Top 10 Lightstep (ServiceNow) Alternatives in 2026: Complete Migration Guide

ServiceNow just pulled the plug on Lightstep. Here’s where to go next and how to migrate without re-instrumenting your entire stack.

TL;DR

ServiceNow announced the end-of-life (EOL) for Lightstep (Cloud Observability) on March 1, 2026. There’s no direct migration path and no replacement planned. If you’re a Lightstep user, you need to start planning your migration now.

The good news? If you’re already using OpenTelemetry with Lightstep, switching to another OTel-native platform like Sematext takes minutes, not months. No re-instrumentation required.

What Happened to Lightstep?

On August 25, 2025, ServiceNow made it official: Lightstep (now called Cloud Observability) is sunsetting. Support ends March 1, 2026, or at your contract end date, whichever comes later.

The key points from ServiceNow’s announcement:

• No direct replacement on the ServiceNow platform
• No migration path to other ServiceNow products
• Historical data cannot be migrated
• ServiceNow is “shifting focus” to Service Reliability Management and Agentic Observability

This isn’t just an inconvenience, it’s a reminder of the real risk of vendor lock-in with proprietary observability tools. Lightstep was acquired by ServiceNow in 2021 and rebranded to Cloud Observability in 2023. Three years later, it’s being killed.

The lesson: this is exactly why OpenTelemetry matters. When your instrumentation is built on open standards, switching backends is a configuration change, not a re-instrumentation project. Teams using OTel with Lightstep can migrate in minutes, not months.

What Made Lightstep Great (And What You’ll Miss)

Before jumping to alternatives, let’s acknowledge what Lightstep did well:

Early OpenTelemetry Champion

Lightstep was a founding contributor to OpenTelemetry. Ben Sigelman, Lightstep’s co-founder, was also a co-creator of OpenTracing (which later merged into OTel). This means most Lightstep users are already instrumented with OpenTelemetry, your biggest migration headache is already solved.

Unified Observability

Lightstep unified logs, metrics, and traces in a single platform, letting teams correlate telemetry signals during investigations without context-switching between tools.

Change Intelligence

Lightstep’s correlation of performance changes with deployments helped teams quickly identify if a recent release caused degradation.

Service Diagrams

Visual service dependency maps made it easy to understand complex microservices architectures at a glance.

A good Lightstep alternative should match or exceed these capabilities while being built on open standards to prevent future vendor lock-in situations.

What to Look for in a Lightstep Alternative

When evaluating your options, prioritize these criteria:

1. OpenTelemetry-Native Support

This is non-negotiable. If you’re coming from Lightstep, you’re almost certainly using OpenTelemetry. Choose a platform built around OTel, not one that bolted it on as an afterthought. This ensures:

• Zero code changes during migration
• Your instrumentation stays 100% standard OpenTelemetry, no vendor-specific SDKs or code changes
• Future portability to any OTel-compatible backend

2. Unified Logs, Metrics, and Traces

Tracing alone isn’t enough. You need the ability to pivot from a slow trace to related logs and infrastructure metrics with one click, not three different tools.

3. Transparent Pricing

Observability costs can spiral out of control at scale. Look for straightforward pricing models that let you predict costs as your traffic grows. Avoid complex SKUs with per-host, per-user, AND per-GB charges.

4. Easy Migration

If your alternative requires re-instrumenting your application, you’re looking at weeks of engineering work. The right choice accepts your existing OTLP data with a configuration change.

5. No Vendor Lock-In

You’re migrating from a tool that’s being killed. Don’t repeat the mistake. Choose platforms that embrace open standards and make it easy to export your data.

Top 10 Lightstep Alternatives in 2026

1. Sematext Tracing

Best for: Teams wanting OpenTelemetry-native tracing with full observability at 50-80% lower cost than enterprise competitors

Sematext Tracing is a modern distributed tracing solution built on OpenTelemetry from the ground up. It’s designed for teams that want deep visibility into their applications without the complexity or cost of traditional APM platforms.

Key Features:

• OpenTelemetry-native architecture: Send traces via OTLP (HTTP or gRPC) using any OpenTelemetry-compatible instrumentation. No proprietary agents.
• Zero-code auto-instrumentation: Automatic tracing for Java, Python, Node.js, Go, .NET, Ruby, and more—no code changes required.
• Powerful trace analysis: Search and filter traces by service, operation, latency, errors, or custom attributes with waterfall visualizations.
• Trace-log-metric correlation: Navigate from traces to related logs and infrastructure metrics with one click, unified in a single platform.
• Intelligent sampling: Configure sampling to always capture errors and high-latency requests while controlling costs.
• RED metrics out of the box: Automatically generate Rate, Error, and Duration metrics from trace data.
• Migration guides: Dedicated documentation for migrating from Jaeger, Zipkin, Datadog, New Relic, and Dynatrace.

