VictoriaMetrics is an open-source time-series database and monitoring solution. It ingests metrics in Prometheus, InfluxDB, OpenTelemetry, Graphite and other formats, queries them with PromQL-compatible MetricsQL, and ships in single-server and cluster editions under Apache License 2.0.[1][2]
Quick verdict
VictoriaMetrics is a Prometheus-compatible open-source time-series database for teams that want economical long-term metrics storage. It fits Prometheus shops adding retention or scale, with single-server and cluster editions plus commercial Enterprise and Cloud options; cluster operations and enterprise-only extras are the costs to weigh.[1][2][3]
Capabilities
MetricsQL extends PromQL with additional functions for querying metrics data, while remaining PromQL-compatible.[1]
Ingests Prometheus remote write, Prometheus exposition format, InfluxDB line protocol, OpenTelemetry metrics, Graphite, OpenTSDB, CSV, JSON and a native binary format.[1][2]
Ships a built-in vmui for visual query exploration of metrics.[1]
Supports downsampling and retention filters for managing long-term metrics storage.[1]
Single-server and cluster deployment editions cover small setups through large infrastructures, with stateless reads that scale horizontally.[1]
Good fit
Teams running Prometheus that need longer retention can use VictoriaMetrics as long-term storage, scraping from Prometheus data sources and querying through one interface.[1][2]
Operators wanting a hosted option can use VictoriaMetrics Cloud, described as a drop-in home for Prometheus data with monitoring included.[1]
Organizations needing SSO, support SLAs and professional services can adopt the commercial Enterprise edition for self-managed deployments.[1]
Compatibility
Functions as long-term storage for Prometheus: it scrapes data from Prometheus sources and presents a global query view over multiple Prometheus instances.[1][2]
The vendor publishes integrations with Grafana, Alertmanager, Kubernetes and third-party collectors such as Fluent Bit, Logstash and DataDog agent.[1]
Limitations
Cluster operations add architectural pieces such as vmselect, vminsert and vmstorage with replication and routing, which is more to run than the single binary; teams should size the edition to their scale.[1]
Advanced enterprise features such as SSO, mTLS for all components and multi-tenancy are documented under the commercial Enterprise offering rather than the open-source core.[1]
Questions worth asking
Can VictoriaMetrics replace or extend a Prometheus setup?
Yes. VictoriaMetrics documents scraping from Prometheus-compatible sources, accepts Prometheus remote write, and supports querying via PromQL alongside its extended MetricsQL language.[1]
What deployment sizes does VictoriaMetrics cover?
VictoriaMetrics is documented as available in single-server and cluster versions. The vendor states single-node VictoriaMetrics fits small and medium environments while the cluster version scales for large infrastructures.[1]
Is VictoriaMetrics open source?
The repository README places both the single-node and cluster versions under Apache License 2.0, and the official docs state all components are available under Apache License 2.0.[1]
Sources and editorial review
Source research. Reviewed on October 13, 2026. Written by Sanjib Sah. AI assisted; reviewed by a human editor.
We have not run or tested this product.
- VictoriaMetrics documentation
official · Observed October 13, 2026
Official documentation front page: Apache-2.0 licensing, MetricsQL, Prometheus scraping, single-server and cluster deployment, vmui, downsampling, retention, long-term Prometheus storage and integrations.
- VictoriaMetrics GitHub repository
official · Observed October 13, 2026
Repository page: project tagline, Apache-2.0 single-node and cluster versions, ingestion formats, global query view over Prometheus sources, enterprise support and trial channels.
- VictoriaMetrics Cloud
official · Observed October 13, 2026
Hosted deployment of the same open-source software with monitoring included, drop-in home for Prometheus data, and free trial.
- VictoriaMetrics Enterprise
official · Observed October 13, 2026
Commercial self-managed offering: binaries and Docker images, trial license, SSO support, dedicated support with SLAs and professional services.
Compared with these products
No explicit proprietary baseline is recorded.