Softwr

Log Management · head to head

Elastic vs Grafana

E

Elastic

Log Management

Search AI powered by Elasticsearch

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Grafana logo

Grafana

Network & Connectivity

Observability and Data Visualization

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Grafana has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Elastic the 99.95% monthly uptime SLA is only offered on the Platinum and Enterprise subscription tiers of Hosted deployments, not on lower tiers, per elastic.co, August 2026; Grafana the free tier retains metrics, logs and traces for 14 days only

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Elastic and Grafana actually diverge.

Attributes where Elastic and Grafana differ
AttributeElasticGrafana
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelUnknownopen-source
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWebWeb, Api
CategoryLog ManagementNetwork & Connectivity
FoundedUnknown2014

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

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 Elastic

Nothing recorded that Grafana does not also cover.

Only in Grafana

  • Dashboard creation
  • Alerting
  • Data source integration
  • Visualization plugins
  • API
  • Webhooks
  • REST
  • Web support

What people use each for

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

Elastic

No use cases recorded yet. See the Elastic review.

Grafana

  • Dashboards and visualisation over metrics, logs and tracesnot Elastic
  • Running observability across infrastructure and applicationsnot Elastic

Where each one falls short

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

Elastic

  • The 99.95% monthly uptime SLA is only offered on the Platinum and Enterprise subscription tiers of Hosted deployments, not on lower tiers, per elastic.co, August 2026

Grafana

  • The free tier retains metrics, logs and traces for 14 days only
  • Free is capped at 10,000 active metric series and 50 GB each of logs and traces a month
  • The Pro plan carries a $19 a month platform fee before any usage charges
  • Logs and traces are billed on three separate meters, at $0.050 per GB processed, $0.400 per GB written and $0.100 per GB retained
  • Retaining data is an ongoing charge rather than a one off, so historical data costs every month it exists

Pricing, plan by plan

Elastic

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the Elastic review.

Grafana

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Dashboard creation
    • Alerting
    • Data source integration

Which should you pick?

Choose Elastic if

Nothing in the data separates Elastic from Grafana on the points above - pick on price and on how each one feels to use.

Elastic review

Choose Grafana if

  • You need dashboard creation.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Api.
  • You also want alerting.
Grafana review

Questions people ask

Is Elastic or Grafana better?
Neither clearly leads. Elastic starts at On request and Grafana at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Elastic or Grafana?
Grafana has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Elastic and Free for Grafana.
Does Elastic or Grafana run on more platforms?
Elastic runs on Web. Grafana runs on Web, Api.
Can I use Grafana for free?
Yes. Grafana has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Elastic starts at On request.
What can Elastic do that Grafana cannot?
Grafana covers Dashboard creation, Alerting, Data source integration, Visualization plugins.
ShareXLinkedInRedditWhatsAppEmail

Related pages

More on Elastic

More on Grafana

Keep looking

Other head to heads