Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Glowroot VS Pinpoint APM

Compare Glowroot VS Pinpoint APM and see what are their differences

Glowroot logo Glowroot

Open source Java APM, licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0.

Pinpoint APM logo Pinpoint APM

Pinpoint is an open source APM (Application Performance Management) tool for large-scale...
  • Glowroot Landing page
    Landing page //
    2019-09-03
  • Pinpoint APM Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-07-25

Glowroot features and specs

  • Open Source
    Glowroot is an open-source application performance management tool, which means it is free to use and has a community-driven development model that encourages collaboration and transparency.
  • Ease of Use
    Glowroot is known for its user-friendly interface, which makes it easy to install, configure, and navigate through the application for both beginners and experienced users.
  • Lightweight
    Glowroot is designed to be lightweight with minimal overhead, ensuring that it does not significantly impact the performance of monitored applications.
  • Comprehensive Monitoring
    Glowroot provides detailed insights into application performance, including transaction response times, error rates, JVM metrics, and trace details, helping with effective troubleshooting.
  • Real-Time Monitoring
    It offers real-time monitoring of application performance, enabling quicker detection and resolution of issues as they arise.

Possible disadvantages of Glowroot

  • Feature Limitations
    While Glowroot offers essential features for performance monitoring, it may lack some advanced functionalities found in more comprehensive APM solutions, such as predictive analytics and machine learning capabilities.
  • Community Support
    Being an open-source tool, Glowroot relies on community support, which may not be as extensive or immediate as commercial APM solutions with dedicated support teams.
  • Scalability
    Glowroot might face challenges when scaling to monitor very large and complex systems, as it is primarily designed for simpler applications and environments.
  • Documentation
    Although Glowroot provides documentation, users may find it lacking in depth compared to the extensive documentation offered by some commercial APM tools.

Pinpoint APM features and specs

  • Open Source
    Pinpoint APM is an open-source project, meaning it is free to use and its source code is publicly accessible, allowing developers to modify and extend it to fit their needs.
  • Distributed Tracing
    Pinpoint provides powerful distributed tracing capabilities, enabling users to monitor and visualize the flow of requests across different nodes in a microservice architecture.
  • Real-time Monitoring
    The tool offers real-time monitoring of application performance, allowing developers and operators to quickly identify and address performance bottlenecks and issues as they occur.
  • Support for Multiple Languages
    Pinpoint supports a variety of programming languages, including Java, Python, and PHP, making it versatile and applicable to a wide range of applications.
  • Extensible and Customizable
    With its plugin-based architecture, Pinpoint allows users to extend its capabilities and customize its monitoring features according to their specific requirements.

Possible disadvantages of Pinpoint APM

  • Complex Setup
    Setting up Pinpoint APM can be complex and time-consuming, especially for users who are not familiar with distributed tracing or have limited experience with APM tools.
  • Resource Intensive
    The tool can be resource-intensive, potentially increasing overhead on monitored applications, especially in high-throughput environments.
  • Scalability Issues
    While Pinpoint is designed for monitoring distributed systems, some users have reported scalability issues when deploying it in very large-scale environments.
  • Lack of Comprehensive Documentation
    Some users might find the official documentation lacking in detail, which can make troubleshooting and feature customization challenging.
  • Limited Community Support
    Although it is an open-source project, the community support for Pinpoint APM is relatively limited compared to more established APM solutions, which can affect the speed and quality of getting assistance.

Glowroot videos

DHIS2 Server Admin Workshop - tomcat and Glowroot setup

Pinpoint APM videos

Pinpoint v1.5.0 opensource APM

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Glowroot and Pinpoint APM)
Monitoring Tools
50 50%
50% 50
Log Management
45 45%
55% 55
Performance Monitoring
46 46%
54% 54
Application Performance Monitoring

User comments

Share your experience with using Glowroot and Pinpoint APM. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
Log in or Post with

Social recommendations and mentions

Pinpoint APM might be a bit more popular than Glowroot. We know about 1 link to it since March 2021 and only 1 link to Glowroot. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Glowroot mentions (1)

  • Splunk to Cut Workforce by 7% After Cisco Deal
    Java has an excellent one open source APM - https://glowroot.org/. Python and other tools - not so much. I wouldn't say Gartner created hype. Glowroot has been invaluable to us. Of course we run a massive footprint of 0.5m - 0.75m JVMs. - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago

Pinpoint APM mentions (1)

  • Common Performance Management Mistakes
    Pinpoint is a performance monitoring tool for Python, Java, and PHP applications. It can monitor CPU, memory, and storage utilization. You can integrate it into your project without changing a single line of code. - Source: dev.to / over 3 years ago

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Glowroot and Pinpoint APM, you can also consider the following products

Grafana - Data visualization & Monitoring with support for Graphite, InfluxDB, Prometheus, Elasticsearch and many more databases

SigNoz - Open source alternative to Datadog

NewRelic - New Relic is a Software Analytics company that makes sense of billions of metrics across millions of apps. We help the people who build modern software understand the stories their data is trying to tell them.

Zabbix - Track, record, alert and visualize performance and availability of IT resources

AppDynamics - Get real-time insight from your apps using Application Performance Management—how they’re being used, how they’re performing, where they need help.

Zipkin - Zipkin is a distributed tracing system. 

OSZAR »