Grafana vs Netdata
Grafana and Netdata are both listed on Forkshelf as open source alternatives to Datadog. This page sets their license and GitHub activity side by side. Every figure comes from the GitHub API, fetched on 8 Nov 2026 [S1].
Grafana vs Netdata at a glance
| Grafana | Netdata | |
|---|---|---|
| License | AGPL-3.0 [S1] | GPL-3.0 [S1] |
| GitHub stars | 77,757 on 8 Nov 2026 [S1] | 81,300 on 8 Nov 2026 [S1] |
| Last push | 8 Nov 2026 [S1] | 8 Nov 2026 [S1] |
| Latest release | v13.3.0 on 27 Oct 2026 [S1] | v2.12.3 on 5 Nov 2026 [S1] |
| Archived | No [S1] | No [S1] |
| Project site | grafana.com | www.netdata.cloud |
| Repository | grafana/grafana | netdata/netdata |
What is Grafana?
Grafana describes itself as an observability and data visualization platform that reads metrics and logs from many sources. Its code is on GitHub at grafana/grafana [S1].
What is Netdata?
Netdata describes itself as an open source, real-time infrastructure monitoring platform. Its code is on GitHub at netdata/netdata [S1].
What Datadog does
Our catalog sums it up as: Datadog is a hosted platform for metrics, logs, traces, and uptime. [S2]
How we list Grafana and Netdata
Our Datadog alternatives page describes Grafana as: Monitoring and status. License: AGPL-3.0. Self-hosted: yes. [S2] We list Grafana only as an alternative to Datadog [S3].
Our Datadog alternatives page describes Netdata as: Monitoring and status. License: GPL-3.0. Self-hosted: yes. [S2] We list Netdata only as an alternative to Datadog [S3].
Grafana vs Netdata license
The Grafana repository is under AGPL-3.0 [S1].
The Netdata repository is under GPL-3.0 [S1].
Activity
On 8 Nov 2026, Grafana had 77,757 GitHub stars. It is not archived, and its last push was on 8 Nov 2026 [S1].
On 8 Nov 2026, Netdata had 81,300 GitHub stars. It is not archived, and its last push was on 8 Nov 2026 [S1].
Grafana's latest GitHub release is v13.3.0, from 27 Oct 2026 [S1].
Netdata's latest GitHub release is v2.12.3, from 5 Nov 2026 [S1].
Which one fits
Netdata has more GitHub stars than Grafana as of 8 Nov 2026 [S1]. Stars show interest, so check the issue tracker too.
Both had a push on 8 Nov 2026 [S1].
Grafana uses AGPL-3.0 and Netdata uses GPL-3.0 [S1]. If you plan to change the code and run it as a service for others or ship it, read both licences before you pick.
Other Datadog alternatives
See the full list on the Datadog alternatives page [S2].
Related comparisons
FAQ
Is Grafana open source?
Its repository is under AGPL-3.0, as of 8 Nov 2026 [S1].
Is Netdata open source?
Its repository is under GPL-3.0, as of 8 Nov 2026 [S1].
Is the Grafana repository still active?
As of 8 Nov 2026, it is not archived and its last push was on 8 Nov 2026 [S1].
Is the Netdata repository still active?
As of 8 Nov 2026, it is not archived and its last push was on 8 Nov 2026 [S1].
Self-host guides
Sources (all fetched 8 Nov 2026)
- [S1] https://api.github.com/repos/grafana/grafana, https://api.github.com/repos/netdata/netdata
- [S2] Forkshelf listing, https://forkshelf.com/alternative-to/datadog
- [S3] Forkshelf catalog, https://forkshelf.com/alternatives