Complete Observability Without Assembly Required

Yes, for most operational use cases. Netdata provides metrics, logs, ML anomaly detection, alerting, and visualization in a single platform. For organizations requiring PromQL ecosystem compatibility or multi-year per-second retention for compliance, consider using both together or exporting Netdata data to VictoriaMetrics for long-term storage.

Netdata collects metrics natively every second with sub-2-second end-to-end latency. VictoriaMetrics is a storage backend that relies on external agents (vmagent, Prometheus) for collection, typically configured at 15-60 second intervals. Netdata also auto-discovers 800+ integrations without configuration.

Netdata uses REST API v3 instead of PromQL, but offers multiple paths: (1) Point-and-click dashboards eliminate the need for query languages, (2) AI Chat enables natural language queries, (3) Export to Prometheus ecosystem via remote write for PromQL queries, (4) Grafana datasource for visualization with PromQL.

Netdata’s multi-tier storage supports per-second (days-weeks), per-minute (weeks-months), and per-hour (months-years) retention. For compliance requiring years of per-second data, you can export to VictoriaMetrics. For most troubleshooting and capacity planning, Netdata’s retention is more than sufficient.

Both achieve excellent compression (~0.6 bytes/sample for Netdata, ~0.4-0.7 for VictoriaMetrics). The key difference is architecture: Netdata’s distributed storage means no central bottleneck, and multi-tier storage provides flexible retention for different time horizons.

Netdata runs 18 unsupervised ML models per metric at the edge, included in all tiers (including free). VictoriaMetrics’ anomaly detection (vmanomaly) is Enterprise-only and runs centrally. Netdata achieves 99% false positive reduction through consensus-based detection and requires zero configuration.

Yes, this is officially supported. Netdata exports to VictoriaMetrics via Prometheus remote write. Use Netdata for real-time operations, troubleshooting, and ML insights, while VictoriaMetrics handles long-term historical analysis. This gives you the best of both platforms.

Netdata’s distributed architecture scales linearly - adding nodes has zero impact on existing ones. VictoriaMetrics cluster mode adds operational complexity with consistent hashing, replication factors, and coordination between components. Netdata is proven at 100,000+ nodes without architectural changes.

Netdata achieves 100% sample completeness with journal files for crash recovery. VictoriaMetrics prioritizes performance and compression efficiency over write-ahead logging, which involves different tradeoffs for data durability during unexpected failures.

No. Netdata includes automated algorithmic dashboards that generate automatically based on collected data. Each chart is a complete analytical tool equivalent to 25+ Grafana charts. VictoriaMetrics users typically depend on Grafana for visualization.

Netdata Business uses transparent per-node pricing with everything included - metrics, logs, ML, AI, dashboards, no data volume charges. VictoriaMetrics uses quote-based pricing plus infrastructure costs plus Grafana costs. Netdata typically achieves 90% cost reduction vs traditional stacks.

Netdata provides community support (Discord, forums) for free tiers, Business support with SLA for paid plans. VictoriaMetrics offers Silver/Gold/Platinum enterprise tiers with quote-based pricing. Both have active open-source communities.

Deploy Netdata alongside existing infrastructure - it’s non-invasive. Teams experience immediate value while maintaining VictoriaMetrics. Transition when comfortable. Netdata’s zero-configuration deployment means you can be monitoring in 60 seconds.

Netdata supports OpenTelemetry metrics and logs today. Distributed tracing is planned for Q2 2026. For organizations requiring tracing now, complement Netdata with a dedicated tracing solution like Jaeger or VictoriaTraces.

Netdata provides per-second visibility into Kubernetes with auto-discovery of pods, containers, and services - no configuration required. VictoriaMetrics has a capable Kubernetes Operator but requires vmagent, configuration, and Grafana setup. For real-time Kubernetes troubleshooting, Netdata excels.