Scaleway runs on Web, Api, Cli.
Can I use Jaeger for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Jaeger best used for?
Jaeger is most often used for finding which service in a request path causes the latency, understanding real service dependencies rather than the diagram on the wiki, debugging failures that only appear under production traffic patterns. Of those, finding which service in a request path causes the latency and understanding real service dependencies rather than the diagram on the wiki are not what Scaleway is typically brought in for.
What can Jaeger do that Scaleway cannot?
Jaeger covers Distributed trace search, Dependency graph, Adaptive sampling, Pluggable storage. Scaleway covers Virtual Instances, Bare Metal, Kubernetes Kapsule, Object Storage.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Jaeger: Is Jaeger free?

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

Scaleway: Does Scaleway have a free tier?

Scaleway does not mention a free tier or trial period on its pricing or homepage. Users must select specific services to see rates.

Source
Jaeger: Do I use Jaeger or OpenTelemetry?

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

Scaleway: What is Scaleway's pricing model?

Scaleway uses transparent, usage-based pricing that varies by service. Different categories (bare metal, compute, AI, storage, network) have separate pricing. Dedibox servers start at 4.99 EUR per month.

Source
Jaeger: Does Jaeger handle metrics and logs?

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

Scaleway: How does Scaleway billing work?

Scaleway emphasizes transparent, predictable billing where customers know exactly what they'll pay. Users must select products and view pricing within each category.

Source
Share

Related pages

More on Jaeger

More on Scaleway

Keep looking

Other head to heads