Softwr

Networking · head to head

Netdata vs Teleport

Netdata logo

Netdata

Networking

Per-second metrics collection with automatic dashboards and on-node anomaly detection

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Teleport logo

Teleport

Cybersecurity

Certificate-based access to servers, Kubernetes, databases and apps, replacing shared credentials and VPNs

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Netdata has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Netdata the dashboard interface is under a restrictive Netdata licence rather than GPL and is served from Netdata infrastructure by default, so the deployment is not fully self-contained without extra configuration.; Teleport pricing is not published and is described as active users plus protected resources, so an autoscaling estate cannot forecast the bill and finance teams discover the true cost only after the first true-up.
  • They diverge on capability: Netdata covers Per-second collection, Teleport covers Short-lived certificates.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Netdata and Teleport actually diverge.

Attributes where Netdata and Teleport differ
AttributeNetdataTeleport
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feequote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsLinux, macOS, FreeBSD, Docker, Kubernetes, WindowsLinux, macOS, Windows, Kubernetes, Cloud
CategoryNetworkingCybersecurity

Identical on both: 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 Netdata

  • Per-second collection
  • Zero-configuration discovery
  • Edge machine learning
  • Tiered database engine
  • Streaming and replication
  • Health alarms

Only in Teleport

  • Short-lived certificates
  • Protocol coverage
  • Session recording and replay
  • Access Requests
  • Device Trust
  • Identity provider integration
  • Machine identity
  • FIPS and FedRAMP builds

What people use each for

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

Netdata

  • Diagnosing a short-lived performance incident where one-minute averages hide the spike entirelynot Teleport
  • Kubernetes clusters where per-series billing from a hosted vendor has become the largest observability costnot Teleport
  • Adding dense host visibility to an estate that already has Prometheus for application metricsnot Teleport
  • Small teams with no monitoring engineer who need working dashboards on the day of installationnot Teleport

Teleport

  • Removing long-lived SSH keys and shared database passwords so that offboarding an engineer takes one action in the identity providernot Netdata
  • Producing session recordings and per-user database audit trails as direct evidence for SOC 2 or FedRAMPnot Netdata
  • Giving contractors or on-call engineers time-boxed, approved access to production instead of standing admin rightsnot Netdata
  • Replacing a flat VPN with per-resource authorisation across servers, Kubernetes and internal web appsnot Netdata

Where each one falls short

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

Netdata

  • The dashboard interface is under a restrictive Netdata licence rather than GPL and is served from Netdata infrastructure by default, so the deployment is not fully self-contained without extra configuration.
  • Retention is limited by disk on each node unless you build and maintain a parent tier, which makes it a poor archive for year-over-year capacity planning.
  • Per-second collection consumes noticeable CPU and memory on small or heavily loaded nodes, and on constrained edge hardware the monitoring becomes part of the problem.
  • Default alerting is generous and fires on conditions many teams consider normal, so the first weeks involve pruning alarms rather than responding to them.
  • Fleet-level features that make it usable across hundreds of nodes sit in Netdata Cloud, so the free agent alone leaves you visiting individual node dashboards.

Teleport

  • Pricing is not published and is described as active users plus protected resources, so an autoscaling estate cannot forecast the bill and finance teams discover the true cost only after the first true-up.
  • The proxy is a hard dependency on reaching production, so it needs its own high availability deployment and a tested break-glass path or an outage in Teleport becomes an outage in your ability to respond to outages.
  • The open source Community Edition omits Access Requests, Device Trust and the FIPS builds, which are exactly the controls an auditor asks about, so the free tier rarely survives a compliance review.
  • Self-hosting means running and upgrading a certificate authority and its backing store, and Teleport releases frequently enough that upgrade work becomes a standing operational commitment.
  • Coverage across protocols is uneven in depth, so teams with legacy systems, unusual databases or bespoke network appliances find gaps that still require the old VPN to remain in place alongside it.

Pricing, plan by plan

Netdata

Free
  • Netdata AgentFree
    • GPLv3 agent with unlimited nodes
    • Per-second metrics and edge anomaly detection
    • Local dashboards and alerting
  • Netdata Cloud paid tiers$undefined/month
    • Per-node subscription for fleet management features
    • Role based access control and longer alert history
    • Business and enterprise support options

Teleport

On request
  • Teleport Community Edition$undefined/year
    • Open source, self-hosted
    • SSH, Kubernetes, database and app access
    • Session recording
  • Teleport Enterprise$undefined/year
    • Cloud-hosted or self-hosted
    • Access Requests and approval workflow
    • Device Trust and hardware key enforcement

Which should you pick?

Choose Netdata if

  • You need per-second collection.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, macOS, FreeBSD, Docker, Kubernetes, Windows.
  • You also want zero-configuration discovery.
Netdata review

Choose Teleport if

  • You need short-lived certificates.
  • You work on Linux, macOS, Windows, Kubernetes, Cloud.
  • You also want protocol coverage.
Teleport review

Questions people ask

Is Netdata or Teleport better?
Neither clearly leads. Netdata starts at Free and Teleport at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Netdata or Teleport?
Netdata has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Netdata and On request for Teleport.
Does Netdata or Teleport run on more platforms?
Netdata runs on Linux, macOS, FreeBSD, Docker, Kubernetes, Windows. Teleport runs on Linux, macOS, Windows, Kubernetes, Cloud.
Can I use Netdata for free?
Yes. Netdata has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Teleport starts at On request.
What is Netdata best used for?
Netdata is most often used for diagnosing a short-lived performance incident where one-minute averages hide the spike entirely, kubernetes clusters where per-series billing from a hosted vendor has become the largest observability cost, adding dense host visibility to an estate that already has prometheus for application metrics, small teams with no monitoring engineer who need working dashboards on the day of installation. Of those, diagnosing a short-lived performance incident where one-minute averages hide the spike entirely and kubernetes clusters where per-series billing from a hosted vendor has become the largest observability cost are not what Teleport is typically brought in for.
What can Netdata do that Teleport cannot?
Netdata covers Per-second collection, Zero-configuration discovery, Edge machine learning, Tiered database engine. Teleport covers Short-lived certificates, Protocol coverage, Session recording and replay, Access Requests.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Netdata: Is Netdata fully open source?

The agent is GPLv3. The current dashboard interface is under a separate restrictive licence, so the complete product is open core rather than open source.

Teleport: Is the open source edition usable in production?

Yes, but it lacks Access Requests, Device Trust and FIPS builds, which most compliance programmes end up requiring.

Netdata: Can it run without any connection to Netdata Cloud?

Yes, agents work standalone and dashboards can be served locally, but you lose fleet-wide views and need to configure local interface serving deliberately.

Teleport: How is it priced?

Not publicly. The vendor prices on active users and protected resources and provides a quote after a sales conversation.

Netdata: Does it replace Prometheus?

For host and container infrastructure metrics it often does. For custom application metrics with an existing exporter ecosystem and long retention, most teams keep both.

Teleport: What happens if Teleport goes down?

Nobody reaches the resources behind it, so you need a highly available deployment and a documented break-glass procedure.

Teleport: Does it replace our VPN?

For anything you put behind it, yes. Legacy systems and appliances it does not support will keep the VPN alive.

Share

Related pages

More on Netdata

More on Teleport

Keep looking

Other head to heads