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Cloud · head to head

Azure Functions vs Thanos

Azure Functions logo

Azure Functions

Cloud

Event-driven serverless compute on Azure

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Thanos logo

Thanos

Cloud

Highly available Prometheus with long-term object storage

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Azure Functions consumption plan free grant is capped at 1 million executions and 400,000 GB-seconds of resource consumption per month per subscription, billed per GB-second beyond that; Thanos several components — sidecar, store, querier, compactor, ruler — each with its own configuration and failure modes

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Azure Functions and Thanos actually diverge.

Attributes where Azure Functions and Thanos differ
AttributeAzure FunctionsThanos
Pricing modelusage-basedOpen source, no licence fee
PlatformsWebKubernetes, Linux, Docker

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Cloud).

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 Azure Functions

Nothing recorded that Thanos does not also cover.

Only in Thanos

  • Global query
  • Object storage retention
  • Deduplication
  • Downsampling

What people use each for

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

Azure Functions

  • Event-driven computingnot Thanos
  • Serverless application backendnot Thanos
  • Scalable API endpointsnot Thanos

Thanos

  • Querying metrics across many clusters or regions from one placenot Azure Functions
  • Retaining metrics for years without local disk growthnot Azure Functions
  • Removing the gap that appears when a single Prometheus instance restartsnot Azure Functions

Where each one falls short

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

Azure Functions

  • Consumption plan free grant is capped at 1 million executions and 400,000 GB-seconds of resource consumption per month per subscription, billed per GB-second beyond that
  • The newer Flex Consumption plan's free grant is smaller still, at 250,000 executions and 100,000 GB-seconds per month
  • Premium plan avoids per-execution charges but bills continuously for allocated core seconds and memory regardless of invocation volume
  • Memory is rounded up to the nearest 128 MB and execution time to the nearest 1 ms for billing, so small overages round upward

Thanos

  • Several components — sidecar, store, querier, compactor, ruler — each with its own configuration and failure modes
  • The compactor is a common source of operational trouble and must not run twice against the same bucket
  • Query latency over object storage is meaningfully higher than local Prometheus
  • Object storage costs and API request charges become real at high volume

Pricing, plan by plan

Azure Functions

Free
  • Consumption Plan$null/month
    • 1 million requests free monthly
    • 400,000 GB-seconds free monthly
    • Billed per second and executions
  • Flex Consumption Plan$null/month
    • 250,000 executions free monthly
    • 100,000 GB-seconds free monthly
    • Event-driven scaling
  • Premium Plan$null/month
    • No execution charges
    • At least one instance required
    • Includes automatic scaling and VNET access

Thanos

Free
  • ThanosFree
    • Full functionality
    • No usage limits
    • Community support

Which should you pick?

Choose Azure Functions if

  • You want to start without paying.
Azure Functions review

Choose Thanos if

  • You need global query.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Kubernetes, Linux, Docker.
  • You also want object storage retention.
Thanos review

Questions people ask

Is Azure Functions or Thanos better?
Neither clearly leads. Azure Functions starts at Free and Thanos at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Azure Functions or Thanos?
Azure Functions starts at Free and Thanos at Free.
Does Azure Functions or Thanos run on more platforms?
Azure Functions runs on Web. Thanos runs on Kubernetes, Linux, Docker.
Can I use Azure Functions for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Azure Functions best used for?
Azure Functions is most often used for event-driven computing, serverless application backend, scalable api endpoints. Of those, event-driven computing and serverless application backend are not what Thanos is typically brought in for.
What can Azure Functions do that Thanos cannot?
Thanos covers Global query, Object storage retention, Deduplication, Downsampling.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Azure Functions: Does Azure Functions have a free tier?

Yes, Azure Functions includes a monthly free grant of 1 million requests and 400,000 GB-seconds on the Consumption Plan, or 250,000 executions and 100,000 GB-seconds on Flex Consumption.

Source
Thanos: Is Thanos free?

Yes, open source and CNCF-incubating. Costs are the object storage it uses.

Azure Functions: What is Azure Functions' pricing model?

Azure Functions uses usage-based pricing. Consumption plans charge per second of resource consumption and per execution, measured in gigabyte-seconds and rounded to the nearest 128 MB.

Source
Thanos: Does Thanos replace Prometheus?

No. It runs alongside existing Prometheus servers, adding global query, deduplication and long-term storage.

Azure Functions: What is the minimum execution time for Azure Functions?

The minimum execution time is 100 milliseconds on Consumption plans. Premium plans charge based on core seconds and allocated memory.

Source
Thanos: Thanos or VictoriaMetrics?

Thanos layers onto Prometheus using object storage and is the more established multi-cluster answer. VictoriaMetrics is a separate store aiming at lower resource use and fewer moving parts.

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