Sentry Alternative Self Hosted: 3 Lighter Options in 2026
Self-hosted Sentry alternatives compared on RAM, licence and SDK support: GlitchTip, Bugsink and SigNoz, against Sentry's own 16 GB requirement.
•4 min read•Monitoring & Observability
Verdict:GlitchTip is the lightest self-hosted option, with docs that list 256 MB to 512 MB of RAM, an MIT licence and Sentry SDK setup. Bugsink is also Sentry-SDK compatible, but its licence includes a noncompete clause. SigNoz suits teams already adopting OpenTelemetry.
Quick comparison
| Tool | Price | Platforms | Best for | Tested |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GlitchTip | Self-host free (MIT); hosted free 1,000 events/month, Small $15/month for 100,000 | Web browser, Self-hosted | Small servers: docs list 256 MB minimum and 512 MB recommended RAM, with Sentry SDK setup | Docs only |
| Bugsink | Self-host free (PolyForm Shield); managed free 15K events, $16/month for 75K | Web browser, Self-hosted | A single-purpose error tracker that is fully compatible with Sentry's open-source SDKs | Docs only |
| SigNoz | Community Edition self-hosted (MIT); Cloud Teams from $49/month including usage | Web browser, Self-hosted | Teams adopting OpenTelemetry that want exceptions next to logs, traces and metrics | Docs only |
Independent comparison. Paid placements are labelled separately; editorial links earn no affiliate commissions. Learn more.
Good fit if
- You want error tracking on your own server and Sentry's 16 GB self-hosted floor is too much
- You want to keep your Sentry SDKs and change only the DSN
- You can run Docker, a database and backups yourself
Not ideal if
- You need session replay or full performance monitoring, which none of these official pages list for GlitchTip or Bugsink
- You want a vendor to run, upgrade and secure the server for you
- You need a licence with no noncompete clause, which rules out Bugsink and Sentry itself
If Sentry's self-hosted stack is too heavy, GlitchTip is the lightest option. Its docs list 256 MB of RAM as the minimum and 512 MB as recommended, it is MIT licensed, and it accepts Sentry-compatible SDKs. Bugsink is also Sentry-SDK compatible, but its licence includes a noncompete clause. SigNoz fits teams already using OpenTelemetry. Compare that with Sentry's own requirement of 16 GB of RAM.
What matters for self-hosting error tracking
The people searching this want an error tracker on their own server without running Sentry's full stack. That comes down to resources, whether your Sentry SDKs keep working, the licence, which Sentry features you lose, and the upgrade burden.
According to Sentry's self-hosted docs, the minimum is 4 CPU cores, 16 GB of RAM plus 16 GB of swap and 20 GB of free disk, with 32 GB of RAM recommended. The docs say it comes with no guarantees or dedicated support, services run on a single node, and several hosted features, including Seer and other AI features, are unavailable. The licence is the Functional Source License, which becomes Apache 2.0 after 2 years and bars using the code to compete with Sentry.
A Hacker News thread from April 2025, "I gave up on self-hosted Sentry", shows the split. Commenters complained about the 16 GB floor and the growing container count. One user with two instances reported problems in roughly 10% of upgrades, while others called upgrades smooth, and a former Sentry engineer said the complexity partly comes from running the SaaS at scale. GlitchTip users there called it lighter, with one calling it buggier than Sentry. A September 2026 follow-up thread repeats the complaint that Sentry's self-hosted setup is too heavy for a small VPS. For the wider field, see all Sentry alternatives.
GlitchTip
GlitchTip is an MIT-licensed error tracker. Its install docs recommend Docker Compose for a single server, require PostgreSQL 14 or newer, treat Valkey or Redis 7 as optional, and list 512 MB of RAM as recommended and 256 MB as the minimum for all-in-one mode. They give about 30 GB of disk as a rough guide for 1 million events a month.
Its SDK docs cover any Sentry-compatible SDK, with listed languages including Python, JavaScript, PHP, Ruby, Go, Java, Rust and Flutter. The licence is MIT. If you would rather not host, the hosted plan is free for 1,000 events a month, and $15 a month covers 100,000.
Who should not pick it: teams that need session replay, which none of GlitchTip's pages read mention.
Bugsink
Bugsink is a single-purpose error tracker. Its homepage says it is fully compatible with Sentry's open-source SDKs, so you point them at Bugsink by changing the DSN. Self-hosting is free with unlimited users and all features, with optional Premium Support at $15 per user per month. The managed service is free for 15K events and $16 a month for 75K.
The installation docs cover Docker with SQLite, MySQL or PostgreSQL, Docker Compose and a single-server setup with Nginx and Gunicorn. No hardware requirements are published.
The licence matters. The repository licence is PolyForm Shield 1.0.0, which includes a noncompete clause, so read it against your use before choosing it.
