Side by side
bpftrace vs DeepFlow
Both stand on ebpf observability tools. Which one you can start free with, which one lets you read the code, and what each costs once you pay.
Free plan LinuxSelf-hosted
Choose bpftrace if you need a free Linux tool for tracing kernel and user-space activity through eBPF. Look elsewhere if you need a tool for another operating system or cannot meet its kernel and BPF requirements.
Visit bpftrace
Free plan AndroidAPILinux+3
DeepFlow brings service mapping, tracing, and profiling together for cloud infrastructure and cloud-native applications. The free Community Edition has management-feature limits; Enterprise adds security controls and support, with pricing not listed.
Visit DeepFlowThe facts
| bpftrace | DeepFlow | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | Not published | Not published |
| Runs on | Linux, Self-hosted | Android, API, Linux, Self-hosted, Web, Windows |
| Lowest paid plan | Free or on request | Free or on request |
| Plans published | 1 | 3 |
| Maker | Not published | Not published |
| Website | bpftrace.org | deepflow.io |
| On ebpf observability tools | #7 of 29 | #3 of 29 |
bpftrace: what it does well
- Free and open source.
- Supports tracing in both kernel and user space.
- Offers probes including kprobes, uprobes, and tracepoints.
- Scripts can be run from files, inline, or standard input.
- Supports eight listed processor architectures.
What to know first
- Requires Linux with a compatible kernel and BPF support.
- Some features require kernel headers.
- Raising the default probe limit can cause high overhead, freezes, or crashes.
- Unstable features may change or be removed.
DeepFlow: what it does well
- Community Edition is open source under Apache 2.0.
- Uses eBPF for metrics, traces, and profiling collection.
- Parses protocols including HTTP, gRPC, MySQL, and Kafka.
- Provides SQL, PromQL, and OTLP interfaces.
- Kubernetes and Docker Compose deployment methods are documented.
What to know first
- Community Edition lacks alert management.
- Community Edition lacks report management.
- Community Edition lacks custom dashboard management.
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