# OpenObserve vs SolarWinds

> Best SolarWinds alternative: OTel-native, Kubernetes-native, open-source. No node-based licensing, no Windows/SQL Server stack, 140x storage efficiency.

Source: https://openobserve.ai/solarwinds-alternative/
Competitor: SolarWinds

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No node-based licensing. OpenTelemetry-native. No Windows servers, SQL databases, or module sprawl. See why teams are moving off SolarWinds.

- **140x** Lower storage costs compared to Elasticsearch
- **21,000+** Github Stars
- **9,000+** Companies trust us

SolarWinds Observability charges $5/GB for log ingest, plus per-node licensing for infrastructure. OpenObserve teams typically cut observability spend by half or more. [See your ingest-based pricing →](/pricing/)

*Estimate based on SolarWinds Observability SaaS published log pricing ($5/GB/month) and typical OpenObserve customer savings. Actual savings depend on data volume, retention, and node counts.*

- [Request Demo](/demo/)
- [Start Free](https://cloud.openobserve.ai/web/login)

## Why teams switch from SolarWinds

The many reasons that teams are making the switch

### No Node-Based Licensing

No per-node tiers, per-module licenses, or 3-year subscription lock-in. Simple ingest-based pricing or free open source.

### No Windows + SQL Server Stack

Self-hosted SolarWinds needs Windows Servers and MS SQL databases. OpenObserve is a single Rust binary backed by object storage.

### OpenTelemetry-Native by Design

No proprietary Orion agents or polling engines to maintain. Any standard OTel collector ships logs, metrics, and traces to OpenObserve.

### One Platform, Not Many Modules

Logs, metrics, traces, dashboards, alerts, and pipelines in one product. No juggling NPM, SAM, Loggly, and Papertrail licenses.

### Retention Without Blowouts

SolarWinds SaaS log plans standardly retain 1-60 days. OpenObserve keeps months or years of data cheaply on object storage.

### Open Source, No Lock-In

AGPL-3.0 licensed core, open Parquet storage format, SQL and PromQL queries. Self-host anywhere or use our cloud - switch anytime.

## See how OpenObserve replaces SolarWinds

Get a personalized walkthrough and see how much you'd save moving off node-based licensing and per-GB log fees.

- 30-minute personalized walkthrough
- No credit card required
- See your real migration path from SolarWinds

## Feature comparison

Modern, full-stack observability

| Feature | SolarWinds | OpenObserve | Reference Links |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Feature parity: logs, metrics, traces, dashboards, alerts, pipelines | ✓ | ✓ | [Logs](/docs/user-guide/data-exploration/logs/#overview), [Metrics](/docs/user-guide/data-exploration/metrics/), [Traces](/opentelemetry/), [Dashboards](/docs/user-guide/analytics/dashboards/dashboards-in-openobserve/), [Alerts](/docs/user-guide/analytics/alerts/), [Pipelines](/docs/user-guide/data-processing/pipelines/pipelines/) |
| Licensing model | Node- and module-based tiers, 3-year subscription terms | Free open source, or simple ingest-based cloud pricing | [See pricing](/pricing/) |
| Log pricing (SaaS) | $5/GB/month ingested | Ingest-based, dramatically lower via object storage | [See pricing](/pricing/) |
| Self-hosted architecture | Windows Servers, polling engines, MS SQL Server database | Single Rust binary or stateless HA cluster on object storage | [Learn more about Self-hosted architecture](/docs/architecture/) |
| Deployment time | Days to weeks for platform, database, and modules | Minutes - single binary or Helm chart | [Quickstart](/docs/quickstart/) |
| OpenTelemetry support | Via SolarWinds' own OTel collector distribution | OTel-native: OTLP for logs, metrics, and traces out of the box | [OpenTelemetry](/opentelemetry/) |
| Kubernetes-native | K8s monitoring added on; VM/Windows heritage | Built for Kubernetes - HA deploy via Helm | [Learn more about Kubernetes-native](/docs/architecture/) |
| Query language | Proprietary query builders / SWQL | SQL/PromQL | Used universally with no learning curve |
| Agent footprint | Orion agents, polling engines, Loggly/Papertrail shippers | Any standard collector: OTel, Fluent Bit, Vector, syslog | [Data ingestion](/docs/ingestion/) |
| Data retention | 1-60 days standard on SaaS log plans; longer needs sales | Object storage - long-term retention without budget blowouts | [Learn more about Data retention](/docs/administration/maintenance/storage-management/) |
| Open Source | ✗ | ✓ |  |
| IAM & SSO | ✓ | ✓ | [SAML, OIDC, LDAP, role-based access](/docs/user-guide/account-administration/identity-and-access-management/) |

## Migrating from SolarWinds

For organizations considering migration, a well-planned strategy is essential for success.

