Best GNU gprof Alternatives in 2026
Updated
20 apps from profiling software ranked against GNU gprof on the same published basis.
- 1GNU gprof vs Grafana Cloud Application Observability
- 2GNU gprof vs Scalene
- 3GNU gprof vs Javadoc
- 4GNU gprof vs py-spy
- 5GNU gprof vs Pyroscope
- 6GNU gprof vs VisualVM
- 7GNU gprof vs AMD Auto-Detect and Install Tool
- 8GNU gprof vs async-profiler
- 9GNU gprof vs Google Cloud Profiler
- 10GNU gprof vs Grafana k6
- 11GNU gprof vs Intel VTune Profiler
- 13GNU gprof vs Blackfire.io
- 14GNU gprof vs YourKit Java Profiler
- 15GNU gprof vs Go pprof
- 16GNU gprof vs Node.js --prof
- 17GNU gprof vs Valgrind
- 18GNU gprof vs JProfiler
- 19GNU gprof vs Parca
- 20GNU gprof vs PerfView
- 21GNU gprof vs Redgate SQL Provision
GNU gprof alternatives compared
| # | App | Score | Free plan | From | Runs on |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Grafana Cloud Application Observability | 6.6 | Free plan | $0.03/mo | Linux, Mac, Web, Windows |
| 2 | Scalene | 6.6 | Free plan | Free | Browser, Linux, Mac, Web, Windows |
| 3 | Javadoc | 6.5 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Mac, Web, Windows |
| 4 | py-spy | 6.5 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 5 | Pyroscope | 6.5 | Free plan | $19/mo | Linux, Mac, Web, Windows |
| 6 | VisualVM | 6.5 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 7 | AMD Auto-Detect and Install Tool | 6.4 | Free plan | Free | Windows |
| 8 | async-profiler | 6.4 | Free plan | Free | API, Linux, Mac |
| 9 | Google Cloud Profiler | 6.4 | Free plan | Free | API, Linux, self-hosted, Web |
| 10 | Grafana k6 | 6.4 | Free plan | $19/mo | Linux |
| 11 | Intel VTune Profiler | 6.4 | Free plan | Free | Linux, self-hosted, Windows |
| 13 | Blackfire.io | 5.6 | No | €33.25/mo | API, Browser, Linux, Mac, Web, Windows |
| 14 | YourKit Java Profiler | 5.6 | No | $37454.08/mo | API, Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Windows |
| 15 | Go pprof | 5.4 | No | — | API |
| 16 | Node.js --prof | 5.3 | No | — | Windows, Mac, Linux |
| 17 | Valgrind | 5.3 | No | — | Linux, Mac, Android |
| 18 | JProfiler | 5.2 | No | — | API, Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Windows |
| 19 | Parca | 5.2 | No | — | Web, Linux |
| 20 | PerfView | 5.2 | No | — | Windows |
| 21 | Redgate SQL Provision | 5.2 | No | — | Linux, self-hosted, Web, Windows |
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Questions about GNU gprof alternatives
What is the best alternative to GNU gprof?
Grafana Cloud Application Observability, number 1 in profiling software with a score of 6.6 out of 10. The others here: Scalene, Javadoc, py-spy and 16 more.
What is the best free alternative to GNU gprof?
Grafana Cloud Application Observability is the best-ranked alternative with a free plan. 11 of the 20 alternatives here publish a free plan on their own pricing pages.
How are these alternatives ranked?
Ranked free-and-open first: a usable free tier and open-source code, then the platforms it runs on and its documentation.