Understanding Grafana pricing

published on 23 June 2024

Grafana offers both free and paid options for data visualization and monitoring:

Option Cost Best for Key Features
Open Source Free Small teams, DIY projects Basic dashboards, queries, alerts
Cloud Free Free Small projects, up to 3 users 10k metrics, 50GB logs/traces, 14-day retention
Cloud Pro Paid Growing teams No limits, 5 users, 30-day retention, 8x5 support
Cloud Advanced Paid Large teams, enterprises No limits, 10 users, 24/7 support, enterprise plugins
Enterprise Custom pricing Large organizations Advanced security, custom features, dedicated support

Main pricing factors:

  • Data amount and storage time
  • Number of users
  • Required features and integrations
  • Support level needed

To choose the right plan:

  1. Assess your current needs
  2. Consider future growth
  3. Evaluate support requirements
  4. Compare costs vs. benefits

Regularly review your Grafana usage and pricing to optimize costs and ensure you have the right features for your needs.

Grafana offers three main ways to set up and use its platform:

Open Source (Grafana OSS)

Grafana OSS

Grafana OSS is a free, open-source option that lets users:

  • Make custom dashboards
  • Query and show data
  • Set up alerts

It's good for:

  • Small to medium teams
  • Projects that need lots of customization
  • Users who want full control

You can check out an Eyer example of the free Grafana tier showing a live IT environment with Anomaly Detection enabled.

Grafana Cloud

Grafana Cloud

Grafana Cloud is a managed service that:

  • Runs in the cloud
  • Is easy to set up and use
  • Takes care of backups and updates

It fits well for:

  • Teams that don't want to manage their own servers
  • Organizations that need a scalable solution

Grafana Enterprise

Grafana Enterprise

Grafana Enterprise is a paid version with extra features like:

  • Advanced security
  • Better teamwork tools
  • 24/7 support

It's best for:

  • Large companies
  • Complex data needs
  • Users who want guaranteed help and protection

Comparing options

Here's a quick look at how the options stack up:

Feature Open Source Cloud Enterprise
Cost Free Paid Paid
Setup DIY Easy Can be complex
Management Self-managed Managed for you Self-managed or vendor-managed
Support Community Basic included 24/7 pro support
Best for Small teams, DIY projects Teams wanting easy setup Large orgs, complex needs

Choose based on your team size, budget, and how much help you need running Grafana.

Grafana Cloud pricing tiers

Grafana Cloud offers four pricing tiers to fit different needs and budgets. Here's a breakdown of each tier:

Tier Best for Key Features
Free Small teams, basic projects • 10k metrics limit
• 50GB logs/traces storage
• Up to 3 users
• 14-day data retention
Pro Pay As You Go Growing teams • No limits on metrics/storage
• Up to 5 users
• 30-day data retention
• 8x5 support
Advanced Premium Bundle Large teams, enterprises • No limits on metrics/storage
• Up to 10 users
• 30-day data retention
• 24x7 support
• Enterprise plugins
Enterprise Scale Large-scale enterprises • No limits on metrics/storage/users
• Custom data retention
• Dedicated 24x7 support
• Enterprise plugins and custom features

Free tier

The free tier is good for small teams starting out. It gives you:

  • A cap of 10,000 metrics
  • Up to 50GB for logs and traces
  • Room for 3 users
  • Data kept for 14 days

Pro Pay As You Go tier

This tier fits teams that are getting bigger. You get:

  • No caps on metrics or storage
  • Space for up to 5 users
  • Data kept for 30 days
  • Support during business hours

Advanced Premium Bundle tier

For big teams that need more, this tier offers:

  • No caps on metrics or storage
  • Room for up to 10 users
  • Data kept for 30 days
  • Round-the-clock support
  • Access to special enterprise tools

Enterprise Scale tier

This top-level tier is for the biggest companies. It includes:

  • No limits on metrics, storage, or users
  • Custom options for how long to keep data
  • Your own support team, always on call
  • All enterprise tools and custom features

Pick the tier that fits your team's size and needs. You can always change later if your needs grow or shrink.

