Softwr

Cloud & Infrastructure · head to head

Packer vs Prometheus

P

Packer

Cloud & Infrastructure

Build automated machine images

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Prometheus logo

Prometheus

Network & Connectivity

Open source monitoring and alerting toolkit for cloud native environments

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Packer packer 1.10.0 and later is licensed under the Business Source License 1.1 with IBM Corporation as licensor, not an OSI open source licence; Prometheus not suitable for per-request billing as collected data lacks 100% accuracy
  • They diverge on capability: Packer covers Image building, Prometheus covers Multi-dimensional Data Model.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Packer and Prometheus actually diverge.

Attributes where Packer and Prometheus differ
AttributePackerPrometheus
PlatformsLinux, Windows, MacLinux, macOS, Windows
CategoryCloud & InfrastructureNetwork & Connectivity
Founded20132015

Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (open-source), 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 Packer

  • Image building
  • Multi-platform support
  • Provisioners
  • Builders
  • Post-processors
  • Variables
  • Data sources
  • Validation

Only in Prometheus

  • Multi-dimensional Data Model
  • PromQL Query Language
  • Pull-based Collection
  • Service Discovery
  • Alerting Rules
  • Federation
  • Local Storage
  • Grafana

Both cover

  • Linux support
  • Windows support

What people use each for

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

Packer

  • Building identical machine images for multiple clouds from one templatenot Prometheus
  • Baking golden AMIs and VM images into a CI pipelinenot Prometheus
  • Creating immutable infrastructure artifacts consumed by Terraformnot Prometheus

Prometheus

  • Cloud-native monitoring and alertingnot Packer
  • Time-series metrics collectionnot Packer
  • Infrastructure monitoringnot Packer

Where each one falls short

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

Packer

  • Packer 1.10.0 and later is licensed under the Business Source License 1.1 with IBM Corporation as licensor, not an OSI open source licence
  • The Additional Use Grant forbids offering Packer to third parties on a hosted or embedded basis in a paid product that competes with IBM's paid versions of Packer
  • Each version converts to the MPL 2.0 Change License only four years after that version is first published, and the Change Date is set separately per version
  • Alternative licensing for uses outside the grant must be arranged with the licensor rather than taken under the public licence

Prometheus

  • Not suitable for per-request billing as collected data lacks 100% accuracy
  • Hard limit on scrape body size; large responses cause scrape failure
  • Per-scrape sample limit enforced; exceeding limit marks targets as failed
  • Not designed for long-term durable storage; optimised for metrics collection

Pricing, plan by plan

Packer

Free
  • Open SourceFree
    • Multi-platform image building
    • Template-driven
    • Provisioner support

Prometheus

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Prometheus review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Packer if

  • You need image building.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Windows, Mac.
  • You also want multi-platform support.
Packer review

Choose Prometheus if

  • You need multi-dimensional data model.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, macOS, Windows.
  • You also want promql query language.
Prometheus review

Questions people ask

Is Packer or Prometheus better?
Neither clearly leads. Packer starts at Free and Prometheus at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Packer or Prometheus?
Packer starts at Free and Prometheus at Free.
Does Packer or Prometheus run on more platforms?
Packer runs on Linux, Windows, Mac. Prometheus runs on Linux, macOS, Windows.
Can I use Packer for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Packer best used for?
Packer is most often used for building identical machine images for multiple clouds from one template, baking golden amis and vm images into a ci pipeline, creating immutable infrastructure artifacts consumed by terraform. Of those, building identical machine images for multiple clouds from one template and baking golden amis and vm images into a ci pipeline are not what Prometheus is typically brought in for.
What can Packer do that Prometheus cannot?
Packer covers Image building, Multi-platform support, Provisioners, Builders. Prometheus covers Multi-dimensional Data Model, PromQL Query Language, Pull-based Collection, Service Discovery. Both handle Linux support, Windows support.
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