Softwr

Cloud · head to head

Nitric vs Zipkin

Nitric logo

Nitric

Cloud

Infrastructure, handled

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Zipkin logo

Zipkin

Cloud

Distributed tracing system for microservice latency

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Nitric smaller community compared to Terraform or Pulumi; Zipkin less active development and smaller community momentum than Jaeger
  • They diverge on capability: Nitric covers Multi-language support, Zipkin covers Trace collection and search.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Nitric and Zipkin actually diverge.

Attributes where Nitric and Zipkin differ
AttributeNitricZipkin
Pricing modelUnknownOpen source, no licence fee
PlatformsAWS, Azure, GCP, KubernetesLinux, Docker, Kubernetes, Self-hosted

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 Nitric

  • Multi-language support
  • Common resource abstractions
  • Local development
  • Multi-cloud deployment
  • Infrastructure as code generation
  • Vendor lock-in avoidance

Only in Zipkin

  • Trace collection and search
  • Dependency diagram
  • Simple deployment
  • Pluggable storage

What people use each for

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

Nitric

  • Building APIs with multi-cloud deployment capabilitynot Zipkin
  • Creating microservices across different cloud providersnot Zipkin
  • Developing serverless applications in Python or Gonot Zipkin

Zipkin

  • Adding distributed tracing quickly without standing up heavy infrastructurenot Nitric
  • Java and Spring Boot estates, where instrumentation support is long-establishednot Nitric
  • Small deployments where Jaeger is more than the problem requiresnot Nitric

Where each one falls short

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

Nitric

  • Smaller community compared to Terraform or Pulumi
  • Limited third-party provider plugins compared to dedicated IAC tools
  • Documentation could be more comprehensive

Zipkin

  • Less active development and smaller community momentum than Jaeger
  • Fewer features: sampling, storage options and UI are all more limited
  • The interface is dated and slower to work with on large trace volumes
  • Tracing alone still leaves metrics and logs in separate tools during an incident

Pricing, plan by plan

Nitric

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Nitric review.

Zipkin

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

Which should you pick?

Choose Nitric if

  • You need multi-language support.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on AWS, Azure, GCP, Kubernetes.
  • You also want common resource abstractions.
Nitric review

Choose Zipkin if

  • You need trace collection and search.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Self-hosted.
  • You also want dependency diagram.
Zipkin review

Questions people ask

Is Nitric or Zipkin better?
Neither clearly leads. Nitric starts at Free and Zipkin at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Nitric or Zipkin?
Nitric starts at Free and Zipkin at Free.
Does Nitric or Zipkin run on more platforms?
Nitric runs on AWS, Azure, GCP, Kubernetes. Zipkin runs on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Self-hosted.
Can I use Nitric for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Nitric best used for?
Nitric is most often used for building apis with multi-cloud deployment capability, creating microservices across different cloud providers, developing serverless applications in python or go. Of those, building apis with multi-cloud deployment capability and creating microservices across different cloud providers are not what Zipkin is typically brought in for.
What can Nitric do that Zipkin cannot?
Nitric covers Multi-language support, Common resource abstractions, Local development, Multi-cloud deployment. Zipkin covers Trace collection and search, Dependency diagram, Simple deployment, Pluggable storage.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Nitric: Is Nitric free?

Yes, Nitric is an open-source framework. Costs only apply when deploying to cloud providers like AWS, Azure, or GCP.

Source
Zipkin: Is Zipkin free?

Yes, open source with no licence fee.

Nitric: Can I switch cloud providers?

Yes, Nitric lets you write code once and deploy to AWS, Azure, GCP, or Kubernetes without modification.

Source
Zipkin: Zipkin or Jaeger?

Jaeger has more momentum, more features and CNCF backing. Zipkin is lighter and quicker to stand up, and remains well supported in the Java and Spring ecosystem.

Zipkin: Does Zipkin work with OpenTelemetry?

Yes. OpenTelemetry can export to Zipkin, which is now the usual way to instrument for it.

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