Pros:

• 50-80% cheaper than Datadog, Dynatrace, Grafana Cloud or New Relic with no compromise on features. Not empty statements – yes, we compared the costs side by side with each of these vendors.
• ClickHouse-powered backend delivers real-time trace analysis at any scale
• True OpenTelemetry-native design eliminates vendor lock-in
• Works with existing Jaeger, Zipkin, or any OTLP-compatible instrumentation
• Unified platform combining logs, metrics, and traces in one UI
• Simple, transparent per-span pricing with no hidden fees
• 14-day free trial with no credit card required

Cons:

• Service maps coming soon (currently visualize dependencies through distributed traces)
• Smaller brand recognition than enterprise incumbents

Pricing: Starts at $19/month for 2 million spans. Typically 50-80% less expensive than Datadog or New Relic at scale.

Migration from Lightstep: Since both platforms are OpenTelemetry-native, migration is a configuration change, update your OTLP exporter endpoint from Lightstep to Sematext Agent and you’re done. No code changes required.

2. SigNoz

Best for: Open-source teams wanting a self-hosted Datadog alternative

SigNoz is an open-source observability platform that unifies logs, metrics, and traces. It’s built on ClickHouse and is OpenTelemetry-native.

Pros: Full observability stack in one open-source tool, no vendor lock-in, active community.

Cons: Requires operational expertise for self-hosting, younger project.

Pricing: Free (open-source self-hosted). SigNoz Cloud starts at $199/month.

3. Datadog APM

Best for: Enterprises with deep pockets already invested in the Datadog ecosystem

Datadog APM provides distributed tracing as part of its comprehensive observability platform. It’s known for extensive integrations and polished UX.

Pros: Mature, feature-rich platform with excellent UX, strong integration ecosystem.

Cons: Pricing complexity with multiple SKUs, can become very expensive at scale (“bill shock” is common).

Pricing: APM starts at $31/host/month. Additional charges for indexed spans, profiling, and more.

4. New Relic

Best for: Teams wanting unlimited users with usage-based pricing

New Relic offers distributed tracing as part of its full-stack observability platform with a unique unlimited-users model for basic access.

Pros: Unlimited basic users included, comprehensive APM, free tier available.

Cons: Pricing complexity with user types (Basic, Core, Full), OTel-compatible but not OTel-native.

Pricing: Free tier includes 100GB/month. Paid plans from $0.30/GB plus per-user fees.

5. Honeycomb

Best for: Teams practicing observability-driven development with high-cardinality data

Honeycomb focuses on high-cardinality data exploration for debugging complex distributed systems.

Pros: Excellent for exploring unknown issues, no cardinality limits, BubbleUp for pattern detection.

Cons: Different mental model from traditional APM, weaker on infrastructure monitoring.

Pricing: Free tier available. Team plan from $130/month.

6. Grafana Tempo

Best for: Teams already using Grafana with Prometheus and Loki

Grafana Tempo is an open-source tracing backend designed for cost-effective trace storage using object storage.

Pros: Extremely cost-effective storage, excellent Grafana integration, scales to massive volumes.

Cons: Requires Grafana ecosystem investment, steeper learning curve for TraceQL.

Pricing: Free (open-source). Grafana Cloud offers hosted Tempo with usage-based pricing.

7. Jaeger

Best for: Teams wanting open-source, self-hosted tracing with full data control

Jaeger is a CNCF-graduated distributed tracing platform originally developed at Uber.

Pros: Completely free and open-source, no vendor lock-in, mature and production-proven.

Cons: Requires operational expertise, no built-in log/metric correlation.

Pricing: Free (open-source). Infrastructure costs vary based on scale.

8. Elastic APM

Best for: Organizations already using the Elastic Stack (ELK)

Elastic APM provides distributed tracing as part of Elastic Observability.

Pros: Deep integration with Elastic Stack, powerful search and analytics.

Cons: Complexity of managing Elasticsearch at scale, resource-intensive.

Pricing: Free tier available. Elastic Cloud pricing based on deployment size.

9. Dynatrace

Best for: Large enterprises requiring automatic discovery and AI-driven insights

Dynatrace is an enterprise observability platform known for automatic instrumentation and AI-powered root cause analysis.

Pros: Truly automatic instrumentation, AI-driven anomaly detection, strong enterprise features.

Cons: Premium pricing, steep learning curve, OneAgent consumes more memory (200-500MB).

Pricing: Contact sales. Generally one of the most expensive options.

10. Splunk APM

Best for: Enterprises using Splunk for security and log analytics

Splunk APM provides full-fidelity distributed tracing with no sampling required.

Pros: Full-fidelity tracing, strong correlation with Splunk logs and SIEM.

Cons: Very expensive, complex pricing model.

Pricing: Contact sales. Premium end of the market.

