Are there any hidden costs associated with using SigNoz?

No, Using SigNoz for observability comes with a straightforward pricing model as given below.

Pricing Structure

1. Base Subscription: SigNoz starts at $199 per month for its paid plans, which include essential features like traces, log management, metrics and dashboards.
2. Usage-Based Costs:
   • Logs: $0.3 per GB ingested with a retention period of 15 days.
   • Traces: $0.3 per GB ingested, also with a 15-day retention.
   • Metrics: $0.1 per million samples with a retention of 1 month.

You can estimate your monthly bill using SigNoz’s Pricing Calculator.

Hidden Costs

SigNoz offers transparent pricing, and to help you maximize value, here are some key features that allow for cost optimisation:

• Data Ingestion Limits: Users can set limits on data ingestion using the Ingestion Guard feature to prevent surprise bills.
• Retention Period Adjustments: Longer retention periods for logs or metrics can incur additional costs if not managed properly, as the pricing is based on the volume of data retained.

Comparison with Other Tools

SigNoz is often compared to Datadog, which has a more complex pricing structure that can lead to hidden costs due to its per-host and usage-based billing models. Datadog's charges can escalate quickly with dynamic scaling and custom metrics, making it less predictable than SigNoz's model.

In contrast, SigNoz's open-source version allows users to avoid recurring SaaS fees altogether, making it an attractive option for budget-conscious teams.

You can read more about SigNoz vs Datadog.

In summary, while SigNoz offers a relatively clear pricing structure with no hidden fees in its basic offerings, careful management of data ingestion and retention is essential to avoid unexpected costs.