Pinpoint
Pinpoint is a free, open-source application performance management tool for distributed applications written in Java, PHP, and Python.
What Pinpoint is
Pinpoint is a free, open-source application performance management tool for distributed applications written in Java, PHP, and Python. It traces transactions across application components to help teams locate bottlenecks and problem areas. ServerMap visualizes system topology, component status, and transaction counts, while CallStack views give code-level transaction detail. Monitoring views include a real-time active-thread chart, a request and response scatter chart, and an application inspector showing CPU usage, memory and garbage collection, transactions per second, and JVM arguments. The Pinpoint Agent uses bytecode instrumentation to trace calls without requiring application code changes. The project describes the resource-usage increase as approximately 3%; production collection can sample 1–5% of requests, with a counting sampler also described. Pinpoint is licensed under Apache License 2.0 and is self-hosted. A self-managed deployment requires HBase, Pinpoint Collector, Pinpoint Web, and an Agent attached to a Java application. Documented supported modules include Tomcat, Jetty, Spring, Kafka, MySQL, Redis, and RabbitMQ.
Good
- Tracks transactions across application components.
- ServerMap shows topology, component status, and transaction counts.
- Agent traces calls without code modifications.
- Inspector displays CPU, memory, garbage collection, and TPS.
- Licensed under Apache License 2.0.
Watch out
- Self-managed deployment requires HBase.
- Deployment also requires Collector, Web, and an Agent.
- The project describes resource usage increasing approximately 3%.
Who it suits
Pinpoint suits teams monitoring distributed applications built with Java, PHP, or Python. It is for users able to manage a self-hosted deployment and its HBase, Collector, Web, and Agent components.
Verdict
Pinpoint provides transaction tracing and several views for investigating distributed application behavior. Its self-hosted installation has multiple required components, so account for those deployment needs.
Plans and prices
From Pinpoint's own pricing page, checked 5 Oct 2026.
| Plan | Price | What it gives you |
|---|---|---|
| Pinpoint | Free | Apache License 2.0 · self-hosted deployment |
The facts
Each one read from Pinpoint's own pages, with the date it was checked.
Where it runs
- Application metrics
- Inspector displays CPU usage, memory and garbage collection, TPS, and JVM arguments.checked 5 Oct 2026
- Supported application languages
- The project says it supports applications written in Java, PHP, and Python.checked 5 Oct 2026
What it does
- Deployment
- The installation guide says a self-managed instance requires HBase, Pinpoint Collector, Pinpoint Web, and an Agent attached to a Java application.checked 5 Oct 2026
- Distributed tracing
- It traces transaction flows across application components to help identify problem areas and bottlenecks.checked 5 Oct 2026
- Instrumentation
- The Pinpoint Agent uses bytecode instrumentation to trace calls without requiring application code modifications.checked 5 Oct 2026
- Integrations
- The supported modules list includes technologies such as Tomcat, Spring Boot, gRPC, Kafka, MySQL, Redis, and MongoDB.checked 5 Oct 2026
- License
- Pinpoint is licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0.checked 5 Oct 2026
- Live monitoring
- The Realtime Active Thread Chart monitors active threads inside applications in real time.checked 5 Oct 2026
- Monitoring views
- The interface includes a real-time active-thread chart, a request/response scatter chart, call-stack views, and an application inspector.checked 5 Oct 2026
- Open source license
- Pinpoint is licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0.checked 5 Oct 2026
- Performance overhead
- The home page describes the resource-usage increase as approximately 3%.checked 5 Oct 2026
- Product
- Pinpoint is an application performance management tool for large-scale distributed systems written in Java and PHP.checked 5 Oct 2026
- Purpose
- Pinpoint is an APM tool for large-scale distributed systems that traces transactions across distributed applications.checked 5 Oct 2026
- Resource impact
- The project describes Pinpoint's resource usage increase as approximately 3%.checked 5 Oct 2026
- Sampling
- The technical details page says production environments can collect a 1–5% sample of requests and describes a counting sampler.checked 5 Oct 2026
- Security and privacy
- The Web module tracks the number and order of selected UI clicks with Google Analytics, and the project documents a setting to disable this collection.checked 5 Oct 2026
- Server map
- The ServerMap visualizes distributed-system topology and shows component status and transaction counts.checked 5 Oct 2026
- Storage requirement
- The installation guide says Pinpoint uses HBase as the storage backend for the Collector and Web.checked 5 Oct 2026
- Support
- The project site links to a questions and FAQ page for users seeking help.checked 5 Oct 2026
- Topology view
- ServerMap visualizes distributed system components and shows component status and transaction counts.checked 5 Oct 2026
- Trace analysis
- CallStack provides code-level visibility into transactions to help identify bottlenecks and failures.checked 5 Oct 2026
- Usage telemetry
- The Web module tracks the number and order of clicks in the Server Map, Transaction List, and Inspector View; the page documents a configuration option to disable this tracking.checked 5 Oct 2026
The company
- Founded
- 2012checked 28 Sep 2026
Alternatives to Pinpoint
- 1
Grafana Cloud Application Observability
Free planAndroidiOSWebAPI8.4From $0.03 a month - 2

Uptrace
Free planOpen sourceWebAPILinuxmacOS8.4From $39 a month - 3

SigNoz
Free planAndroidiOSWebAPI7.6From $19 a month - 4

Honeycomb
Free planAndroidiOSWebAPI7.5From $150 a month - 5
Tencent Cloud Application Performance Management
WebAPILinuxSelf-hosted7.2 - 6

AWS X-Ray
Free planWebAPILinuxmacOS7.1Free plan