Quick Comparison Table

Tool	OTel-Native	Self-Hosted	Log/Metric Correlation	Best For
Sematext	✅ Yes	❌ SaaS	✅ Yes	Cost-conscious teams
SigNoz	✅ Yes	✅ Yes	✅ Yes	Open-source full-stack
Datadog	⚠️ Supported	❌ No	✅ Yes	Datadog ecosystem
New Relic	⚠️ Supported	❌ No	✅ Yes	Unlimited basic users
Honeycomb	✅ Yes	❌ No	⚠️ Partial	High-cardinality exploration
Grafana Tempo	✅ Yes	✅ Yes	✅ Yes	Grafana users
Jaeger	✅ Yes	✅ Yes	❌ No	Self-hosted K8s teams
Elastic APM	⚠️ Supported	✅ Yes	✅ Yes	ELK users
Dynatrace	⚠️ Supported	✅ Yes	✅ Yes	Large enterprises
Splunk APM	⚠️ Supported	⚠️ Yes	✅ Yes	Splunk enterprises

Note on “OTel-Native”: ✅ means the platform was built from the ground up on OpenTelemetry with no proprietary agents. ⚠️ means the platform supports OTel but also offers proprietary agents.

How to Migrate from Lightstep to Sematext

The migration is straightforward because both platforms are OpenTelemetry-native. You won’t need to change any application code, just update your exporter configuration.

Step 1: Create a Sematext Account

Sign up for a free 14-day trial at https://apps.sematext.com/ui/registration. No credit card required.

Once logged in, create a Tracing App and note your ingestion endpoint and token from Settings → Ingestion Details.

Step 2: Use the Sematext Agent

Deploy the Sematext Agent with OpenTelemetry support. The agent receives OTLP data locally and forwards it securely to Sematext Cloud.

Step 3: Verify and Decommission

Run both platforms in parallel briefly to verify traces are flowing correctly to Sematext. Once confirmed, you can safely disable Lightstep.

Important Migration Notes:

• Historical data cannot be migrated from Lightstep. You’ll start fresh in Sematext.
• Dashboards and alerts need to be recreated in Sematext. Contact us if you’d like some help with that.
• No code changes required if you’re using standard OpenTelemetry instrumentation.

Why Sematext for Your Lightstep Migration?

1. True OpenTelemetry-Native Design

Sematext was built from the ground up around OpenTelemetry. There’s no proprietary agent to choose between, OTel is the only instrumentation path. Migration from Lightstep is a configuration change, not a project.

2. Unified Observability

Like Lightstep, Sematext provides logs, metrics, and traces in a single platform. Navigate from a slow trace to related logs and infrastructure metrics without switching tools.

3. Predictable, Affordable Pricing

Sematext’s pricing is simple: pay per span with volume discounts. No per-host fees, no per-user fees, no surprise charges. Teams typically see 50-80% cost savings compared to Datadog or New Relic.

4. Comprehensive Language Support

Auto-instrumentation SDKs for all major languages: Java, Python, Node.js, Go, .NET, Ruby, Browser JavaScript, and Mobile (iOS/Android).

5. Production-Ready Today

Sematext has been providing observability solutions since 2010. The platform handles massive scale with a ClickHouse-powered backend that delivers fast queries regardless of data volume.

Conclusion

The Lightstep EOL is disruptive, but it’s also an opportunity to move to a more resilient, open, and cost-effective observability stack.

Key takeaways:

1. Don’t panic. You have until March 1, 2026.
2. Start planning now. Evaluate alternatives and begin migration before the deadline crunch.
3. Leverage your OpenTelemetry investment. If you’re using OTel with Lightstep, migration to another OTel-native platform is trivial.
4. Prioritize open standards. Avoid repeating the vendor lock-in mistake.

For teams seeking a balance of features, OpenTelemetry-native design, and cost-effectiveness, Sematext Tracing is the ideal Lightstep replacement. It delivers enterprise-grade distributed tracing at a fraction of the cost of incumbents like Datadog and New Relic, with no compromise on functionality.

Ready to migrate? Start your free 14-day trial at https://apps.sematext.com/ui/registration, no credit card required.

FAQ

Can I migrate my historical data from Lightstep?

No. Historical trace data cannot be exported from Lightstep. You’ll start fresh with your new provider. This is another reason to avoid proprietary observability platforms, your data should always be portable.

How long does migration take?

If you’re already using OpenTelemetry with Lightstep, migration to Sematext takes about 10-15 minutes, it’s just a configuration change. Recreating dashboards and alerts will take longer depending on complexity.

Do I need to re-instrument my applications?

No. If you’re using OpenTelemetry (which most Lightstep users are), you simply update your OTLP exporter configuration. No code changes required.

What if I’m using Lightstep’s proprietary SDK?

Lightstep deprecated their proprietary SDK years ago in favor of OpenTelemetry. If you’re still on the old SDK, you’ll need to migrate to OTel first, but you should have done this already regardless of the Lightstep EOL.