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Cloud · head to head

Longhorn vs VictoriaMetrics

Longhorn logo

Longhorn

Cloud

Open source distributed block storage for Kubernetes, incubating at the CNCF

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: Longhorn there is no vendor and no SLA, so a production incident at three in the morning is your own problem unless you buy SUSE Rancher Prime support separately.; VictoriaMetrics promQL compatibility is very close but not identical, and MetricsQL extensions do not port back
  • They diverge on capability: Longhorn covers Per-volume controllers, VictoriaMetrics covers PromQL compatible.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Longhorn and VictoriaMetrics actually diverge.

Attributes where Longhorn and VictoriaMetrics differ
AttributeLonghornVictoriaMetrics
PlatformsLinux, KubernetesLinux, Docker, Kubernetes, Self-hosted

Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (Open source, no licence fee), 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 Longhorn

  • Per-volume controllers
  • Synchronous replication
  • Snapshots and backups
  • Volume expansion
  • Disaster recovery volumes
  • Web interface

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.

Longhorn

  • An on-premises Kubernetes cluster with local disks and no SAN that needs replicated persistent volumesnot VictoriaMetrics
  • Edge sites where shipping a storage array is impractical and three nodes is the whole clusternot VictoriaMetrics
  • A K3s deployment where the storage layer must be light enough to run alongside the workloadsnot VictoriaMetrics
  • A team that wants snapshots and S3 backups of persistent volumes without paying per-node storage licencesnot VictoriaMetrics

VictoriaMetrics

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

Where each one falls short

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

Longhorn

  • There is no vendor and no SLA, so a production incident at three in the morning is your own problem unless you buy SUSE Rancher Prime support separately.
  • Synchronous replication across nodes means write latency depends on the slowest replica and the network between nodes, which makes it a poor fit for latency-sensitive databases.
  • Every replica is a full copy, so three-way replication consumes three times the raw capacity, unlike erasure-coded systems that are far more space efficient.
  • It is designed for block storage on modest clusters and does not scale to the node counts or throughput that Ceph or a commercial array handles, so growth eventually forces a migration.
  • Recovery from certain degraded states, such as a volume stuck detaching or replicas failing to rebuild, requires manual intervention and knowledge of Longhorn internals that is not widely held.

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

Longhorn

Free
  • LonghornFree
    • Apache 2.0 licensed, no licence fee
    • Community support via GitHub and Slack only
    • No vendor SLA or escalation path

VictoriaMetrics

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

Which should you pick?

Choose Longhorn if

  • You need per-volume controllers.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Kubernetes.
  • You also want synchronous replication.
Longhorn 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 Longhorn or VictoriaMetrics better?
Neither clearly leads. Longhorn 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, Longhorn or VictoriaMetrics?
Longhorn starts at Free and VictoriaMetrics at Free.
Does Longhorn or VictoriaMetrics run on more platforms?
Longhorn runs on Linux, Kubernetes. VictoriaMetrics runs on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Self-hosted.
Can I use Longhorn for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Longhorn best used for?
Longhorn is most often used for an on-premises kubernetes cluster with local disks and no san that needs replicated persistent volumes, edge sites where shipping a storage array is impractical and three nodes is the whole cluster, a k3s deployment where the storage layer must be light enough to run alongside the workloads, a team that wants snapshots and s3 backups of persistent volumes without paying per-node storage licences. Of those, an on-premises kubernetes cluster with local disks and no san that needs replicated persistent volumes and edge sites where shipping a storage array is impractical and three nodes is the whole cluster are not what VictoriaMetrics is typically brought in for.
What can Longhorn do that VictoriaMetrics cannot?
Longhorn covers Per-volume controllers, Synchronous replication, Snapshots and backups, Volume expansion. VictoriaMetrics covers PromQL compatible, Low resource use, Single binary or cluster, Remote write target.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Longhorn: Who do we call when it breaks?

Nobody, unless you buy SUSE Rancher Prime, which includes commercial support for Longhorn. This is the decisive question for production use.

VictoriaMetrics: Is VictoriaMetrics free?

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

Longhorn: How much capacity does replication cost?

Full copies, so three replicas means three times the raw capacity. Budget accordingly rather than assuming erasure coding efficiency.

VictoriaMetrics: Does it replace Prometheus?

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

Longhorn: Is it suitable for production databases?

For modest workloads yes, but synchronous replication adds write latency and high-transaction databases usually want something faster.

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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