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Akamai vs Grafana Cloud

Akamai logo

Akamai

Software

Leading content delivery and security platform

From
$1000/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Grafana Cloud logo

Grafana Cloud

Software

Composable observability platform

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Grafana Cloud has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Akamai only the cloud computing services carry published rates; security and content delivery products require contacting sales for a price; Grafana Cloud active Series (AS) billing model is difficult to predict and control; misconfiguration can cause sudden spikes and unexpected bills
  • They diverge on capability: Akamai covers CDN, Grafana Cloud covers Grafana Dashboards.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Akamai and Grafana Cloud actually diverge.

Attributes where Akamai and Grafana Cloud differ
AttributeAkamaiGrafana Cloud
Starting price$1000/monthFree
Pricing modelquoteUnknown
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, ApiWeb (Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Safari), API
Founded19982014

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Akamai

  • CDN
  • DDoS Protection
  • Web Application Firewall
  • Bot Management
  • Image Optimization
  • Video Platform
  • API Gateway
  • Analytics

Only in Grafana Cloud

  • Grafana Dashboards
  • Prometheus Metrics
  • Loki Logs
  • Tempo Traces
  • Alerting
  • OnCall
  • Synthetic Monitoring
  • Incident Management

Both cover

  • AWS
  • Cloud deployment
  • Web support

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Akamai

  • Content delivery and web performance through Ion and adaptive media deliverynot Grafana Cloud
  • DDoS protection, bot management and API securitynot Grafana Cloud
  • Running compute, Kubernetes and managed databases on Akamai's cloudnot Grafana Cloud
  • Edge compute with EdgeWorkersnot Grafana Cloud
  • Zero trust access for enterprise applicationsnot Grafana Cloud

Grafana Cloud

  • Infrastructure monitoringnot Akamai
  • Application monitoringnot Akamai
  • Log aggregationnot Akamai
  • Distributed tracingnot Akamai

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Akamai

  • Only the cloud computing services carry published rates; security and content delivery products require contacting sales for a price
  • Cloud pricing varies by region across North America, Europe and Asia Pacific rather than being a single rate

Grafana Cloud

  • Active Series (AS) billing model is difficult to predict and control; misconfiguration can cause sudden spikes and unexpected bills
  • Reduced control and customization compared to self-hosted Grafana instances
  • Data sovereignty concerns for organizations requiring on-premises data retention
  • Limited reporting types compared to traditional BI tools for compliance and audit requirements

Pricing, plan by plan

Akamai

$1000/month
  • CDN$1000/month
    • Content delivery
    • Global edge network
    • Real-time analytics
  • Security Suite$2000/month
    • DDoS protection
    • WAF
    • Bot management

Grafana Cloud

Free
  • FreeFree
    • 10k active series (metrics)
    • 50GB logs/traces per month
    • 3 active users
  • Pro$19/month
    • Usage-based pricing beyond free tier
    • 8 USD per active visualization user
    • Included Grafana Alerting
  • Enterprise$25000/year
    • Minimum annual commitment
    • Full-service deployment options
    • Premium support

Which should you pick?

Choose Akamai if

  • You need cdn.
  • You work on Web, Api.
  • You also want ddos protection.
Akamai review

Choose Grafana Cloud if

  • You need grafana dashboards.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web (Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Safari), API.
  • You also want prometheus metrics.
Grafana Cloud review

Questions people ask

Is Akamai or Grafana Cloud better?
Neither clearly leads. Akamai starts at $1000/month and Grafana Cloud at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Akamai or Grafana Cloud?
Grafana Cloud has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $1000/month for Akamai and Free for Grafana Cloud.
Does Akamai or Grafana Cloud run on more platforms?
Akamai runs on Web, Api. Grafana Cloud runs on Web (Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Safari), API.
Can I use Grafana Cloud for free?
Yes. Grafana Cloud has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Akamai starts at $1000/month.
What is Akamai best used for?
Akamai is most often used for content delivery and web performance through ion and adaptive media delivery, ddos protection, bot management and api security, running compute, kubernetes and managed databases on akamai's cloud, edge compute with edgeworkers. Of those, content delivery and web performance through ion and adaptive media delivery and ddos protection, bot management and api security are not what Grafana Cloud is typically brought in for.
What can Akamai do that Grafana Cloud cannot?
Akamai covers CDN, DDoS Protection, Web Application Firewall, Bot Management. Grafana Cloud covers Grafana Dashboards, Prometheus Metrics, Loki Logs, Tempo Traces. Both handle AWS, Cloud deployment, Web support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Grafana Cloud: What are the exact limits of Grafana Cloud's free tier?

Grafana Cloud free tier includes 10,000 active series for metrics, 50GB logs and traces per month, 3 active visualization users, and 14-day retention with community support. No credit card required.

Source
Grafana Cloud: How is Grafana Cloud billed, and what are the per-unit costs?

Grafana Cloud Pro tier starts at $19/month platform fee plus usage-based charges. Metrics cost $6.50 per 1,000 active series above free limits, logs and traces are charged per GB ingested, and visualization users are $8 per active user.

Source
Grafana Cloud: Can I use Grafana Cloud for open-source Grafana deployments?

Grafana Cloud is the managed cloud service version. Open-source Grafana is free and can be self-hosted indefinitely on your own infrastructure.

Source
Grafana Cloud: What observability signals does Grafana Cloud include?

Grafana Cloud includes metrics (via Mimir), logs (via Loki), traces (via Tempo), profiles, and synthetics, with unified querying and visualization across all signals.

Source
Grafana Cloud: Does Grafana Cloud include alerting and how is it priced?

Yes, Grafana Alerting is included at no additional charge across all tiers. Rule storage, evaluation, and notification delivery are covered by the platform fee with no per-alert or per-notification fees.

Source
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