Is OpenTelemetry or Semgrep better?

Neither clearly leads. OpenTelemetry starts at Free and Semgrep at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.

Which is cheaper, OpenTelemetry or Semgrep?

OpenTelemetry starts at Free and Semgrep at Free.

Does OpenTelemetry or Semgrep run on more platforms?

OpenTelemetry runs on Linux, macOS, Windows, Kubernetes, Docker. Semgrep runs on web, api, linux, mac, windows.

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 Semgrep is typically brought in for.

What can OpenTelemetry do that Semgrep cannot?

OpenTelemetry covers Vendor-neutral SDKs, Collector, Three signals, Auto-instrumentation. Semgrep covers Static code scanning, Supply chain scanning, Secrets detection, Cross-file analysis.

Cloud · head to head

OpenTelemetry vs Semgrep

OpenTelemetry

Cloud

Vendor-neutral standard for traces, metrics and logs

From: Free
Rated: -

Full review Website

Semgrep

Cybersecurity

Open-source static analysis tool for finding security bugs and enforcing code standards.

From: Free
Rated: -

Full review Website

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; Semgrep free tier caps out at 10 contributors and 10 repositories.
They diverge on capability: OpenTelemetry covers Vendor-neutral SDKs, Semgrep covers Static code scanning.
Prices and features above were last checked on 29 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which OpenTelemetry and Semgrep actually diverge.

Attributes where OpenTelemetry and Semgrep differ
Attribute	OpenTelemetry	Semgrep
Pricing model	Open source, no licence fee	freemium
Platforms	Linux, macOS, Windows, Kubernetes, Docker	web, api, linux, mac, windows
Category	Cloud	Cybersecurity

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), 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 OpenTelemetry

Vendor-neutral SDKs
Collector
Three signals
Auto-instrumentation

Only in Semgrep

Static code scanning
Supply chain scanning
Secrets detection
Cross-file analysis
AI-powered triage and remediation
CI/CD integration

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 Semgrep
Standardising telemetry across services written in different languagesnot Semgrep
Routing and filtering telemetry centrally to control observability spendnot Semgrep

Semgrep

Scanning code for security vulnerabilities in CI/CDnot OpenTelemetry
Detecting vulnerable open-source dependenciesnot OpenTelemetry
Finding hardcoded secrets before code shipsnot OpenTelemetry
Enforcing custom code standards with rule setsnot OpenTelemetry
Prioritizing findings with AI-assisted triagenot 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

Semgrep

Free tier caps out at 10 contributors and 10 repositories.
Secrets scanning is priced as a separate module ($15/contributor) from Code and Supply Chain.
Self-managed repositories and custom CI/CD require the Enterprise tier.
AI credits are limited per tier and additional usage requires upgrading.

Pricing, plan by plan

OpenTelemetry

Free

OpenTelemetryFree
- Full functionality
- No usage limits
- Community support

Semgrep

Free

FreeFree
- Up to 10 contributors
- Code and Supply Chain scanning
- 60 AI credits total
Teams$30/month
- Code, Supply Chain, or Secrets scanning per contributor
- Pro rules
- AI-powered triage and remediation
Enterprise$undefined/month
- On-prem support
- Custom CI/CD
- 50 AI credits per developer/month

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 Semgrep if

You need static code scanning.
You want to start without paying.
You work on web, api, linux, mac, windows.
You also want supply chain scanning.

Semgrep review

Questions people ask

Is OpenTelemetry or Semgrep better?: Neither clearly leads. OpenTelemetry starts at Free and Semgrep at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, OpenTelemetry or Semgrep?: OpenTelemetry starts at Free and Semgrep at Free.
Does OpenTelemetry or Semgrep run on more platforms?: OpenTelemetry runs on Linux, macOS, Windows, Kubernetes, Docker. Semgrep runs on web, api, linux, mac, windows.
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 Semgrep is typically brought in for.
What can OpenTelemetry do that Semgrep cannot?: OpenTelemetry covers Vendor-neutral SDKs, Collector, Three signals, Auto-instrumentation. Semgrep covers Static code scanning, Supply chain scanning, Secrets detection, Cross-file analysis.

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.

Semgrep: What does Semgrep cost?

The Free edition covers up to 10 contributors; Teams starts at $30/contributor/month for Code scanning (Supply Chain also $30, Secrets $15); Enterprise is custom-priced.

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.

Semgrep: Is there a free plan, and what are its limits?

Yes, the Free edition supports up to 10 contributors and 10 repositories with Code and Supply Chain scanning plus 60 AI credits total.

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.

Semgrep: How is usage metered?

Pricing is per contributor, defined as someone who made at least one commit to a scanned private repository in the past 90 days.

Source

Semgrep: Is there special pricing for startups?

Yes, Semgrep offers special startup pricing upon request for early-stage companies.

Source

OpenTelemetry vs Semgrep

OpenTelemetry

Semgrep

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in OpenTelemetry

Only in Semgrep

What people use each for

OpenTelemetry

Semgrep

Where each one falls short

OpenTelemetry

Semgrep

Pricing, plan by plan

OpenTelemetry

Semgrep

Which should you pick?

Choose OpenTelemetry if

Choose Semgrep if

Questions people ask

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Related pages

More on OpenTelemetry

More on Semgrep

Keep looking

Other head to heads