Who should not pick it: anyone who needs a licence without a noncompete clause, or who needs performance monitoring or replay, since neither is mentioned.
SigNoz
SigNoz is an OpenTelemetry observability platform with logs, traces and metrics. Its Docker install guide requires at least 4 GB of memory allocated to Docker and runs ClickHouse, ClickHouse Keeper, PostgreSQL 16, a collector and the server. The Community Edition is MIT licensed (Cloud Teams starts at $49 a month including usage, per SigNoz pricing), with an ee/ directory under a separate licence per its licence file.
For errors, the exceptions guide says the view is built from OpenTelemetry span events, and the stack trace panel can be empty because some SDKs do not record stack traces by default. Grouping defaults to service, exception type and message. The guide does not mention Sentry SDKs.
Who should not pick it: someone who only wants to swap a DSN. SigNoz needs OpenTelemetry instrumentation.
Comparison
| Sentry (self-hosted) | GlitchTip | Bugsink | SigNoz | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RAM guidance | 16 GB plus 16 GB swap | 256 MB min, 512 MB recommended | Not published | 4 GB allocated to Docker |
| Licence | FSL, becomes Apache 2.0 after 2 years | MIT | PolyForm Shield | MIT (ee/ separate) |
| Sentry SDKs | Native | Yes | Yes | Not stated |
| Database | Multiple services | PostgreSQL, Redis optional | SQLite, MySQL or PostgreSQL | ClickHouse and PostgreSQL |
| Session replay | Not checked | Not mentioned | Not mentioned | Not mentioned |
How to choose
- A side project or small team on a cheap VPS. GlitchTip, since its docs list the smallest footprint.
- You want a DSN swap and a simple UI. GlitchTip or Bugsink. Check Bugsink's licence terms first.
- You are adopting OpenTelemetry for everything. SigNoz, so exceptions sit beside traces and logs.
If you want to compare hosted pricing too, see Datadog alternatives and New Relic alternatives, or our list of open-source log management tools.
Limits of this review
Nothing was installed, so real memory use, upgrade effort and bug rates were not measured. Bugsink does not publish hardware requirements. Whether SigNoz accepts Sentry SDKs is not stated on the pages read. A lighter errors-only mode for Sentry was mentioned in a forum comment but not found in Sentry's docs and is left out.
FAQ
How much RAM does self-hosted Sentry need?
Sentry's self-hosted docs list a minimum of 4 CPU cores, 16 GB of RAM plus 16 GB of swap, and 20 GB of free disk, and recommend 32 GB of RAM. They also say self-hosted comes with no guarantees or dedicated support, and that every service runs on a single node.
What is the lightest self-hosted Sentry alternative?
GlitchTip's install docs list 256 MB of RAM as the minimum for all-in-one mode and recommend 512 MB, with PostgreSQL 14 or newer. Bugsink does not publish hardware requirements, so its footprint is not confirmed by its pages. Both pages describe Docker setups.
Can I keep my Sentry SDK when I switch?
For GlitchTip and Bugsink, yes. GlitchTip's setup docs cover any Sentry-compatible SDK, and Bugsink says it is fully compatible with Sentry's open-source SDKs, so you change the DSN. SigNoz's exceptions guide does not mention Sentry SDKs and relies on OpenTelemetry span events.
Is Sentry itself open source?
Sentry uses the Functional Source License, which converts to Apache 2.0 after 2 years and bars using the code to compete with Sentry. The docs call it Fair Source and allow self-hosting but not selling it as a service. GlitchTip is MIT; Bugsink is PolyForm Shield, which has a noncompete clause.
Does GlitchTip or Bugsink support session replay?
Neither official page read mentions session replay, so do not assume it. Bugsink's homepage lists triage with search and trends, issue grouping and chat and webhook alerts. GlitchTip's SDK docs do not mention it. If replay matters, check the current docs or stay with Sentry.
What are the downsides of self-hosting error tracking?
You own the disk, backups, upgrades and security patches. In a 2025 Hacker News thread, one user with two instances reported problems in roughly 10% of Sentry upgrades, while others found upgrades smooth. A quiet outage also means errors you never see, so monitor the tracker itself.
Related guides
More in Monitoring & Observability
All Monitoring & Observability alternatives →Sources
Kevin Fan
Kevin Fan is a SaaS founder. He runs Free Instead Of, which tracks free and open-source alternatives to paid software and checks each price and free-plan limit against the vendor's own pages.
Methodology
Sentry's self-hosted docs and pricing page, and the official install and pricing pages for GlitchTip, Bugsink and SigNoz, were read on 2026-10-27, along with SigNoz's exceptions guide and Bugsink's licence file. Two competing articles were read for context. Two Hacker News threads (April 2025 and September 2026) were read for user pain points. Reddit was not used. No tool was installed or tested.