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Cloud · head to head

Grafana Cloud vs Keycloak

Grafana Cloud logo

Grafana Cloud

Cloud

Composable observability platform

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite
Keycloak logo

Keycloak

Developer Tools

Open-source identity and access management server.

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Grafana Cloud active Series (AS) billing model is difficult to predict and control; misconfiguration can cause sudden spikes and unexpected bills; Keycloak requires self-hosted deployment and operational expertise to install, configure and maintain
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Grafana Cloud and Keycloak actually diverge.

Attributes where Grafana Cloud and Keycloak differ
AttributeGrafana CloudKeycloak
Pricing modelUnknownopen-source
PlatformsWeb (Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Safari), APISelf-hosted, Docker, Kubernetes, Linux, Windows, API
CategoryCloudDeveloper Tools
Founded2014Unknown

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), 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 Grafana Cloud

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

Only in Keycloak

Nothing recorded that Grafana Cloud does not also cover.

What people use each for

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

Grafana Cloud

  • Infrastructure monitoringnot Keycloak
  • Application monitoringnot Keycloak
  • Log aggregationnot Keycloak
  • Distributed tracingnot Keycloak

Keycloak

  • Organisations requiring self-hosted identity infrastructure for compliance or data residencynot Grafana Cloud
  • Companies with existing LDAP/Active Directory systems needing federated authenticationnot Grafana Cloud
  • Open-source projects and communities requiring free IAM without licensing costsnot Grafana Cloud
  • Enterprises building custom identity workflows requiring fine-grained authorisationnot Grafana Cloud
  • Teams with sufficient operational expertise to manage infrastructurenot Grafana Cloud

Where each one falls short

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

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

Keycloak

  • Requires self-hosted deployment and operational expertise to install, configure and maintain
  • No managed cloud option provided by Red Hat; organisations must operate infrastructure themselves or use third-party distributions
  • Clustering and high-availability configurations require additional operational knowledge
  • Community support only; commercial support requires third-party vendors or distributions

Pricing, plan by plan

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

Keycloak

Free
  • Open-sourceFree
    • Full platform functionality
    • Self-hosted deployment
    • Community support

Which should you pick?

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

Choose Keycloak if

  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Self-hosted, Docker, Kubernetes, Linux, Windows, API.
Keycloak review

Questions people ask

Is Grafana Cloud or Keycloak better?
Neither clearly leads. Grafana Cloud starts at Free and Keycloak at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Grafana Cloud or Keycloak?
Grafana Cloud starts at Free and Keycloak at Free.
Does Grafana Cloud or Keycloak run on more platforms?
Grafana Cloud runs on Web (Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Safari), API. Keycloak runs on Self-hosted, Docker, Kubernetes, Linux, Windows, API.
Can I use Grafana Cloud for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Grafana Cloud best used for?
Grafana Cloud is most often used for infrastructure monitoring, application monitoring, log aggregation, distributed tracing. Of those, infrastructure monitoring and application monitoring are not what Keycloak is typically brought in for.
What can Grafana Cloud do that Keycloak cannot?
Grafana Cloud covers Grafana Dashboards, Prometheus Metrics, Loki Logs, Tempo Traces.

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
Keycloak: What protocols does Keycloak support?

Keycloak supports OpenID Connect, OAuth 2.0 and SAML 2.0 protocols for authentication and authorisation.

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
Keycloak: Can Keycloak integrate with existing user directories?

Yes. Keycloak supports user federation with LDAP and Active Directory systems, allowing organisations to leverage existing user directories.

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
Keycloak: Is Keycloak free?

Yes. Keycloak is fully open-source and free to deploy and use. No licensing fees are required.

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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