### Repoint your collectors to OpenObserve

SolarWinds' own collector is a distribution of the OpenTelemetry Collector, so most pipelines already speak OTLP. Deploy OpenObserve alongside SolarWinds and dual-ship by adding an OTLP exporter endpoint - no code changes required.

### Replace legacy agents and rebuild dashboards

Swap Orion agents and Loggly/Papertrail shippers for lightweight OTel Collector, Fluent Bit, or Vector agents. Recreate key dashboards with SQL and PromQL, and configure alerts with equal or better granularity.

### Cut over and retire node licenses

Gradually shift workloads from SolarWinds to OpenObserve, starting with non-critical services. Validate results, then let node and module subscriptions lapse instead of renewing. Our team can help accelerate this process.

> OpenObserve is super fast, definitely very lightweight, and you can get started with an initial POC in two to three minutes to be honest.
> - Ajith Natarajan, Lead Software Engineer, Radius.ai

- [Talk to Our Migration Team](#demo-form)
- [Read Migration Stories](/customer-stories/)

## Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about switching from SolarWinds to OpenObserve

### Is OpenObserve a good SolarWinds alternative?

Yes, if you want modern, telemetry-first observability. OpenObserve unifies logs, metrics, traces, dashboards, alerts, and pipelines in one open-source, OpenTelemetry-native platform - no node-based licensing, no Windows/SQL Server stack, no separate modules. If your primary need is classic network device monitoring (SNMP polling, NetFlow, network config management), SolarWinds NPM remains strong there; many teams keep a small network tool and move all log, metric, and trace workloads to OpenObserve.

### How does OpenObserve pricing compare to SolarWinds?

SolarWinds Observability SaaS prices logs at $5/GB/month ingested, and self-hosted SolarWinds is licensed per node and per module on multi-year subscription terms - costs that climb quickly as environments grow. OpenObserve is free to self-host (open source) and its cloud uses simple ingest-based pricing. Because data lands compressed on object storage instead of expensive indexed storage, teams typically cut observability spend by half or more, especially at longer retention.

### How hard is it to migrate from SolarWinds to OpenObserve?

Easier than most migrations, because SolarWinds' modern pipeline is already OpenTelemetry-based. If you use the SolarWinds OTel Collector, add an OTLP exporter pointing at OpenObserve and dual-ship while you validate. Legacy Orion agents and Loggly/Papertrail syslog shippers are replaced with standard collectors (OTel Collector, Fluent Bit, Vector). Most teams run both platforms in parallel for a few weeks, rebuild key dashboards and alerts, then cut over service by service.

### Will I lose features by leaving SolarWinds?

For observability workloads - logs, metrics, traces, dashboards, alerting, pipelines - OpenObserve matches or exceeds SolarWinds, with SQL/PromQL instead of proprietary query builders. What OpenObserve does not replicate is Orion's specialized network engineering tooling such as deep SNMP device polling, NetFlow analysis, and network configuration management. Audit what you actually use: many teams find they are paying for modules they rarely touch.

### I'm on Loggly or Papertrail. Is OpenObserve a good replacement?

Yes. SolarWinds has been consolidating Loggly and Papertrail into SolarWinds Observability SaaS, so many users face a forced migration anyway. OpenObserve accepts syslog and all common log shippers, gives you full-text and SQL search, and adds metrics, traces, dashboards, and alerting in the same platform - typically at a much lower cost per GB, with retention on cheap object storage instead of 1-60 day SaaS plans.

### Can I self-host OpenObserve like self-hosted SolarWinds?

Yes, and far more simply. Self-hosted SolarWinds requires Windows Servers, polling engines, and a Microsoft SQL Server database. OpenObserve is a single Rust binary for small setups, or a stateless HA cluster deployed via Helm on Kubernetes, with data on S3, GCS, Azure Blob, or MinIO. There are no database licenses to buy and no per-node counting - it is AGPL-3.0 open source.

### Is OpenObserve enterprise-ready?

Yes. OpenObserve is SOC2 Type II certified and ISO 27001 compliant. We serve thousands of deployments, including Fortune 100 enterprises; our largest single customer ingests more than 4 PB of data per day, with individual clusters sustaining over 1 PB/day. Enterprise features include RBAC, SSO, sensitive data redaction, and dedicated support.

## Ready to See the Difference?

Get a personalized demo based on your current SolarWinds usage

## OpenObserve: the open-source SolarWinds alternative

An open-source, SQL and OpenTelemetry-native observability platform with no node-based licensing and 140x lower storage costs than traditional indexing. Radius.ai got started with a working POC in minutes, not months. Also evaluating other tools? See how OpenObserve compares to [LogicMonitor](/logicmonitor-alternative/), [Nagios](/nagios-alternative/), [Zabbix](/zabbix-alternative/).

- No per-node or per-module licensing - ingest-based or free open source
- OTel-native and Kubernetes-native - no legacy agent sprawl
- Self-hosted or cloud - your data, your control