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Networking · head to head

Nebula vs Prometheus

Nebula logo

Nebula

Networking

Certificate based overlay network from Slack, with identity and firewall rules carried in the certificate

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Prometheus logo

Prometheus

Networking

Open source monitoring and alerting toolkit for cloud native environments

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Nebula the open source project has no user interface, no enrolment workflow and no revocation service, so certificate issuing, distribution and expiry become scripts you write and then have to keep working.; Prometheus not suitable for per-request billing as collected data lacks 100% accuracy
  • They diverge on capability: Nebula covers Certificate carried identity, Prometheus covers Multi-dimensional Data Model.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Nebula and Prometheus actually diverge.

Attributes where Nebula and Prometheus differ
AttributeNebulaPrometheus
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feeopen-source
PlatformsLinux, macOS, Windows, iOS, Android, FreeBSDLinux, macOS, Windows
FoundedUnknown2015

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

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 Nebula

  • Certificate carried identity
  • Group based host firewall
  • Lighthouse discovery
  • Noise protocol encryption
  • Unsafe routes
  • Managed option

Only in Prometheus

  • Multi-dimensional Data Model
  • PromQL Query Language
  • Pull-based Collection
  • Service Discovery
  • Alerting Rules
  • Federation
  • Local Storage
  • Grafana

What people use each for

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

Nebula

  • Flattening a network across several clouds and datacentres without VPC peering or route tablesnot Prometheus
  • Very large fleets where a central policy service on the connection path is unacceptablenot Prometheus
  • Environments that already run an internal certificate authority and want the network to use itnot Prometheus
  • Replacing per host iptables rules with policy written against roles that follow the hostnot Prometheus

Prometheus

  • Monitoring and alerting systemnot Nebula
  • Time-series databasenot Nebula
  • Infrastructure metrics collectionnot Nebula

Where each one falls short

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

Nebula

  • The open source project has no user interface, no enrolment workflow and no revocation service, so certificate issuing, distribution and expiry become scripts you write and then have to keep working.
  • Revoking a compromised host means distributing a blocklist entry to every other host and reloading them, which is a fleet wide operation rather than a click, and easy to get wrong under pressure.
  • Changing a host group membership means reissuing and redeploying its certificate, so policy changes are a deployment rather than a configuration edit.
  • There is no identity provider integration or single sign on in the open source version, so it maps well to servers and badly to a fleet of user laptops.
  • NAT traversal is best effort and hosts behind symmetric NAT need a relay configured deliberately, so connectivity failures show up as intermittent rather than immediate and are awkward to diagnose.

Prometheus

  • Not suitable for per-request billing as collected data lacks 100% accuracy
  • Hard limit on scrape body size; large responses cause scrape failure
  • Per-scrape sample limit enforced; exceeding limit marks targets as failed
  • Not designed for long-term durable storage; optimised for metrics collection

Pricing, plan by plan

Nebula

Free
  • NebulaFree
    • Full functionality under the MIT licence
    • No host limit
    • You operate the certificate authority and lighthouses
  • Defined Networking$undefined/month
    • Hosted control plane and enrolment
    • Managed certificate lifecycle and revocation
    • Policy and DNS interface

Prometheus

Free
  • Prometheus (Open Source)Free
    • 100% open source
    • Community-driven project
    • Apache 2 License

Which should you pick?

Choose Nebula if

  • You need certificate carried identity.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, macOS, Windows, iOS, Android, FreeBSD.
  • You also want group based host firewall.
Nebula review

Choose Prometheus if

  • You need multi-dimensional data model.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, macOS, Windows.
  • You also want promql query language.
Prometheus review

Questions people ask

Is Nebula or Prometheus better?
Neither clearly leads. Nebula starts at Free and Prometheus at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Nebula or Prometheus?
Nebula starts at Free and Prometheus at Free.
Does Nebula or Prometheus run on more platforms?
Nebula runs on Linux, macOS, Windows, iOS, Android, FreeBSD. Prometheus runs on Linux, macOS, Windows.
Can I use Nebula for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Nebula best used for?
Nebula is most often used for flattening a network across several clouds and datacentres without vpc peering or route tables, very large fleets where a central policy service on the connection path is unacceptable, environments that already run an internal certificate authority and want the network to use it, replacing per host iptables rules with policy written against roles that follow the host. Of those, flattening a network across several clouds and datacentres without vpc peering or route tables and very large fleets where a central policy service on the connection path is unacceptable are not what Prometheus is typically brought in for.
What can Nebula do that Prometheus cannot?
Nebula covers Certificate carried identity, Group based host firewall, Lighthouse discovery, Noise protocol encryption. Prometheus covers Multi-dimensional Data Model, PromQL Query Language, Pull-based Collection, Service Discovery.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Nebula: Does it use WireGuard?

No. Nebula predates the common WireGuard mesh tools and uses the Noise protocol framework with its own certificate format.

Prometheus: What does Prometheus cost?

Prometheus is completely free and open source. There are no pricing tiers or paid plans. The entire project is licensed under Apache 2 and hosted on GitHub.

Source
Nebula: Can I run it without Defined Networking?

Yes, entirely. Defined Networking sells the control plane conveniences, not the network itself.

Prometheus: Is Prometheus commercial software or free?

Prometheus is 100% open source and community-driven. It is a CNCF graduated project with no commercial restrictions or licensing fees.

Source
Nebula: How do I revoke a host?

Add its certificate fingerprint to the blocklist in the configuration of the other hosts and reload them. There is no online revocation check.

Prometheus: How is Prometheus licensed?

Prometheus is licensed under the Apache 2 License, which permits free use, modification, and distribution for commercial and non-commercial purposes.

Source
Nebula: Is it a good fit for laptops?

Less so than the identity provider based tools. There is no single sign on, so every laptop needs a certificate issued and renewed by whatever process you build.

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