Softwr

Network & Connectivity · head to head

Prometheus vs Vagrant

Prometheus logo

Prometheus

Network & Connectivity

Open source monitoring and alerting toolkit for cloud native environments

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Vagrant logo

Vagrant

Cloud & Infrastructure

Development environments made easy

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Prometheus not suitable for per-request billing as collected data lacks 100% accuracy; Vagrant vagrant 2.4.3 and later is licensed under the Business Source License 1.1 with IBM Corporation as licensor, not an OSI open source licence
  • They diverge on capability: Prometheus covers Multi-dimensional Data Model, Vagrant covers Box management.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Prometheus and Vagrant actually diverge.

Attributes where Prometheus and Vagrant differ
AttributePrometheusVagrant
PlatformsLinux, macOS, WindowsLinux, Windows, Mac
CategoryNetwork & ConnectivityCloud & Infrastructure
Founded20152010

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 Prometheus

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

Only in Vagrant

  • Box management
  • Provider support
  • Multi-machine setups
  • Provisioners
  • Networking
  • Synced folders
  • Snapshots
  • Plugins

Both cover

  • Linux support
  • Windows support

What people use each for

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

Prometheus

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

Vagrant

  • Reproducible local development environments defined in a Vagrantfilenot Prometheus
  • Provisioning identical VMs across VirtualBox, VMware and Hyper-V for a teamnot Prometheus
  • Sandboxing multi-machine setups on a developer laptopnot Prometheus

Where each one falls short

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

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

Vagrant

  • Vagrant 2.4.3 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 Vagrant to third parties on a hosted or embedded basis in a paid product that competes with IBM's paid versions of Vagrant
  • Each version converts to the MPL 2.0 Change License only four years after that version is first published
  • Uses that fall outside the Additional Use Grant require a separately negotiated licence from the licensor

Pricing, plan by plan

Prometheus

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Prometheus review.

Vagrant

Free
  • Open SourceFree
    • Development environment provisioning
    • Multiple providers
    • Provisioner support

Which should you pick?

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

Choose Vagrant if

  • You need box management.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Windows, Mac.
  • You also want provider support.
Vagrant review

Questions people ask

Is Prometheus or Vagrant better?
Neither clearly leads. Prometheus starts at Free and Vagrant at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Prometheus or Vagrant?
Prometheus starts at Free and Vagrant at Free.
Does Prometheus or Vagrant run on more platforms?
Prometheus runs on Linux, macOS, Windows. Vagrant runs on Linux, Windows, Mac.
Can I use Prometheus for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Prometheus best used for?
Prometheus is most often used for cloud-native monitoring and alerting, time-series metrics collection, infrastructure monitoring. Of those, cloud-native monitoring and alerting and time-series metrics collection are not what Vagrant is typically brought in for.
What can Prometheus do that Vagrant cannot?
Prometheus covers Multi-dimensional Data Model, PromQL Query Language, Pull-based Collection, Service Discovery. Vagrant covers Box management, Provider support, Multi-machine setups, Provisioners. Both handle Linux support, Windows support.
ShareXLinkedInRedditWhatsAppEmail

Related pages

More on Prometheus

More on Vagrant

Keep looking

Other head to heads