Datadog → OpenObserve / SigNoz
hardDatadog bills can hit $50k/mo for mid-size teams. OpenObserve and SigNoz are open-source, OTel-native and run on object storage for cheap retention.
Estimated: 8-20h · 6 steps
Progress0%
Step 1: Pick the target
OpenObserve: Rust-based, very cheap S3 storage. SigNoz: more polished UI, ClickHouse-backed. Both speak OTLP.
Step 2: Deploy backend
Helm chart on K8s or docker-compose on a VPS. SigNoz Cloud and OpenObserve Cloud also available if you want managed.
Step 3: Switch instrumentation to OTel
Replace Datadog SDK calls with OpenTelemetry SDK. Most languages: dd-trace → @opentelemetry/sdk-node + auto-instrumentations.
Step 4: Point exporters at new backend
OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT=https://your-collector:4318
Step 5: Recreate dashboards and alerts
Datadog dashboards must be rebuilt. SigNoz has dashboard-as-code; OpenObserve uses Grafana under the hood for dashboards.
Step 6: Cut over and decommission
✓ Logs, metrics, traces all flowing to new backend. Datadog usage zero for one billing cycle before cancel.