DeepFlow

DeepFlow is an observability platform for complex cloud infrastructure and cloud-native applications. It is best suited to teams that want eBPF-based collection alongside tracing, profiling and broad protocol parsing. The Community Edition is free and open source, but teams that need managed alerting, reports or custom dashboards should look at Enterprise instead.

Overview

DeepFlow brings together a universal service map, distributed tracing and continuous profiling, collecting application performance metrics and other signals through eBPF. That breadth makes it a fit for teams seeking a shared view across infrastructure and applications rather than a tool centered on one signal alone.

Its core modules use the Apache 2.0 License, and it supports hybrid deployment. Kubernetes and Docker Compose are documented options for an all-in-one installation. The maker, Yunshan Networks, was founded in December 2011.

For more options in this category, browse eBPF Observability Tools.

Key features

Service relationships and performance signals

The universal service map, distributed tracing and continuous profiling cover complementary jobs: understanding service relationships, following requests, and examining performance over time. This combination is useful when teams need infrastructure and application signals together; readers seeking only a narrow tracing or debugging tool may not need the full scope.

Protocol parsing and integrations

Built-in parsing covers HTTP, HTTPS, Dubbo, gRPC, MySQL, PostgreSQL, Redis, MongoDB, Kafka, MQTT and DNS. That range can help teams inspect varied service traffic without limiting the product to a single protocol family. DeepFlow can also act as a storage backend for Prometheus, OpenTelemetry, SkyWalking and Pyroscope, with SQL, PromQL and OTLP interfaces.

Resource-aware tagging

AutoTagging associates observability data with cloud and Kubernetes resources, Kubernetes tags and CMDB business tags. This can give teams organizational context for their telemetry, especially where infrastructure and business ownership need to be connected.

Enterprise controls and support

Enterprise adds encrypted transmission between agent and server, multi-tenancy and data permission isolation. Its after-sales support covers troubleshooting, performance tuning, upgrades and implementation practices. Those additions matter for organizations with isolation or operational support requirements, but the Community Edition lacks alert management, report management and custom dashboard management.

Pricing

The Community Edition costs nothing. It is the open-source option for Linux servers and selected Kubernetes, cloud and container environments, and suits teams able to operate the deployment themselves. Its exclusions are consequential: teams that depend on managed alerts, reports or custom dashboards will need Enterprise.

The Cloud Edition is a fully managed platform described as being in the testing trial phase; its price is custom pricing. It may suit teams looking for a managed deployment rather than running the all-in-one installation themselves.

The Enterprise Edition has custom pricing and includes enterprise features and services. It is the relevant choice for organizations requiring the additional security controls, data isolation or after-sales support. No seat or usage caps are stated for these plans.

Platforms

DeepFlow supports Linux, Windows and Android, with API, web and self-hosted platforms also listed. Kubernetes support, network visibility, application tracing and kernel profiling are supported. The Community Edition's stated environment support is Linux servers and selected Kubernetes, cloud and container environments, so its free plan is not a blanket promise of equal coverage across every listed platform.

Who it's for

DeepFlow is a strong fit for infrastructure and platform teams that want service mapping, tracing, profiling and protocol visibility in one open-source system, particularly where Kubernetes or hybrid deployment is relevant. It is less suitable for teams that need alerting, reporting or dashboard customization without moving to Enterprise, or that want a fully managed service beyond the Cloud Edition's testing-trial phase.

Pros and cons

• Pros: The combination of service mapping, distributed tracing and continuous profiling spans several observability needs in one product.
• Pros: Protocol parsing and storage-backend integrations cover a broad set of common services and telemetry systems.
• Pros: Apache 2.0 core modules and documented Kubernetes and Docker Compose deployment give teams open-source and self-hosted options.
• Cons: Community lacks alert management, report management and custom dashboard management, limiting its fit for teams that rely on those workflows.
• Cons: Enterprise capabilities and support require custom pricing, so organizations needing them cannot use the free edition as a complete substitute.

Alternatives

Kubeshark is worth considering for teams looking for a community plan capped at 3 nodes or 60 pods, with unlimited API call capacity and community support.

Qpoint offers a free Community plan for up to 25 endpoints, including agent discovery and monitoring with attribution, built-in policy plugins and source enforcement.

Coroot is another self-hosted, Apache 2.0 community option for teams looking for core features under a freemium model.

Inspektor Gadget is a free open-source tools and framework option for Linux 5.10 or later with BTF support required for project gadgets.

Odigos offers an open-source Apache 2.0 plan centered on core OpenTelemetry tracing for teams that want that narrower focus.

bpftrace is a free Linux tracing tool for users with a compatible kernel and BPF support.

Grafana k6 is a Linux option for teams focused on load testing, with its free plan limited to 500 virtual user hours per month.

groundcover offers a free-forever plan with 12-hour data retention, Slack Community and BYOC for teams prioritizing those terms.

Verdict

Choose DeepFlow if your team wants an open-source observability platform combining eBPF collection, service mapping, tracing, profiling and protocol parsing. Its breadth and integration interfaces are the main reasons to choose it; the main reason to look elsewhere is the Community Edition's lack of alerting, reports and custom dashboards when those are essential.