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Cloud · head to head

Zeabur vs OpenTelemetry

Zeabur logo

Zeabur

Cloud

AI-powered cloud deployment platform for developers

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
OpenTelemetry logo

OpenTelemetry

Cloud

Vendor-neutral standard for traces, metrics and logs

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Zeabur free plan limited to single server with 48-hour log retention; OpenTelemetry genuinely complex to adopt: collectors, pipelines, samplers and exporters are a system to run in their own right
  • They diverge on capability: Zeabur covers AI Agent, OpenTelemetry covers Vendor-neutral SDKs.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Zeabur and OpenTelemetry actually diverge.

Attributes where Zeabur and OpenTelemetry differ
AttributeZeaburOpenTelemetry
Pricing modelFixed monthly plansOpen source, no licence fee
PlatformsWeb, CLILinux, macOS, Windows, Kubernetes, Docker
Founded2025Unknown

Identical on both: starting price (Free), 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 Zeabur

  • AI Agent
  • Managed Servers
  • Domain and DNS Management
  • Email Service
  • AI Hub
  • Deploy Templates
  • Git Integration

Only in OpenTelemetry

  • Vendor-neutral SDKs
  • Collector
  • Three signals
  • Auto-instrumentation

What people use each for

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

Zeabur

  • Deploying full-stack web applications without DevOps expertisenot OpenTelemetry
  • Building AI agent infrastructure with integrated API accessnot OpenTelemetry
  • Managing multi-region deployments with automated scalingnot OpenTelemetry
  • Running containerized services with built-in domain and emailnot OpenTelemetry

OpenTelemetry

  • Instrumenting once and keeping the option to change observability vendor laternot Zeabur
  • Standardising telemetry across services written in different languagesnot Zeabur
  • Routing and filtering telemetry centrally to control observability spendnot Zeabur

Where each one falls short

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

Zeabur

  • Free plan limited to single server with 48-hour log retention
  • Small team size may limit support and feature velocity
  • Building spec upgrades limited on lower tiers
  • Enterprise support not clearly documented

OpenTelemetry

  • Genuinely complex to adopt: collectors, pipelines, samplers and exporters are a system to run in their own right
  • Language SDKs mature at different rates, so a polyglot estate gets uneven support
  • It produces and moves telemetry but does not store or visualise it, so a backend is still required and still billed

Pricing, plan by plan

Zeabur

Free
  • FreeFree
    • 1 manageable server
    • 2C4G build specs
    • 48-hour log retention
  • Dev$5/month
    • 3 manageable servers
    • 7-day log retention
    • 250 MB file uploads
  • Pro$19/month
    • 10 manageable servers
    • 4C8G build specs
    • 30-day log retention
  • Team$79/month
    • 3 included seats
    • Unlimited manageable servers
    • 90-day log retention

OpenTelemetry

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

Which should you pick?

Choose Zeabur if

  • You need ai agent.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, CLI.
  • You also want managed servers.
Zeabur review

Choose OpenTelemetry if

  • You need vendor-neutral sdks.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, macOS, Windows, Kubernetes, Docker.
  • You also want collector.
OpenTelemetry review

Questions people ask

Is Zeabur or OpenTelemetry better?
Neither clearly leads. Zeabur starts at Free and OpenTelemetry at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Zeabur or OpenTelemetry?
Zeabur starts at Free and OpenTelemetry at Free.
Does Zeabur or OpenTelemetry run on more platforms?
Zeabur runs on Web, CLI. OpenTelemetry runs on Linux, macOS, Windows, Kubernetes, Docker.
Can I use Zeabur for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Zeabur best used for?
Zeabur is most often used for deploying full-stack web applications without devops expertise, building ai agent infrastructure with integrated api access, managing multi-region deployments with automated scaling, running containerized services with built-in domain and email. Of those, deploying full-stack web applications without devops expertise and building ai agent infrastructure with integrated api access are not what OpenTelemetry is typically brought in for.
What can Zeabur do that OpenTelemetry cannot?
Zeabur covers AI Agent, Managed Servers, Domain and DNS Management, Email Service. OpenTelemetry covers Vendor-neutral SDKs, Collector, Three signals, Auto-instrumentation.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Zeabur: What is included in the free plan?

The free plan includes 1 manageable server, 2C4G build specifications, 48-hour log retention, 50 MB file upload limit, and community support.

Source
OpenTelemetry: Is OpenTelemetry free?

Yes, open source under the CNCF. What you pay for is the backend you export to.

Zeabur: How do additional seats work on the Team plan?

The Team plan includes 3 seats with additional seats available at $24 per seat per month.

Source
OpenTelemetry: Does OpenTelemetry replace Datadog or Grafana?

No. It replaces their proprietary agents and instrumentation libraries. You still need a backend to store and query the data.

Zeabur: Is there a free trial period?

The Dev and Pro plans include 14 days free before billing begins.

Source
OpenTelemetry: Why adopt a vendor-neutral standard?

Because instrumentation is the expensive part. Once code emits OTel, changing observability vendor is a collector config change instead of re-instrumenting every service.

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