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Cloud · head to head

Thanos vs Jaeger

Thanos logo

Thanos

Cloud

Highly available Prometheus with long-term object storage

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: Thanos several components — sidecar, store, querier, compactor, ruler — each with its own configuration and failure modes; Jaeger tracing is only as good as the instrumentation, and partial instrumentation produces misleading gaps
  • They diverge on capability: Thanos covers Global query, Jaeger covers Distributed trace search.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Thanos and Jaeger actually diverge.

Attributes where Thanos and Jaeger differ
AttributeThanosJaeger
PlatformsKubernetes, Linux, DockerLinux, Kubernetes, Docker

Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (Open source, no licence fee), 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 Thanos

  • Global query
  • Object storage retention
  • Deduplication
  • Downsampling

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.

Thanos

  • Querying metrics across many clusters or regions from one placenot Jaeger
  • Retaining metrics for years without local disk growthnot Jaeger
  • Removing the gap that appears when a single Prometheus instance restartsnot Jaeger

Jaeger

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

Where each one falls short

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

Thanos

  • Several components — sidecar, store, querier, compactor, ruler — each with its own configuration and failure modes
  • The compactor is a common source of operational trouble and must not run twice against the same bucket
  • Query latency over object storage is meaningfully higher than local Prometheus
  • Object storage costs and API request charges become real at high volume

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

Thanos

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

Jaeger

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

Which should you pick?

Choose Thanos if

  • You need global query.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Kubernetes, Linux, Docker.
  • You also want object storage retention.
Thanos 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 Thanos or Jaeger better?
Neither clearly leads. Thanos 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, Thanos or Jaeger?
Thanos starts at Free and Jaeger at Free.
Does Thanos or Jaeger run on more platforms?
Thanos runs on Kubernetes, Linux, Docker. Jaeger runs on Linux, Kubernetes, Docker.
Can I use Thanos for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Thanos best used for?
Thanos is most often used for querying metrics across many clusters or regions from one place, retaining metrics for years without local disk growth, removing the gap that appears when a single prometheus instance restarts. Of those, querying metrics across many clusters or regions from one place and retaining metrics for years without local disk growth are not what Jaeger is typically brought in for.
What can Thanos do that Jaeger cannot?
Thanos covers Global query, Object storage retention, Deduplication, Downsampling. Jaeger covers Distributed trace search, Dependency graph, Adaptive sampling, Pluggable storage.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Thanos: Is Thanos free?

Yes, open source and CNCF-incubating. Costs are the object storage it uses.

Jaeger: Is Jaeger free?

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

Thanos: Does Thanos replace Prometheus?

No. It runs alongside existing Prometheus servers, adding global query, deduplication and long-term storage.

Jaeger: Do I use Jaeger or OpenTelemetry?

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

Thanos: Thanos or VictoriaMetrics?

Thanos layers onto Prometheus using object storage and is the more established multi-cluster answer. VictoriaMetrics is a separate store aiming at lower resource use and fewer moving parts.

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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