Main parts of Grafana Cloud pricing

Grafana Cloud pricing has several key parts. Here's a simple breakdown:

Pricing Component Description Free Tier Pro & Advanced Tiers Enterprise Scale Tier
Metrics Based on active series and data points per minute 10,000 series limit No limits Custom pricing
Logs Based on storage amount 50GB limit No limits Custom pricing
Traces Based on storage amount 50GB limit No limits Custom pricing
Grafana Visualization Included in overall pricing Included Included Included
Profiles Based on number of profiles 2232 app o11y host hours No limits Custom pricing
Incident Response & Management Included in overall pricing Included Included Included
Application Observability Included in overall pricing Included Included Included
Frontend Observability Included in overall pricing Included Included Included
Synthetic Monitoring Based on number of checks Limited checks No limits Custom pricing
k6 Performance Testing Based on number of tests Limited tests No limits Custom pricing

Key points:

  • The Free tier has limits on most components
  • Pro and Advanced tiers often remove these limits
  • Enterprise Scale offers custom pricing for all components
  • Some features are included in the overall pricing with no extra costs

Understanding these pricing parts helps you pick the right plan for your needs and budget.

How billing and usage work

Billing cycles explained

Grafana Cloud bills you monthly for what you use. This makes it easy to:

  • Track your costs
  • Plan your budget
  • Pay only for what you need

How usage is calculated

Grafana Cloud measures your use based on:

Type Measurement
Metrics Active series and data points per minute
Logs Storage amount
Traces Storage amount

This system lets you adjust your use as needed.

Checking subscription details

You can see your subscription info in the Grafana Cloud console, including:

  • Billing cycle
  • Usage
  • Costs

This helps you understand and manage your spending.

Looking at costs

The Grafana Cloud console shows:

  • Monthly metrics use
  • Cost breakdowns

This info helps you:

  • Spot which metrics cost the most
  • Make smart choices about your data use

Ways to manage costs

Finding cost sources

Grafana Cloud helps you see where your money goes. You can:

  • Check your monthly metrics use and costs
  • Track how much you're spending
  • Find out which metrics cost the most

This helps you answer questions like:

  • How much am I spending each month?
  • Am I using all the money I set aside?
  • Which parts of my system cost the most?

Assigning costs to teams or projects

Once you know where costs come from, you can link them to specific teams or projects. This shows how different parts of your company affect your total bill.

Grafana Cloud uses "usage groups" to help you do this. These groups track how many time series have certain labels over time. This shows you how different teams, environments, or apps add to your total series count.

Reducing costs

Here are some ways to lower your Grafana Cloud costs:

Method Description
Change scrape intervals Collect data less often
Use Adaptive Metrics Find and remove unused metrics
Manage cardinality Identify and fix high-cost metrics and labels

Tracking and predicting costs

To avoid surprises, it's important to keep an eye on your costs and guess future spending. Grafana Cloud gives you tools to:

  • Predict future metrics growth
  • Set up alerts for high usage
  • Create custom budget alerts

This helps you take action early to control costs and avoid unexpected high bills.

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Grafana Enterprise pricing

Custom pricing model

Grafana Enterprise uses a custom pricing model. This means:

  • Prices change based on what each company needs
  • You pay for the features you use
  • There are no set price tiers

This helps companies avoid paying for things they don't need.

Main features and benefits

Grafana Enterprise has extra features not in the free version:

Feature What it does
Role-based access Control who can do what in Grafana
Data source limits Set rules for who can query data
Reporting Make PDF reports and send them by email
Custom look Add your company logo and colors
Usage tracking See how people use your Grafana
Vault integration Keep secrets safe with Vault
Auditing Track changes for rules and safety

These features help big companies:

  • Keep their data safe
  • Change Grafana to fit their needs
  • Follow rules about data use

The custom pricing lets companies pick what they need. This can help save money while getting the right tools.

What affects Grafana pricing

Grafana pricing depends on several key factors:

Data amount and storage time

The more data you store and the longer you keep it, the higher the cost. Grafana Cloud offers different storage options, with prices going up as you store more data.

