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Cloud · head to head

Zipkin vs OpenTelemetry

Zipkin logo

Zipkin

Cloud

Distributed tracing system for microservice latency

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: Zipkin less active development and smaller community momentum than Jaeger; OpenTelemetry genuinely complex to adopt: collectors, pipelines, samplers and exporters are a system to run in their own right
  • They diverge on capability: Zipkin covers Trace collection and search, OpenTelemetry covers Vendor-neutral SDKs.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Zipkin and OpenTelemetry actually diverge.

Attributes where Zipkin and OpenTelemetry differ
AttributeZipkinOpenTelemetry
PlatformsLinux, Docker, Kubernetes, Self-hostedLinux, macOS, Windows, 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 Zipkin

  • Trace collection and search
  • Dependency diagram
  • Simple deployment
  • Pluggable storage

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.

Zipkin

  • Adding distributed tracing quickly without standing up heavy infrastructurenot OpenTelemetry
  • Java and Spring Boot estates, where instrumentation support is long-establishednot OpenTelemetry
  • Small deployments where Jaeger is more than the problem requiresnot OpenTelemetry

OpenTelemetry

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

Where each one falls short

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

Zipkin

  • Less active development and smaller community momentum than Jaeger
  • Fewer features: sampling, storage options and UI are all more limited
  • The interface is dated and slower to work with on large trace volumes
  • Tracing alone still leaves metrics and logs in separate tools during an incident

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

Zipkin

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

OpenTelemetry

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

Which should you pick?

Choose Zipkin if

  • You need trace collection and search.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Self-hosted.
  • You also want dependency diagram.
Zipkin 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 Zipkin or OpenTelemetry better?
Neither clearly leads. Zipkin 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, Zipkin or OpenTelemetry?
Zipkin starts at Free and OpenTelemetry at Free.
Does Zipkin or OpenTelemetry run on more platforms?
Zipkin runs on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Self-hosted. OpenTelemetry runs on Linux, macOS, Windows, Kubernetes, Docker.
Can I use Zipkin for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Zipkin best used for?
Zipkin is most often used for adding distributed tracing quickly without standing up heavy infrastructure, java and spring boot estates, where instrumentation support is long-established, small deployments where jaeger is more than the problem requires. Of those, adding distributed tracing quickly without standing up heavy infrastructure and java and spring boot estates, where instrumentation support is long-established are not what OpenTelemetry is typically brought in for.
What can Zipkin do that OpenTelemetry cannot?
Zipkin covers Trace collection and search, Dependency diagram, Simple deployment, Pluggable storage. OpenTelemetry covers Vendor-neutral SDKs, Collector, Three signals, Auto-instrumentation.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Zipkin: Is Zipkin free?

Yes, open source with no licence fee.

OpenTelemetry: Is OpenTelemetry free?

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

Zipkin: Zipkin or Jaeger?

Jaeger has more momentum, more features and CNCF backing. Zipkin is lighter and quicker to stand up, and remains well supported in the Java and Spring ecosystem.

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.

Zipkin: Does Zipkin work with OpenTelemetry?

Yes. OpenTelemetry can export to Zipkin, which is now the usual way to instrument for it.

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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