head to head · open source
Prometheus vs Instant
Prometheus has 66,106 GitHub stars, 10,840 forks, 890 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Instant has 10,517 stars, 407 forks, 19 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Prometheus leads on adoption by 529% (66,106 vs 10,517 stars). Prometheus is written in Go under Apache-2.0; Instant is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0. Prometheus has attracted 16% as many forks as stars, Instant 4%. Instant was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| Prometheus | Instant | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 66K | ★ 11K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Go | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 11K | ⑂ 407 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Prometheus if
- You weight community size — 66K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Instant if
- You want the Instant feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and Instant fits your workflow better
About Prometheus
Prometheus is an open source monitoring system and time series database, part of the Cloud Native Computing Foundation ecosystem. It collects metrics from configured targets at defined intervals, evaluates alerting rules, and visualizes results. Designed for reliability in dynamic environments, it operates without reliance on distributed storage, ensuring each server node functions independently.
read the full Prometheus overview →
About Instant
Instant is an open source realtime client side database for collaborative apps, written in TypeScript and released under the Apache 2.0 license. It lives in the JavaScript, React, and React Native ecosystem, where it acts as a backend layer for auth, permissions, presence, storage, and streams.
read the full Instant overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Prometheus or Instant more popular?
Prometheus has 66,106 GitHub stars and Instant has 10,517. Prometheus has the larger community by that measure.
Are Prometheus and Instant free?
Both are open source. Prometheus is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Instant under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Prometheus and Instant?
Prometheus is written in Go and Instant in TypeScript. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, Prometheus or Instant?
Choose Prometheus if you want the larger community (66,106 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose Instant if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.