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Arq Backup vs Grafana Cloud

Arq Backup logo

Arq Backup

Software

Mac and Windows backup to your own cloud storage

From
$50/year
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: Arq Backup runs on Mac and Windows only; 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: Arq Backup covers Client-side encryption, Grafana Cloud covers Grafana Dashboards.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Arq Backup and Grafana Cloud actually diverge.

Attributes where Arq Backup and Grafana Cloud differ
AttributeArq BackupGrafana Cloud
Starting price$50/yearFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionUnknown
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWindows, MacWeb (Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Safari), API
Founded20092014

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 Arq Backup

  • Client-side encryption
  • Hourly backups
  • Network backup
  • Deduplication
  • Immutable backups
  • Budget controls
  • AWS S3
  • Google Cloud

Only in Grafana Cloud

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

Both cover

  • Azure

What people use each for

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

Arq Backup

  • Data protectionnot Grafana Cloud
  • Disaster recoverynot Grafana Cloud
  • Business continuitynot Grafana Cloud
  • Ransomware protectionnot Grafana Cloud
  • Compliancenot Grafana Cloud

Grafana Cloud

  • Infrastructure monitoringnot Arq Backup
  • Application monitoringnot Arq Backup
  • Log aggregationnot Arq Backup
  • Distributed tracingnot Arq Backup

Where each one falls short

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

Arq Backup

  • Runs on Mac and Windows only
  • Arq 7 is licensed per computer, and continuing to receive updates after the first year costs $25 per year per computer
  • Arq Premium covers up to 5 computers, so larger households or teams need more than one subscription
  • Arq Premium includes 1TB of storage and charges $0.0059 per GB per month beyond it

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

Arq Backup

$50/year
  • Arq Premium$50/year
    • 5 computers
    • Arq Cloud storage option
    • Email support

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 Arq Backup if

  • You need client-side encryption.
  • You work on Windows, Mac.
  • You also want hourly backups.
Arq Backup 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 Arq Backup or Grafana Cloud better?
Neither clearly leads. Arq Backup starts at $50/year and Grafana Cloud at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Arq Backup or Grafana Cloud?
Grafana Cloud has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $50/year for Arq Backup and Free for Grafana Cloud.
Does Arq Backup or Grafana Cloud run on more platforms?
Arq Backup runs on Windows, Mac. 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. Arq Backup starts at $50/year.
What is Arq Backup best used for?
Arq Backup is most often used for data protection, disaster recovery, business continuity, ransomware protection. Of those, data protection and disaster recovery are not what Grafana Cloud is typically brought in for.
What can Arq Backup do that Grafana Cloud cannot?
Arq Backup covers Client-side encryption, Hourly backups, Network backup, Deduplication. Grafana Cloud covers Grafana Dashboards, Prometheus Metrics, Loki Logs, Tempo Traces. Both handle Azure.

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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