Install Prometheus on Ubuntu (Step-by-Step 2026)

Here is how to install Prometheus on Ubuntu in 2026. Tested and verified.

Method 1: Binary Installation

# Download latest release
PROM_VERSION="2.53.0"
wget https://github.com/prometheus/prometheus/releases/download/v${PROM_VERSION}/prometheus-${PROM_VERSION}.linux-amd64.tar.gz
tar xvfz prometheus-${PROM_VERSION}.linux-amd64.tar.gz
cd prometheus-${PROM_VERSION}.linux-amd64

# Install
sudo cp prometheus promtool /usr/local/bin/
sudo mkdir -p /etc/prometheus /var/lib/prometheus
sudo cp prometheus.yml /etc/prometheus/

Create systemd Service

# /etc/systemd/system/prometheus.service
[Unit]
Description=Prometheus
After=network-online.target

[Service]
User=prometheus
ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/prometheus \
    --config.file=/etc/prometheus/prometheus.yml \
    --storage.tsdb.path=/var/lib/prometheus/ \
    --web.console.templates=/etc/prometheus/consoles \
    --web.console.libraries=/etc/prometheus/console_libraries
Restart=always

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

sudo useradd --no-create-home --shell /bin/false prometheus
sudo chown -R prometheus:prometheus /etc/prometheus /var/lib/prometheus
sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl start prometheus
sudo systemctl enable prometheus

Access at http://localhost:9090.

Method 2: Docker

docker run -d --name prometheus -p 9090:9090 \
  -v /path/to/prometheus.yml:/etc/prometheus/prometheus.yml \
  prom/prometheus

Related Resources

• Prometheus Tutorial
• Install Prometheus on Kubernetes with Helm
• Prometheus PromQL Cheat Sheet