Every modern business depends on digital infrastructure. Whether you’re running a microservices app, scaling Kubernetes clusters, or managing a SaaS platform, you can’t afford blind spots. Performance drops, latency issues, or downtime can frustrate customers instantly. That’s why observability isn’t optional anymore. But here’s the catch: most tools are pricey, overly complex, and lock your data in. That’s where dash0 comes in — an OpenTelemetry-native observability platform built to make monitoring simple, transparent, and cost-effective.
What is Dash0?
Dash0 is an observability platform that unifies metrics, logs, and traces into one seamless experience. Unlike traditional vendors that force data into proprietary formats, dash0 is built on OpenTelemetry (OTel), meaning your data is open, portable, and packed with context you can actually use.
The Philosophy Behind Dash0
1. Open Standards First
Dash0 isn’t trying to reinvent telemetry. Instead, it embraces OpenTelemetry as the universal language of observability.
2. Developer-Friendly by Design
Most monitoring platforms feel like they were built for sales teams, not engineers. Dash0 flips the script, focusing on usability and clarity for developers, SREs, and platform teams.
3. Transparent and Predictable
No more shocking invoices. With dash0, costs are easy to track and manage.
Core Features of Dash0
Unified Metrics, Traces, and Logs
Observability data is only powerful when connected. Dash0 brings together metrics, traces, and logs in a way that lets you pivot instantly between them.
Long-Term Metric Retention
Spotting trends takes time. With dash0, you can keep metrics long enough to analyze regressions, SLIs, and usage patterns.
Distributed Tracing at Scale
Tracing in dash0 makes it easy to follow requests across services, find bottlenecks, and understand dependencies.
Logs with Context
Instead of being a noisy data dump, logs in dash0 tie directly into your metrics and traces — giving them meaning.
Dashboards and Service Maps
Out-of-the-box dashboards and visual service maps mean you can see your architecture as it actually runs.
Alerts and Synthetic Monitoring
Set meaningful alerts and simulate user behavior with synthetic checks. Dash0 helps you stay ahead of issues before they affect customers.
Config as Code
Manage dashboards, alerts, and monitoring resources the same way you manage infrastructure — as code.
Dash0 for Different Roles
For Developers
Debug faster by jumping from metrics to traces to logs without context switching.
For SREs
Slash MTTR with built-in correlations that cut through noise.
For Platform Engineers
Leverage dash0’s Kubernetes-native design to monitor clusters, namespaces, and workloads seamlessly.
Why Choose Dash0 Over Traditional Tools?
1. No Vendor Lock-In
Many tools trap your telemetry. With dash0, your data stays in OpenTelemetry format, giving you total freedom.
2. Cost Visibility
Dashboards in dash0 show exactly where telemetry spend comes from, whether by service, namespace, or endpoint.
3. Scalability with ClickHouse
Built on ClickHouse, dash0 handles huge telemetry volumes while staying cost-efficient and fast.
Dash0 vs Competitors
Dash0 vs Datadog
Datadog is powerful but expensive and proprietary. Dash0 is open, transparent, and leaner.
Dash0 vs New Relic
New Relic uses its own format, while dash0 keeps things vendor-neutral with OTel.
Dash0 vs Grafana + Prometheus
Grafana/Prometheus are great but DIY-heavy. Dash0 delivers an integrated solution out of the box.
Use Cases for Dash0
Startups
Affordable, predictable monitoring while scaling.
Enterprises
End-to-end observability without being tied to a single vendor.
Kubernetes Teams
Native insights into workloads, namespaces, and pods.
Incident Response
Correlate metrics, traces, and logs in seconds.
Dash0 Pricing Model
Unlike competitors who charge per seat or per host, dash0 uses a per-telemetry-unit model. You pay for what you ingest — metrics, logs, or spans — with no hidden surprises.
Best Practices for Using Dash0
-
Use trace sampling to balance visibility and cost.
-
Keep metadata clean and consistent.
-
Regularly audit noisy telemetry with dash0’s cost dashboards.
-
Store only high-value logs to save money.
Getting Started with Dash0
-
Sign up for a free trial.
-
Connect your services via OpenTelemetry.
-
Explore pre-built dashboards.
-
Set your first alerts.
-
Expand as your telemetry grows.
Real-World Example
Imagine your checkout API slows down. With dash0, you:
-
Spot latency in metrics.
-
Jump to related traces.
-
See a database query causing delays.
-
Open logs tied to that trace.
Problem solved — fast, with full context.
The Future of Observability with Dash0
As OpenTelemetry adoption rises, tools like dash0 will dominate the observability space. By keeping things open, cost-effective, and developer-friendly, it sets the standard for the next decade.
Conclusion
If you’re tired of expensive, complicated observability tools, dash0 is a breath of fresh air. It unifies metrics, logs, and traces in one place, respects open standards, and gives you transparent pricing. Whether you’re a startup, a growing SaaS, or an enterprise, dash0 makes observability an enabler, not a burden.
FAQs
Q1: What is dash0 mainly used for?
Dash0 is an observability platform for monitoring and troubleshooting metrics, logs, and traces.
Q2: How does dash0 pricing work?
You pay per telemetry unit — predictable and fair compared to host-based billing.
Q3: Can dash0 handle Kubernetes monitoring?
Yes, it’s designed to align with Kubernetes semantics like pods, namespaces, and workloads.
Q4: What makes dash0 different from Datadog or New Relic?
Dash0 is OpenTelemetry-native, portable, and far more cost-transparent.
Q5: Can I manage dashboards in dash0 as code?
Yes, all resources like dashboards and alerts can be managed as code.