Number of users

More users mean higher costs. This is because Grafana needs to handle more requests and provide more resources as user numbers grow.

Needed features and connections

The features and connections you need can change your price. Here's a quick look at how:

Factor Effect on Price
Basic features Lower cost
Advanced features (e.g., role-based access) Higher cost
Few data source connections Lower cost
Many data source connections Higher cost
Standard integrations Lower cost
Custom integrations Higher cost

Support level

The type of support you want affects your price:

Support Type Price Impact
Basic support Lower cost
Priority support Higher cost
Dedicated technical account manager Higher cost
Custom support plans Higher cost

More support means more resources from Grafana, which leads to higher prices.

How to choose the right Grafana plan

Picking the best Grafana plan involves looking at your needs, budget, and future plans. Here's how to do it:

Figure out what you need

Make a list of what you must have and what would be nice to have. Think about:

Factor Questions to Ask
Data storage How much data do you need to keep? For how long?
Features Do you need special tools like role-based access?
Users How many people will use Grafana?
Connections What data sources do you need to link to?

Plan for growth

Think about what you might need later. Ask yourself:

  • Will you add more users soon?
  • Might you need more advanced tools in the future?
  • Could your data needs grow quickly?

Choose a plan that can grow with you and change if needed.

Think about help and training

Decide how much support you need:

Support Level What You Get
Basic Help during business hours
Priority Faster help, often 24/7
Dedicated Your own support person

Also, think about whether you need help learning to use Grafana.

Common questions about pricing

FAQ

Here are some common questions about Grafana pricing:

Question Answer
Is Grafana completely free? No, Grafana has a free tier with limits and paid plans with more features.
Is Grafana free or paid? Both. There's a free tier and paid plans.
Do I have to pay for Grafana? You only pay if you need more than the free tier offers.
What's the difference between Grafana OSS and Enterprise Edition? OSS is open-source and free. Enterprise is paid with extra features and support.
Is Grafana free for enterprise use? No, large companies usually need a paid plan for their needs.

These are just a few key questions about Grafana pricing. For more details, check the official Grafana website.

Conclusion

Main points covered

This article explained key parts of Grafana pricing:

Topic What We Covered
Deployment options Ways to set up Grafana
Pricing tiers Available plans and costs
Cloud pricing parts Main elements of cloud-based pricing
Billing and usage How Grafana charges for its services
Cost management Tips to keep expenses down
Pricing factors What affects the cost of using Grafana

We also answered common questions about pricing and gave tips on picking the right plan.

Why you should check pricing often

It's smart to look at Grafana pricing regularly because:

  • Your needs might change as your team grows
  • You might need different features over time
  • Checking can help you save money
  • You can make sure you're using Grafana in the best way

By staying up-to-date on Grafana's pricing and what it offers, you can:

  • Keep your costs low
  • Make good choices about what to use
  • Get the most out of Grafana for your team

FAQs

Is Grafana completely free?

No, Grafana is not completely free. It offers:

Free Tier Paid Plans
10k metrics More metrics
50GB logs More storage
50GB traces More features
3 active users More users
14-day data retention Longer retention

Is Grafana free or paid?

Grafana has both free and paid options:

Free Option Paid Options
Grafana Cloud free tier Grafana Cloud paid plans
Limited features More features
Usage limits Higher usage limits

Do I have to pay for Grafana?

You don't have to pay if:

  • You use the free tier
  • You stay within free tier limits

You need to pay if:

  • You need more features
  • You exceed free tier limits

What is the difference between Grafana OSS and Enterprise Edition?

Grafana OSS Grafana Enterprise
Open-source Commercial
Basic features Extra features
Community support Professional support
Free Paid

Is Grafana free for enterprise use?

Grafana is not free for most enterprise use:

Plan Cost Features
Cloud Pro (without Enterprise plugins) $8 per active user/month Basic enterprise features
Cloud Pro (with Enterprise plugins) $55 per active user/month Full enterprise features

Enterprises usually need paid plans for their requirements.

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