Self-host Netdata

Observability

deployed & timed by usprices checked · Jul 2026

Real-time, per-second monitoring of systems, containers, and applications with zero-configuration auto-detection and a lightweight C agent.

Datadog / yr$180

Self-hosted / yr~$55

You keep$125/yr

Key facts

CategoryObservability

LicenseGPL-3.0

StackC

Min RAM256 MB

Dockeryes

Difficulty

Our recommendation

Run Netdata when you want zero-configuration, per-second visibility into a box the moment the container starts — no dashboards to build, no PromQL to learn. It's the lightest option here by far (256 MB) and the easiest to try. If you need long retention, multi-node correlation, or alerting rules as code, Prometheus plus Grafana is the more deliberate choice.

What you need

Any VPS with at least 256 MB of RAM
A domain you control — most self-hosted setups need HTTPS in front of them
Under an hour if you've used Docker before

Install with Docker Compose

Save this as compose.yml and run docker compose up -d:

# Netdata — official Docker image, host networking for full system visibility
docker run -d --name=netdata --pid=host --network=host \
  -v netdataconfig:/etc/netdata -v netdatalib:/var/lib/netdata -v netdatacache:/var/cache/netdata \
  --cap-add SYS_PTRACE --cap-add SYS_ADMIN --security-opt apparmor=unconfined \
  --restart unless-stopped netdata/netdata  #  →  http://SERVER_IP:19999

vps picksBest VPS for self-hostingbenchmarked quarterly · re-priced monthly

What you take on

Netdata's zero-config appeal comes with a few things to know going in:

non-negotiableIt's open-core. The local agent and dashboard are GPL-3.0 and genuinely free, but the multi-node Cloud view and longer-term features sit behind Netdata Cloud — read the split before assuming everything is self-hosted.

non-negotiableRetention is short by default. It's built for real-time, not a year of history — export to Prometheus or another long-term store if you need that.

non-negotiableHost networking and elevated capabilities. The official container wants --pid=host, --network=host, and a couple of --cap-add flags for full visibility — understand what you're granting before you run it.