OpsLevel vs Backstage for Internal Developer Platforms

OpsLevel and Backstage are two popular internal developer platforms that offer a range of features for software development organisations. In this blog post, we will compare OpsLevel and Backstage and highlight their key differences.

Purpose

OpsLevel is a platform that focuses on providing visibility into the entire software development lifecycle, from development to production. It offers features such as service catalogs, dependency maps, and service level objective (SLO) tracking. OpsLevel is designed to help teams manage their services and dependencies, ensure consistency across development teams, and monitor the health of their applications.

Backstage, on the other hand, is a platform that focuses on providing a unified developer experience by providing a single place for developers to find and use tools and services. It offers features such as a service catalog, documentation, and integration with various third-party tools. Backstage is designed to help teams reduce friction in the software development process, improve collaboration, and increase productivity.

Integration

Both OpsLevel and Backstage offer integrations with a range of third-party tools and services. OpsLevel integrates with tools such as GitHub, PagerDuty, and Datadog, while Backstage integrates with tools such as JIRA, Jenkins, and Kubernetes. However, Backstage offers a more extensive range of integrations than OpsLevel.

Customisation

OpsLevel and Backstage both offer customisation options, but Backstage offers more extensive customisation capabilities. Backstage is built on top of a flexible plugin architecture that allows teams to customise and extend the platform to fit their specific needs. OpsLevel, on the other hand, offers a more limited range of customisation options.

Ease of use

Both OpsLevel and Backstage are user-friendly platforms, but Backstage is generally considered to be more user-friendly. Backstage has a modern, intuitive interface that makes it easy for developers to find and use the tools and services they need. OpsLevel, while user-friendly, has a slightly more complex interface that may take some time to get used to.

Community

Backstage has a thriving open-source community that contributes to the development and improvement of the platform. This community has developed a range of plugins and integrations that extend the functionality of Backstage. OpsLevel, while it has a community of users, does not have the same level of open-source support as Backstage.

Conclusion

In conclusion, both OpsLevel and Backstage are powerful internal developer platforms that offer a range of features for software development organisations. OpsLevel is designed to provide visibility into the entire software development lifecycle, while Backstage is designed to provide a unified developer experience. While both platforms have their strengths and weaknesses, Backstage is generally considered to be more user-friendly, more customisable, and has a stronger open-source community.