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Cloud · head to head

OpenTelemetry vs Scaleway

OpenTelemetry logo

OpenTelemetry

Cloud

Vendor-neutral standard for traces, metrics and logs

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Scaleway logo

Scaleway

Cloud

European cloud for developers

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: OpenTelemetry genuinely complex to adopt: collectors, pipelines, samplers and exporters are a system to run in their own right; Scaleway no free tier or trial period mentioned on homepage
  • They diverge on capability: OpenTelemetry covers Vendor-neutral SDKs, Scaleway covers Virtual Instances.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which OpenTelemetry and Scaleway actually diverge.

Attributes where OpenTelemetry and Scaleway differ
AttributeOpenTelemetryScaleway
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feeusage-based
PlatformsLinux, macOS, Windows, Kubernetes, DockerWeb, Api, Cli
FoundedUnknown1999

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 OpenTelemetry

  • Vendor-neutral SDKs
  • Collector
  • Three signals
  • Auto-instrumentation

Only in Scaleway

  • Virtual Instances
  • Bare Metal
  • Kubernetes Kapsule
  • Object Storage
  • Serverless Functions
  • Managed Databases
  • Container Registry
  • Load Balancer

What people use each for

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

OpenTelemetry

  • Instrumenting once and keeping the option to change observability vendor laternot Scaleway
  • Standardising telemetry across services written in different languagesnot Scaleway
  • Routing and filtering telemetry centrally to control observability spendnot Scaleway

Scaleway

  • Web hostingnot OpenTelemetry
  • Container orchestrationnot OpenTelemetry
  • Development environmentsnot OpenTelemetry
  • Data storagenot OpenTelemetry

Where each one falls short

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

OpenTelemetry

  • Genuinely complex to adopt: collectors, pipelines, samplers and exporters are a system to run in their own right
  • Language SDKs mature at different rates, so a polyglot estate gets uneven support
  • It produces and moves telemetry but does not store or visualise it, so a backend is still required and still billed

Scaleway

  • No free tier or trial period mentioned on homepage
  • Specific pricing requires navigating to individual product category pages
  • Base pricing starts at 4.99 EUR per month but varies significantly by service type

Pricing, plan by plan

OpenTelemetry

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

Scaleway

Free
  • DEV1-S$7.99/month
    • 2 vCPU
    • 2GB RAM
    • 20GB SSD

Which should you pick?

Choose OpenTelemetry if

  • You need vendor-neutral sdks.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, macOS, Windows, Kubernetes, Docker.
  • You also want collector.
OpenTelemetry review

Choose Scaleway if

  • You need virtual instances.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Api, Cli.
  • You also want bare metal.
Scaleway review

Questions people ask

Is OpenTelemetry or Scaleway better?
Neither clearly leads. OpenTelemetry starts at Free and Scaleway at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, OpenTelemetry or Scaleway?
OpenTelemetry starts at Free and Scaleway at Free.
Does OpenTelemetry or Scaleway run on more platforms?
OpenTelemetry runs on Linux, macOS, Windows, Kubernetes, Docker. Scaleway runs on Web, Api, Cli.
Can I use OpenTelemetry for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is OpenTelemetry best used for?
OpenTelemetry is most often used for instrumenting once and keeping the option to change observability vendor later, standardising telemetry across services written in different languages, routing and filtering telemetry centrally to control observability spend. Of those, instrumenting once and keeping the option to change observability vendor later and standardising telemetry across services written in different languages are not what Scaleway is typically brought in for.
What can OpenTelemetry do that Scaleway cannot?
OpenTelemetry covers Vendor-neutral SDKs, Collector, Three signals, Auto-instrumentation. Scaleway covers Virtual Instances, Bare Metal, Kubernetes Kapsule, Object Storage.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

OpenTelemetry: Is OpenTelemetry free?

Yes, open source under the CNCF. What you pay for is the backend you export to.

Scaleway: Does Scaleway have a free tier?

Scaleway does not mention a free tier or trial period on its pricing or homepage. Users must select specific services to see rates.

Source
OpenTelemetry: Does OpenTelemetry replace Datadog or Grafana?

No. It replaces their proprietary agents and instrumentation libraries. You still need a backend to store and query the data.

Scaleway: What is Scaleway's pricing model?

Scaleway uses transparent, usage-based pricing that varies by service. Different categories (bare metal, compute, AI, storage, network) have separate pricing. Dedibox servers start at 4.99 EUR per month.

Source
OpenTelemetry: Why adopt a vendor-neutral standard?

Because instrumentation is the expensive part. Once code emits OTel, changing observability vendor is a collector config change instead of re-instrumenting every service.

Scaleway: How does Scaleway billing work?

Scaleway emphasizes transparent, predictable billing where customers know exactly what they'll pay. Users must select products and view pricing within each category.

Source
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