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Software · head to head

Cockroach Labs vs Grafana Cloud

Cockroach Labs logo

Cockroach Labs

Software

The cloud-native distributed SQL database

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: Cockroach Labs basic and Standard tiers limited to AWS and GCP (select regions 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: Cockroach Labs covers Distributed SQL, Grafana Cloud covers Grafana Dashboards.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Cockroach Labs and Grafana Cloud actually diverge.

Attributes where Cockroach Labs and Grafana Cloud differ
AttributeCockroach LabsGrafana Cloud
Pricing modelfreemiumUnknown
PlatformsAWS, GCP, AzureWeb (Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Safari), API
Founded20152014

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 Cockroach Labs

  • Distributed SQL
  • Automatic Sharding
  • Multi-region Replication
  • Geo-partitioning
  • ACID Transactions
  • Horizontal Scaling
  • Survivability
  • PostgreSQL Compatibility

Only in Grafana Cloud

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

Both cover

  • Kubernetes
  • Datadog
  • PagerDuty
  • SOC2
  • HIPAA
  • Encryption
  • Cloud deployment

What people use each for

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

Cockroach Labs

  • Distributed SQL database for scalable applicationsnot Grafana Cloud
  • Multi-region deployment and failovernot Grafana Cloud

Grafana Cloud

  • Infrastructure monitoringnot Cockroach Labs
  • Application monitoringnot Cockroach Labs
  • Log aggregationnot Cockroach Labs
  • Distributed tracingnot Cockroach Labs

Where each one falls short

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

Cockroach Labs

  • Basic and Standard tiers limited to AWS and GCP (select regions only)
  • Azure support restricted to Advanced tier only
  • Basic tier limited to 50 million RUs and 10 GiB storage per month
  • Advanced tier starts at $0.60/hour for 4 vCPUs minimum
  • 3 TiB maximum storage on Basic and Standard tiers, 10 TiB per node on Advanced

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

Cockroach Labs

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Cockroach Labs review.

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 Cockroach Labs if

  • You need distributed sql.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on AWS, GCP, Azure.
  • You also want automatic sharding.
Cockroach Labs 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 Cockroach Labs or Grafana Cloud better?
Neither clearly leads. Cockroach Labs 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, Cockroach Labs or Grafana Cloud?
Cockroach Labs starts at Free and Grafana Cloud at Free.
Does Cockroach Labs or Grafana Cloud run on more platforms?
Cockroach Labs runs on AWS, GCP, Azure. Grafana Cloud runs on Web (Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Safari), API.
Can I use Cockroach Labs for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Cockroach Labs best used for?
Cockroach Labs is most often used for distributed sql database for scalable applications, multi-region deployment and failover. Of those, distributed sql database for scalable applications and multi-region deployment and failover are not what Grafana Cloud is typically brought in for.
What can Cockroach Labs do that Grafana Cloud cannot?
Cockroach Labs covers Distributed SQL, Automatic Sharding, Multi-region Replication, Geo-partitioning. Grafana Cloud covers Grafana Dashboards, Prometheus Metrics, Loki Logs, Tempo Traces. Both handle Kubernetes, Datadog, PagerDuty, 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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