Uptrace vs Sentry: Which Observability Tool Should You Use in 2026?

Comparing Uptrace and Sentry on pricing, features, and fit — for teams deciding between an open-source OpenTelemetry stack and the industry-standard error tracking platform.

Updated 2026-10 · 2026

Uptrace

Open-source APM with traces, metrics, and logs built on OpenTelemetry

Free (self-hosted) / from $39/mo (cloud)month

Strengths

+Fully open source and free to self-host (BSL license)
+Native OpenTelemetry support — traces, metrics, and logs in one place
+No per-seat pricing; cost is based on data volume

Weaknesses

-Smaller community and ecosystem than Sentry
-Error tracking/grouping is less mature than purpose-built tools
-Fewer out-of-the-box integrations

Best for

Teams already instrumented with OpenTelemetry who want unified traces, metrics, and logs without per-seat pricing.

Sentry

Error tracking and performance monitoring trusted by 100K+ teams

Free / $26/mo (Team) / $80/mo (Business)month

Strengths

+Best-in-class error grouping, triage, and issue workflows
+Huge SDK and integration ecosystem (100+ languages/frameworks)
+Generous free tier for small teams (5K errors/month, 1 user)

Weaknesses

-Costs scale quickly with error/transaction volume
-Self-hosting Sentry is operationally complex
-Metrics and logs are secondary to its error-tracking core

Best for

Teams that want fast setup, broad language support, and mature error triage without building their own observability stack.

Feature Comparison

Feature	Uptrace	Sentry
Error tracking	Basic, via traces/logs	Best-in-class issue grouping & triage
Distributed tracing	Native, OTel-based	Yes, via Performance monitoring
Metrics	Native support	Limited, tied to Performance
Log management	Built-in	Beta feature, limited
Self-hosting	Free, open source (BSL)	Free, open source (self-hosted Sentry)
Pricing model	Volume-based (spans/logs ingested)	Volume-based (errors/transactions) + seats
Alerting	Basic alert rules	Advanced alerting, Slack/PagerDuty routing
Session replay	Not available	Included on paid plans
Integrations	Any OTel-instrumented language	100+ native SDKs and integrations
Free tier	Generous self-hosted; limited cloud free tier	5K errors/month, 1 user
Data retention	Configurable, unlimited if self-hosted	90 days (Team), longer on Business

The Verdict

Sentry wins if you want fast setup, mature error triage, and the broadest SDK ecosystem — it's the safer default for most teams. Uptrace wins if you're already on OpenTelemetry and want unified traces, metrics, and logs without per-seat pricing or vendor lock-in. Switch to Sentry when error tracking quality matters more than unified observability cost control.

How to switch from Uptrace to Sentry

1Export historical data from Uptrace using clickhouse-client, e.g. `SELECT * FROM spans FORMAT CSVWithNames`, since there's no built-in export button — this gives you CSV/Parquet archives for compliance before decommissioning.
2Create a Sentry account and project for each service, then grab the DSN keys you'll need for SDK configuration.
3Install Sentry SDKs in each service (or point your existing OpenTelemetry exporters at Sentry's OTLP endpoint if you want to keep your current instrumentation).
4Recreate alert rules and integrations (Slack, PagerDuty, Jira) in Sentry to match what you had configured in Uptrace.
5Run Uptrace and Sentry in parallel for 1-2 weeks to validate error capture and alerting before cutting over fully.
6Decommission the Uptrace instance, revoke team access, and cancel any Uptrace cloud subscription once Sentry is confirmed working.

Uptrace vs Sentry: common questions

How do I export my data from Uptrace before switching?+

Uptrace doesn't have a one-click export button — data lives in ClickHouse, so you export it by querying tables directly, e.g. `SELECT * FROM spans FORMAT CSVWithNames` via clickhouse-client, dumping to CSV or Parquet. There's no native Sentry import for raw trace data, so in practice most teams archive the Uptrace export for compliance and start fresh in Sentry rather than migrating historical spans.

What do I lose moving from Uptrace to Sentry?+

You lose native metrics dashboards and unified logs — Sentry treats those as secondary to error tracking. You also lose full self-hosted data control unless you run self-hosted Sentry, which is more operationally complex than Uptrace's setup.

Is Sentry's free tier enough for a small team?+

The free Developer plan gives you 5K errors/month and 1 user, which works for early-stage apps with low traffic. Most small teams outgrow it within a few months and move to the $26/mo Team plan once error volume or team size increases.

Does Sentry support OpenTelemetry like Uptrace does?+

Yes, Sentry can ingest OTLP data and has official OpenTelemetry SDK support, but it's an add-on to its error-tracking core rather than a native design principle like in Uptrace. You'll likely keep your OTel instrumentation but route it to Sentry's endpoint instead of Uptrace's.

Will switching to Sentry cost more over time?+

It depends on volume — Sentry bills per error/transaction, so cost grows with traffic even on the Business plan. Self-hosted Uptrace stays free regardless of volume (you only pay for your own infrastructure), so high-volume teams often end up paying more with Sentry's cloud plans long-term.