[[Prometheus]] and [[InfluxDB]] are both [[Time-series database]] that are very popular for use in [[Observability]].
## Differences between Prometheus and InfluxDB
### Prometheus has a larger scope
Just like in [[Prometheus vs Graphite]], InfluxDB's scope, even including [[Kapacitor]] to push data from a component, is more limited than Prometheus's. InfluxDB can monitor components and graph data, but it does not query or scrape like Prometheus can. Prometheus has a richer query language, [[PromQL]].
### Resolution
InfluxDB records data with nanosecond resolution, while Prometheus only goes as low as millisecond resolution.
### Multi-tenant solutions
Prometheus and InfluxDB's [[Open source]] solution are similar in that they weren't really built for multi-tenant setups. Prometheus can be extended using [[Cortex]], and InfluxDB has a commercial offering that more easily manages InfluxDB on multiple nodes.
## When InfluxDB is better
- If event logging is your primary concern [^prom]
## When Prometheus is better
- If metrics are your primary concern [^prom]
- When you need the more powerful query language
- When you need higher availability
[^prom]: _Comparison to alternatives_. Prometheus. Retrieved from https://prometheus.io/docs/introduction/comparison/ . [[Comparison to Alternatives Prometheus|My highlights]]