What is Netdata used for?

Netdata is an open-source infrastructure monitoring platform that collects per-second metrics with little configuration and adds machine-learning anomaly detection and alerting. It is a good fit for monitoring Linux servers and containers, troubleshooting performance incidents live, and giving small ops teams quick observability.

Is Netdata open source?

Yes. Netdata is open source under the GPL-3.0 licence. Its source code is on GitHub at netdata/netdata and is written mainly in Go.

Yes. Netdata is open source, so the software itself is free to use. A managed cloud version is also available, with paid plans from $4.50 per seat per month.

Can I self-host Netdata?

Yes. Netdata can be self-hosted on your own server or infrastructure.

What is Netdata an alternative to?

Netdata is an open-source alternative to Datadog, Dynatrace, LogicMonitor and PRTG Network Monitor. Other open-source alternatives to Datadog include Zabbix, SigNoz and Nagios Core.

Is Netdata actively maintained?

Yes. The most recent commit to Netdata was on 2 October 2026, and the latest release is v2.12.0, published on 30 September 2026. The project has 81k stars on GitHub.

Netdata: open-source alternative to Datadog, Dynatrace

About Netdata

Netdata is a real-time infrastructure monitoring platform. You install an agent on servers, containers or Kubernetes nodes and it starts collecting metrics every second, showing them on dashboards without lengthy setup. Its origin story is a frustration with monitoring tools that offered few metrics at low resolution and cost too much to run.

The project highlights zero-configuration deployment, machine-learning-based anomaly detection and automated analysis, and an efficient agent that uses few resources. Data stays distributed on the monitored machines instead of being shipped to one central store. Integrations cover databases such as MySQL, PostgreSQL and MongoDB, plus Docker and Kubernetes, and the topics list mentions export paths to Prometheus, Grafana and InfluxDB. Netdata also advertises AI-assisted troubleshooting and an MCP interface.

The agent is GPL-3.0 licensed and written largely in Go, and Netdata Cloud offers a hosted layer for viewing many nodes together. It suits operations teams and lean engineering groups that want deep visibility quickly rather than building a metrics stack from several separate tools.

Key features

Per-second metrics for servers and containers
Zero-configuration agent deployment
Machine-learning anomaly detection
Alerting on infrastructure issues
Database, Docker and Kubernetes monitoring
Distributed storage that keeps data local

Good fit for

→Monitoring Linux servers and containers
→Troubleshooting performance incidents live
→Giving small ops teams quick observability

Built with: Go; Docker; Kubernetes; MySQL; PostgreSQL; MongoDB
Tags: monitoring; observability; metrics; devops; kubernetes; docker; alerting; anomaly-detection; self-hosted

Netdata: questions and answers

What is Netdata used for?: Netdata is an open-source infrastructure monitoring platform that collects per-second metrics with little configuration and adds machine-learning anomaly detection and alerting. It is a good fit for monitoring Linux servers and containers, troubleshooting performance incidents live, and giving small ops teams quick observability.
Is Netdata open source?: Yes. Netdata is open source under the GPL-3.0 licence. Its source code is on GitHub at netdata/netdata and is written mainly in Go.
Is Netdata free?: Yes. Netdata is open source, so the software itself is free to use. A managed cloud version is also available, with paid plans from $4.50 per seat per month.
Can I self-host Netdata?: Yes. Netdata can be self-hosted on your own server or infrastructure.
What is Netdata an alternative to?: Netdata is an open-source alternative to Datadog, Dynatrace, LogicMonitor and PRTG Network Monitor. Other open-source alternatives to Datadog include Zabbix, SigNoz and Nagios Core.
Is Netdata actively maintained?: Yes. The most recent commit to Netdata was on 2 October 2026, and the latest release is v2.12.0, published on 30 September 2026. The project has 81k stars on GitHub.