Softwr

Cloud · head to head

VictoriaMetrics vs Zabbix

VictoriaMetrics logo

VictoriaMetrics

Cloud

Fast, cost-effective time series database for metrics

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: VictoriaMetrics promQL compatibility is very close but not identical, and MetricsQL extensions do not port back; 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: VictoriaMetrics covers PromQL compatible, 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 VictoriaMetrics and Zabbix actually diverge.

Attributes where VictoriaMetrics and Zabbix differ
AttributeVictoriaMetricsZabbix
PlatformsLinux, Docker, Kubernetes, Self-hostedLinux, Docker, Kubernetes, Web
CategoryCloudNetworking

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

  • PromQL compatible
  • Low resource use
  • Single binary or cluster
  • Remote write target

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.

VictoriaMetrics

  • Keeping months or years of Prometheus metrics without the memory costnot Zabbix
  • High-cardinality metrics where Prometheus strugglesnot Zabbix
  • Consolidating metrics from many Prometheus instances into one queryable storenot Zabbix

Zabbix

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

Where each one falls short

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

VictoriaMetrics

  • PromQL compatibility is very close but not identical, and MetricsQL extensions do not port back
  • Smaller community than Prometheus, so fewer guides and third-party integrations
  • The clustered version has meaningfully more moving parts than the single binary suggests
  • Some enterprise features sit outside the open-source offering

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

VictoriaMetrics

Free
  • VictoriaMetricsFree
    • Full functionality
    • No data limits
    • Community support

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 VictoriaMetrics if

  • You need promql compatible.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Self-hosted.
  • You also want low resource use.
VictoriaMetrics 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 VictoriaMetrics or Zabbix better?
Neither clearly leads. VictoriaMetrics 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, VictoriaMetrics or Zabbix?
VictoriaMetrics starts at Free and Zabbix at Free.
Does VictoriaMetrics or Zabbix run on more platforms?
VictoriaMetrics runs on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Self-hosted. Zabbix runs on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Web.
Can I use VictoriaMetrics for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is VictoriaMetrics best used for?
VictoriaMetrics is most often used for keeping months or years of prometheus metrics without the memory cost, high-cardinality metrics where prometheus struggles, consolidating metrics from many prometheus instances into one queryable store. Of those, keeping months or years of prometheus metrics without the memory cost and high-cardinality metrics where prometheus struggles are not what Zabbix is typically brought in for.
What can VictoriaMetrics do that Zabbix cannot?
VictoriaMetrics covers PromQL compatible, Low resource use, Single binary or cluster, Remote write target. Zabbix covers Agent and agentless collection, Templates, Low-level discovery, Distributed proxies.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

VictoriaMetrics: Is VictoriaMetrics free?

The open-source version is free with no data limits. An enterprise edition and cloud service are paid.

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.

VictoriaMetrics: Does it replace Prometheus?

It can, but most teams keep Prometheus for scraping and use VictoriaMetrics as the long-term store behind it.

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.

VictoriaMetrics: Is PromQL fully supported?

Very nearly. It implements PromQL and extends it with MetricsQL, though a small number of edge-case behaviours differ.

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.

Share

Related pages

More on VictoriaMetrics

More on Zabbix

Keep looking

Other head to heads