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Traceloop vs Zabbix

Traceloop logo

Traceloop

Logging

LLM reliability platform with open-source observability and evaluation

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Zabbix logo

Zabbix

Networking

Open source infrastructure and network monitoring with distributed proxies and templating

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Traceloop free tier limited to 50k spans per month and 24-hour retention, restricting production use; Zabbix the database is the scaling limit, and high frequency polling grows history tables fast enough that untuned installations hit housekeeping stalls and query timeouts within months.
  • They diverge on capability: Traceloop covers Open-source SDK (OpenLLMetry), Zabbix covers Agent and agentless collection.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Traceloop and Zabbix actually diverge.

Attributes where Traceloop and Zabbix differ
AttributeTraceloopZabbix
Pricing modelFreemium with pay-as-you-go enterprise optionOpen source, no licence fee
PlatformsCloud, On-premises, Air-gapped, Python, TypeScript, Go, RubyLinux, Docker, Kubernetes, Web
CategoryLoggingNetworking

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 Traceloop

  • Open-source SDK (OpenLLMetry)
  • Multi-provider support
  • Observability platform integration
  • Framework support
  • Monitoring dashboard
  • Evaluation system
  • Deployment flexibility

Only in Zabbix

  • Agent and agentless collection
  • Templates
  • Low-level discovery
  • Distributed proxies
  • Trigger expressions
  • Escalation actions

What people use each for

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

Traceloop

  • Monitoring LLM application performance in productionnot Zabbix
  • Instrumenting LLM apps with minimal code overheadnot Zabbix
  • Continuous evaluation and quality scoring of LLM outputsnot Zabbix
  • Debugging LLM application issues with full trace visibilitynot Zabbix
  • Integrating observability data into existing monitoring stacksnot Zabbix

Zabbix

  • A service provider monitoring thousands of customer devices where per-device commercial licensing is the largest line itemnot Traceloop
  • Branch or industrial sites with unreliable links that need local collection and bufferingnot Traceloop
  • Mixed estates where the same tool must poll SNMP switches, Linux hosts, Windows servers and Java applicationsnot Traceloop
  • Replacing an aging Nagios installation while keeping script-based checks that already existnot Traceloop

Where each one falls short

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

Traceloop

  • Free tier limited to 50k spans per month and 24-hour retention, restricting production use
  • Company acquisition by ServiceNow creates uncertainty about future roadmap
  • Requires integration with separate observability platforms for visualization
  • Less feature-rich than dedicated LLM evaluation platforms

Zabbix

  • The database is the scaling limit, and high frequency polling grows history tables fast enough that untuned installations hit housekeeping stalls and query timeouts within months.
  • Initial configuration is heavy; getting useful alerting rather than noise requires understanding trigger expressions, macros and template inheritance, which is a multi-week learning curve for a team new to it.
  • The AGPLv3 change at version 7.0 affects anyone offering Zabbix over a network as part of a commercial service, and that obligation is easy to inherit accidentally during an upgrade.
  • The web interface is functional rather than pleasant, and many sites end up running Grafana alongside it purely for presentation, which is a second system to maintain.
  • Upgrades between major versions touch the database schema and can take hours on large history tables, so the maintenance window is proportional to how much data you kept.

Pricing, plan by plan

Traceloop

Free
  • FreeFree
    • 50,000 spans per month
    • Up to 5 seats
    • 24-hour data retention
  • Enterprise$undefined/custom
    • Unlimited spans per month
    • Unlimited seats
    • Custom data retention

Zabbix

Free
  • ZabbixFree
    • No device, node or metric limits
    • Full feature set with no paid edition of the software
    • AGPLv3 from version 7.0 onward
  • Zabbix Technical Support$undefined/year
    • Tiered subscriptions with defined response times
    • Access to Zabbix engineers for configuration and performance issues
    • Bug fix priority and backports

Which should you pick?

Choose Traceloop if

  • You need open-source sdk (openllmetry).
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Cloud, On-premises, Air-gapped, Python, TypeScript, Go, Ruby.
  • You also want multi-provider support.
Traceloop review

Choose Zabbix if

  • You need agent and agentless collection.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Web.
  • You also want templates.
Zabbix review

Questions people ask

Is Traceloop or Zabbix better?
Neither clearly leads. Traceloop starts at Free and Zabbix at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Traceloop or Zabbix?
Traceloop starts at Free and Zabbix at Free.
Does Traceloop or Zabbix run on more platforms?
Traceloop runs on Cloud, On-premises, Air-gapped, Python, TypeScript, Go, Ruby. Zabbix runs on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Web.
Can I use Traceloop for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Traceloop best used for?
Traceloop is most often used for monitoring llm application performance in production, instrumenting llm apps with minimal code overhead, continuous evaluation and quality scoring of llm outputs, debugging llm application issues with full trace visibility. Of those, monitoring llm application performance in production and instrumenting llm apps with minimal code overhead are not what Zabbix is typically brought in for.
What can Traceloop do that Zabbix cannot?
Traceloop covers Open-source SDK (OpenLLMetry), Multi-provider support, Observability platform integration, Framework support. Zabbix covers Agent and agentless collection, Templates, Low-level discovery, Distributed proxies.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Traceloop: Is OpenLLMetry open-source?

Yes, OpenLLMetry is Traceloop's open-source SDK built on OpenTelemetry standards. It allows teams to instrument LLM applications with just 2 lines of code and send data to 25+ observability platforms.

Source
Zabbix: Is Zabbix genuinely free for commercial use?

The software has no licence fee at any scale. From version 7.0 it is AGPLv3, so offering it as a network service to third parties carries source distribution obligations.

Traceloop: What is the impact of ServiceNow acquisition?

Traceloop is joining ServiceNow, representing a strategic acquisition that will broaden enterprise adoption and integration capabilities. Current operations continue with free and enterprise options available.

Source
Zabbix: What is the real cost of running it?

Database administration and the person who tunes it. Budget for PostgreSQL with TimescaleDB and someone who owns the retention policy.

Traceloop: How many LLM providers and frameworks does Traceloop support?

Traceloop supports 20+ LLM providers including OpenAI and Anthropic, and integrates with frameworks like LangChain and LlamaIndex. It can send data to 25+ observability platforms.

Source
Zabbix: How does it compare to a commercial per-device tool?

It removes the licence line entirely and adds an operations line. Below a few hundred devices the commercial tool is often cheaper in total; above that Zabbix wins clearly.

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