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jentry vs SigNoz: two OpenTelemetry-native paths to APM
Comparing jentry vs SigNoz? You're already in the right neighborhood: both are OpenTelemetry-native, both exist because Datadog-style usage pricing got out of hand, and both take OTLP straight from your SDKs. The real difference is scope and hosting: SigNoz is a self-host-first full-observability stack (traces + logs + metrics on ClickHouse); jentry is a hosted, flat-priced APM + error tracker that you never operate.
jentry is a hosted error-tracking and APM platform: it accepts OTLP/HTTP traces natively (protobuf and JSON) and the unmodified Sentry SDKs for errors, and prices flat — Free, $14 Team, $49 Business. SigNoz is the best-known open-source OpenTelemetry backend: traces, logs and metrics in one app backed by ClickHouse, self-hosted or in their usage-priced cloud.
What they have in common
- OpenTelemetry-native ingestion — point OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_TRACES_ENDPOINT at either one; no vendor SDK required.
- Trace waterfalls with span trees, service/route-level latency percentiles (p50/p95/p99), and error-rate views.
- A pricing philosophy that's a reaction to per-host/per-GB observability bills.
- Both can be part of a Datadog exit plan.
The real difference: scope and who runs it
SigNoz aims at full observability: distributed traces, log management and metrics/dashboards in one stack. That breadth is real, and if you self-host, it's yours to run: ClickHouse, the collector fleet, retention, upgrades, disk. SigNoz Cloud removes the ops but moves you to usage-based pricing per GB ingested.
jentry is deliberately narrower: application monitoring — errors and APM — done end to end. Errors get Sentry-grade treatment (grouping, source maps, releases, suspect commits, replays, crons, uptime), traces get the APM treatment (span trees, N+1 and slow-query detection, per-route percentiles), and the whole thing is hosted with flat pricing. There is no log-management or infra-metrics product in jentry today.
jentry vs SigNoz: comparison table
| jentry | SigNoz | |
|---|---|---|
| Model | Fully hosted SaaS | Open-source self-host first; usage-priced cloud |
| OpenTelemetry | Native OTLP/HTTP (protobuf + JSON) | Native (full OTel stack) |
| Error tracking | Sentry-SDK compatible: grouping, source maps, releases, suspect commits | Exceptions from trace/log data; no Sentry SDK compatibility |
| Beyond APM | Replays, crons, uptime, profiling, dashboards, Discover | Logs + metrics + dashboards (full o11y) |
| Automatic perf issues | N+1 queries, N+1 API calls, slow-query issues with span evidence | Alerts/exceptions; no equivalent auto-detectors |
| Pricing shape | Flat: Free / $14 / $49 per month | Free if self-hosted (your infra) · cloud per-GB usage |
| Ops burden | None | ClickHouse + collectors + upgrades if self-hosted |
| Setup time | Env var + key (~2 min) | Docker compose / Helm, then exporters |
The SigNoz column reflects their public docs and positioning; check their site for current details — both products move fast. The jentry column is what ships today.
When SigNoz is the better choice
- You want logs, metrics and traces in one open-source stack, and you're happy to operate it.
- Data must stay on your infrastructure for compliance reasons.
- You need infrastructure metrics and log search as first-class products, not just app monitoring.
- You have platform-team capacity and prefer OSS you can patch.
When jentry is the better choice
- You want OTel-native APM plus real error tracking without running ClickHouse.
- Your errors already flow through Sentry SDKs — jentry ingests them unchanged, next to your OTel traces, in the same project.
- You want a bill that never surprises you: flat $14 or $49, no per-GB math.
- You're a product team, not a platform team: five minutes to set up, zero to maintain.
Using both is legitimate
Some teams run SigNoz (or a Collector) for infra-wide telemetry and point an otlphttp exporter at jentry for application traces + errors. Because jentry is just another OTLP endpoint, fan-out from a Collector is one exporter block — no exclusivity required.
Frequently asked questions
Is jentry a full SigNoz replacement?
Only if what you use SigNoz for is application monitoring — traces/APM and errors. jentry doesn't do log management or infra metrics today. If your SigNoz usage is app-centric, jentry covers it hosted and flat-priced; if you lean on logs/metrics, keep SigNoz for those.
Do both accept OpenTelemetry the same way?
Both are OTLP-native. jentry accepts OTLP/HTTP in protobuf (the SDK default) and JSON at /api/<projectId>/otlp/v1/traces; SigNoz ingests through its collector. Either way your instrumentation is standard OTel and stays portable.
How does error tracking compare?
This is jentry's home turf: it speaks the Sentry envelope protocol, so the mature Sentry SDKs (with breadcrumbs, source maps, releases) work unchanged, and issues get Sentry-style grouping, suspect commits, replays and alerting. SigNoz surfaces exceptions from traces/logs, which is thinner for day-to-day error triage.
What does migration look like?
From SigNoz (or any OTel setup) to jentry: change OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_TRACES_ENDPOINT and add the x-jentry-key header. From a Collector: add/replace an otlphttp exporter. Your instrumentation doesn't change.
Can I self-host jentry like SigNoz?
jentry is hosted-first, and that's most of its value proposition (zero ops, flat price). If self-hosting is a hard requirement, SigNoz is genuinely a better fit — that's its design center.
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