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Cloud · head to head

Northflank vs Jaeger

Northflank logo

Northflank

Cloud

The runtime platform for AI-native companies

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Jaeger logo

Jaeger

Cloud

Open-source end-to-end distributed tracing

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Northflank pricing complexity with multiple rate dimensions; Jaeger tracing is only as good as the instrumentation, and partial instrumentation produces misleading gaps
  • They diverge on capability: Northflank covers Application deployments, Jaeger covers Distributed trace search.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Northflank and Jaeger actually diverge.

Attributes where Northflank and Jaeger differ
AttributeNorthflankJaeger
Pricing modelUnknownOpen source, no licence fee
PlatformsAWS, GCP, Azure, On-premisesLinux, Kubernetes, Docker

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 Northflank

  • Application deployments
  • GPU support
  • Preview environments
  • Database management
  • Multi-cloud support
  • GitOps integration

Only in Jaeger

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

What people use each for

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

Northflank

  • Deploying AI inference models with GPU accelerationnot Jaeger
  • Running training workloads on distributed GPUsnot Jaeger
  • Building microservices with multi-cloud reliabilitynot Jaeger

Jaeger

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

Where each one falls short

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

Northflank

  • Pricing complexity with multiple rate dimensions
  • GPU costs can be expensive for large-scale deployments
  • Learning curve for Kubernetes concepts

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

Pricing, plan by plan

Northflank

Free
  • Sandbox (Free)Free
    • Always-on compute with no sleeping
    • 2 free services
    • 1 free database
  • Pay-as-you-go$undefined/usage
    • CPU: $0.01667 per vCPU per hour
    • Memory: $0.00833 per GB per hour
    • Network egress: $0.06 per GB
  • Enterprise$undefined/custom
    • Custom pricing with volume discounts
    • Invoice-based billing
    • Annual commitments

Jaeger

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

Which should you pick?

Choose Northflank if

  • You need application deployments.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on AWS, GCP, Azure, On-premises.
  • You also want gpu support.
Northflank review

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

Questions people ask

Is Northflank or Jaeger better?
Neither clearly leads. Northflank starts at Free and Jaeger at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Northflank or Jaeger?
Northflank starts at Free and Jaeger at Free.
Does Northflank or Jaeger run on more platforms?
Northflank runs on AWS, GCP, Azure, On-premises. Jaeger runs on Linux, Kubernetes, Docker.
Can I use Northflank for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Northflank best used for?
Northflank is most often used for deploying ai inference models with gpu acceleration, running training workloads on distributed gpus, building microservices with multi-cloud reliability. Of those, deploying ai inference models with gpu acceleration and running training workloads on distributed gpus are not what Jaeger is typically brought in for.
What can Northflank do that Jaeger cannot?
Northflank covers Application deployments, GPU support, Preview environments, Database management. Jaeger covers Distributed trace search, Dependency graph, Adaptive sampling, Pluggable storage.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Northflank: What is included in the free Sandbox tier?

The Sandbox includes always-on compute, 2 free services, 1 free database, 2 free cron jobs, and is perfect for testing applications.

Source
Jaeger: Is Jaeger free?

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

Northflank: How much does CPU cost on Northflank?

CPU costs $0.01667 per vCPU per hour on pay-as-you-go pricing.

Source
Jaeger: Do I use Jaeger or OpenTelemetry?

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

Northflank: What GPUs are available?

GPU options include NVIDIA L4 at $0.80/hr through H100 at $2.74/hr.

Source
Jaeger: Does Jaeger handle metrics and logs?

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

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