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AWS (Amazon Web Services) vs Grafana Cloud

AWS (Amazon Web Services) logo

AWS (Amazon Web Services)

Software

The leading cloud computing platform

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Grafana Cloud logo

Grafana Cloud

Software

Composable observability platform

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: AWS (Amazon Web Services) data transfer in is free and data transfer out is charged, which is the standard source of unexpected bills; 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: AWS (Amazon Web Services) covers EC2 - Virtual Servers, Grafana Cloud covers Grafana Dashboards.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which AWS (Amazon Web Services) and Grafana Cloud actually diverge.

Attributes where AWS (Amazon Web Services) and Grafana Cloud differ
AttributeAWS (Amazon Web Services)Grafana Cloud
Pricing modelusage-basedUnknown
PlatformsWeb, Api, Cli, MobileWeb (Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Safari), API
Founded20062014

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), 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 AWS (Amazon Web Services)

  • EC2 - Virtual Servers
  • S3 - Object Storage
  • RDS - Managed Database
  • Lambda - Serverless Computing
  • CloudFront - CDN
  • VPC - Virtual Network
  • IAM - Access Management
  • CloudWatch - Monitoring

Only in Grafana Cloud

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

Both cover

  • Kubernetes
  • Docker
  • Datadog
  • SOC2
  • HIPAA

What people use each for

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

AWS (Amazon Web Services)

  • Web hostingnot Grafana Cloud
  • Data storagenot Grafana Cloud
  • Machine learningnot Grafana Cloud
  • Big data analyticsnot Grafana Cloud
  • Application developmentnot Grafana Cloud

Grafana Cloud

  • Infrastructure monitoringnot AWS (Amazon Web Services)
  • Application monitoringnot AWS (Amazon Web Services)
  • Log aggregationnot AWS (Amazon Web Services)
  • Distributed tracingnot AWS (Amazon Web Services)

Where each one falls short

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

AWS (Amazon Web Services)

  • Data transfer in is free and data transfer out is charged, which is the standard source of unexpected bills
  • Discounts require one or three year Savings Plan commitments rather than being automatic
  • Every service is priced separately, so a working architecture has no single published cost
  • The free tier is a promotional allowance rather than an ongoing free plan

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

AWS (Amazon Web Services)

Free
  • AWS Free TierFree
    • EC2 750 hours/month
    • 5GB S3 storage
    • 20GB data transfer
  • Pay-As-You-GoFree
    • No upfront payment
    • No long-term commitments
    • Pay only for what you use

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 AWS (Amazon Web Services) if

  • You need ec2 - virtual servers.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Api, Cli, Mobile.
  • You also want s3 - object storage.
AWS (Amazon Web Services) 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 AWS (Amazon Web Services) or Grafana Cloud better?
Neither clearly leads. AWS (Amazon Web Services) starts at Free and Grafana Cloud at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, AWS (Amazon Web Services) or Grafana Cloud?
AWS (Amazon Web Services) starts at Free and Grafana Cloud at Free.
Does AWS (Amazon Web Services) or Grafana Cloud run on more platforms?
AWS (Amazon Web Services) runs on Web, Api, Cli, Mobile. Grafana Cloud runs on Web (Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Safari), API.
Can I use AWS (Amazon Web Services) for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is AWS (Amazon Web Services) best used for?
AWS (Amazon Web Services) is most often used for web hosting, data storage, machine learning, big data analytics. Of those, web hosting and data storage are not what Grafana Cloud is typically brought in for.
What can AWS (Amazon Web Services) do that Grafana Cloud cannot?
AWS (Amazon Web Services) covers EC2 - Virtual Servers, S3 - Object Storage, RDS - Managed Database, Lambda - Serverless Computing. Grafana Cloud covers Grafana Dashboards, Prometheus Metrics, Loki Logs, Tempo Traces. Both handle Kubernetes, Docker, Datadog, SOC2.

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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