Best Distributed Tracing Tools in 2026
Updated
In short: Grafana Cloud Application Observability is ranked #1 of 29 as of 4 October 2026, ahead of Uptrace and Tracetest. The best-ranked option with a free plan is Uptrace. The lowest first paid tier on this page is Grafana Cloud Application Observability at $0.03/mo.
When you need to follow requests across services, the listed tracing features can help you compare how these tools approach that work. OpenTelemetry support, service maps, tail-based sampling, and trace retention cover collection, visibility, and keeping trace data. Deployment model adds setup context; free-plan availability, paid-from pricing, and pricing basis let you compare cost details. SigNoz and Uptrace open the ranking, followed by Jaeger and Apache SkyWalking. OpenZipkin, Pinpoint, Tracekit, and Honeycomb are also among the first entries. Think about how your environment needs traces collected and retained, then use the listed support and deployment details to assess the options.
29 distributed tracing tools ranked on what their makers publish — plans and prices, free tiers, platforms and the facts on their own pages.
#1 Grafana Cloud Application Observability Top pick · 7.4 Free plan · $0.03/mo
#2 Uptrace Runner-up · 7.4 Free plan · $39/mo
#3 Tracetest Also great · 7.3 Free plan · Free- Free plan LinuxmacOSWebWindows
- Free plan
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms$0.03/mofirst paid tier About Grafana Cloud Application ObservabilityVisit site - Free planFree trial apiLinuxmacOSself-hostedWebWindows
- Free plan
- Yes
- Paid from
- 39 /mo
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms$39/mofirst paid tier About UptraceVisit site - Free plan apiLinuxmacOSself-hostedWebWindows
- Free plan
- Yes
- OpenTelemetry support
- Yes
- Service map
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms - Free plan apiLinuxmacOSself-hostedWebWindows
- Free plan
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms - Free planFree trial AndroidapiiOSself-hostedWeb
- Free plan
- Yes
- Paid from
- 150 /mo
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms$150/mofirst paid tier About HoneycombVisit site - Free plan apiLinuxmacOSself-hostedWebWindows
- Free plan
- Yes
- OpenTelemetry support
- Yes
- Service map
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms - Free plan apiLinuxmacOSself-hostedWebWindows
- Free plan
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms - Free planFree trial AndroidapiiOSself-hostedWeb
- Free plan
- Yes
- Paid from
- 49 /mo
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms$19/mofirst paid tier About SigNozVisit site - Free plan apiWeb
- Free plan
- Yes
- Paid from
- 24 /mo
- OpenTelemetry support
- Yes
- Service map
- Yes
- Trace retention
- 30 days
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms$24/mofirst paid tier About TracekitVisit site - Free plan apiWeb
- Free plan
- Yes
- Paid from
- 19 /mo
- OpenTelemetry support
- Yes
- Service map
- Yes
- Tail-based sampling
- Yes
- Trace retention
- 30 days
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms - Free plan Linux
- Free plan
- Yes
- OpenTelemetry support
- Yes
- Service map
- Yes
- Tail-based sampling
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms$19/mofirst paid tier About Grafana k6Visit site - Free trial apiLinuxmacOSself-hostedWebWindows
- Free plan
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms - Free plan self-hostedWeb
- Free plan
- Yes
- OpenTelemetry support
- Yes
- Service map
- Yes
- Tail-based sampling
- No
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms - Web
- Free plan
- Yes
- OpenTelemetry support
- Yes
- Service map
- Yes
- Trace retention
- 3 days
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms - WebLinux
- OpenTelemetry support
- Yes
- Service map
- Yes
- Tail-based sampling
- No
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms - Web
- Free plan
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms - Linux
- Free plan
- Yes
- OpenTelemetry support
- Yes
- Service map
- Yes
- Tail-based sampling
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms - WebWindows
- Free plan
- Yes
- OpenTelemetry support
- Yes
- Service map
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms - Web
- Free plan
- Yes
- Paid from
- 26 /mo
- OpenTelemetry support
- Yes
- Trace retention
- 90 days
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms - Web
- Free plan
- No
- OpenTelemetry support
- Yes
- Service map
- Yes
- Trace retention
- 30 days
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms$0.06/mofirst paid tier About Alibaba Cloud Managed Service for OpenTelemetryVisit site - Web
- Free plan
- Yes
- Paid from
- 23.25 /mo
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms - Web
- Free plan
- No
- Paid from
- 17.1 /mo
- OpenTelemetry support
- Yes
- Service map
- Yes
- Tail-based sampling
- No
- Trace retention
- 1 days
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms - WebWindowsLinux
- Free plan
- No
- Paid from
- 5 /mo
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms - Web
- Free plan
- No
- OpenTelemetry support
- Yes
- Service map
- Yes
- Tail-based sampling
- Yes
- Trace retention
- 30 days
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms - Web
- OpenTelemetry support
- Yes
- Service map
- Yes
- Tail-based sampling
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms
Is your app on this list?
Numbered spots on this list can be sponsored. They are labelled, and the editorial order and scores never change for payment.
Questions about this list
Which distributed tracing tool is ranked first on Everything Xiaomi?
Grafana Cloud Application Observability is ranked #1 of 29 with a score of 7.4. Uptrace is second and Tracetest third.
How many of these have a free plan?
12 of the 25 on this page publish a free plan on their own pricing pages.
Which is the cheapest paid option?
On this page, Grafana Cloud Application Observability has the lowest first paid tier we found: $0.03/mo.
How is this list ranked?
Ranked on what each maker publishes: documentation depth, a free tier and the platforms it runs on. Paid placements never change a rank.