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Comparison · Infra & APIs

Clair vs Grafana OnCall

A side-by-side editorial comparison of Clair and Grafana OnCall — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.

Clair vs Grafana OnCall: at a glance

FeatureClairGrafana OnCall
SectorInfra & APIsInfra & APIs
Velocity score2.50.0
Sparks · 30d00
Top themescontainer-security, vulnerability-scanning, sbom, red-hatincident response, on-call, maintenance, dependencies
Last editorial update8h ago24d ago
WebsiteVisit →Visit →

What is Clair?

Clair 4.10 RC can read SBOMs to match Java vulnerabilities.

Clair cut its first 4.10.0 release candidate on November 13, eleven months after 4.9.0. Its Java indexers can now read CycloneDX SBOM files and treat them as the source of truth, and Red Hat's VEX data now covers Maven advisories, so Java packages in Red Hat images can be matched. It also reduces memory use when many packages share a source package.

Read the full Clair trajectory →

What is Grafana OnCall?

Grafana OnCall's open-source line is in upkeep mode: runtime pins and Helm bumps, no features.

The last four releases of Grafana OnCall's open-source build contain no user-facing changes. Two Helm chart releases in mid-2025 were followed by v1.16.10 and v1.16.11 in early 2026, which pin Python 3.12.11, update urllib3, and adjust the Telegram integration's imports. The project still ships, but only to keep its dependencies current.

Read the full Grafana OnCall trajectory →

Clair vs Grafana OnCall: editorial side-by-side

C
Clair
INFRA · APIS
2.5

Clair 4.10 RC can read SBOMs to match Java vulnerabilities.

◆ Current state

Clair cut its first 4.10.0 release candidate on November 13, eleven months after 4.9.0. Its Java indexers can now read CycloneDX SBOM files and treat them as the source of truth, and Red Hat's VEX data now covers Maven advisories, so Java packages in Red Hat images can be matched. It also reduces memory use when many packages share a source package.

◆ Where it's heading

Since 4.8 Clair has moved from Red Hat's older OVAL data to VEX, and each release follows Red Hat's security data more closely. 4.10 adds SBOMs as an input, so Clair can match what an image's own manifest declares, not only what it finds on disk.

◆ Prediction

More 4.10 release candidates and then a final are likely; the long gap between releases suggests that could take weeks.

G
Grafana OnCall
INFRA · APIS
0.0

Grafana OnCall's open-source line is in upkeep mode: runtime pins and Helm bumps, no features.

◆ Current state

The last four releases of Grafana OnCall's open-source build contain no user-facing changes. Two Helm chart releases in mid-2025 were followed by v1.16.10 and v1.16.11 in early 2026, which pin Python 3.12.11, update urllib3, and adjust the Telegram integration's imports. The project still ships, but only to keep its dependencies current.

◆ Where it's heading

The cadence is slowing: two releases in summer 2025, then a five-month gap, then two patch releases two weeks apart in early 2026. Nothing in these notes points to new alerting, scheduling, or escalation work in the open-source line.

◆ Prediction

Expect more v1.16.x patches for dependency and runtime hygiene, if any arrive at all; the entries give no sign of a 1.17 or a feature release.

Alternatives to Clair and Grafana OnCall

Other Infra & APIs products tracked by Sparkpulse, ranked by recent ship velocity. Each card links to a full editorial trajectory and lets you pivot into a head-to-head comparison with either Clair or Grafana OnCall.

See all Clair alternatives → · See all Grafana OnCall alternatives →

Recent activity from Clair and Grafana OnCall

Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.

  1. 13h agoClairClair 4.10 RC reads CycloneDX SBOMs for Java matching
  2. 9mo agoGrafana OnCallv1.16.11: Python update and Telegram filter import refactor
  3. 9mo agoGrafana OnCallv1.16.10: Python 3.12.11 pin and urllib3 update
  4. 11mo agoClairClair 4.9 moves CVSS data to NVD's 2.0 feeds
  5. 1y agoGrafana OnCallHelm chart 1.16.5 released
  6. 1y agoGrafana OnCallHelm chart 1.16.4 released
  7. 2y agoClairClair 4.8 replaces Red Hat OVAL data with VEX
  8. 2y agoClairClair 4.7.4 changes the default layer download location
  9. 2y agoClairClair 4.7.3 requires TLS 1.2 or newer
  10. 3y agoClairClair 4.7.2 drops the retired CRDA source

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between Clair and Grafana OnCall?

They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. Clair is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 2.5 vs 0.0), with 0 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. See the at-a-glance table above for a side-by-side breakdown of velocity, recent sparks, and editorial themes.

Is Clair better than Grafana OnCall?

Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. Clair is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 2.5 vs 0.0), with 0 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. For your specific use case, the alternatives sections above list other Infra & APIs products to evaluate alongside.

What are the best alternatives to Clair?

Top Clair alternatives in Infra & APIs are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Clair alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/clair for the full list with editorial commentary on each.

What are the best alternatives to Grafana OnCall?

Top Grafana OnCall alternatives in Infra & APIs are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Grafana OnCall alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/grafana-oncall for the full list with editorial commentary on each.