Softwr

Software · head to head

Grafana Cloud vs Microsoft Azure

Grafana Cloud logo

Grafana Cloud

Software

Composable observability platform

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Microsoft Azure logo

Microsoft Azure

Software

Open and flexible cloud services

From
Free
Rated
-
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; Microsoft Azure the 12 months of free services is available only to new customers who have not previously had an Azure account or received 12 months of free services
  • They diverge on capability: Grafana Cloud covers Grafana Dashboards, Microsoft Azure covers Virtual Machines.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Grafana Cloud and Microsoft Azure actually diverge.

Attributes where Grafana Cloud and Microsoft Azure differ
AttributeGrafana CloudMicrosoft Azure
Pricing modelUnknownusage-based
PlatformsWeb (Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Safari), APIWeb, Api, Desktop, Mobile
Founded20142010

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 Grafana Cloud

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

Only in Microsoft Azure

  • Virtual Machines
  • App Service
  • SQL Database
  • Blob Storage
  • Azure Cosmos DB
  • Functions
  • Service Fabric
  • API Management

Both cover

  • Kubernetes
  • SOC2
  • HIPAA
  • Cloud deployment

What people use each for

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

Grafana Cloud

  • Infrastructure monitoringnot Microsoft Azure
  • Application monitoringnot Microsoft Azure
  • Log aggregationnot Microsoft Azure
  • Distributed tracingnot Microsoft Azure

Microsoft Azure

  • Running Windows and Linux workloads, databases and AI services on Microsoft's cloudnot Grafana Cloud
  • Extending on-premises Active Directory and Microsoft 365 estates into cloud 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

Microsoft Azure

  • The 12 months of free services is available only to new customers who have not previously had an Azure account or received 12 months of free services
  • The 12 months free offer is not available to customers who sign up directly for pay as you go in China and India
  • Customers who try Azure free must move to pay as you go within 30 days to keep receiving the 12 months of free services
  • Free services are capped at specified monthly amounts, and only some of them are always free

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

Microsoft Azure

Free
  • Free AccountFree
    • $200 credit for 30 days
    • Popular services 12 months free
    • 40+ services always free

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 Microsoft Azure if

  • You need virtual machines.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Api, Desktop, Mobile.
  • You also want app service.
Microsoft Azure review

Questions people ask

Is Grafana Cloud or Microsoft Azure better?
Neither clearly leads. Grafana Cloud starts at Free and Microsoft Azure at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Grafana Cloud or Microsoft Azure?
Grafana Cloud starts at Free and Microsoft Azure at Free.
Does Grafana Cloud or Microsoft Azure run on more platforms?
Grafana Cloud runs on Web (Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Safari), API. Microsoft Azure runs on Web, Api, Desktop, Mobile.
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 Microsoft Azure is typically brought in for.
What can Grafana Cloud do that Microsoft Azure cannot?
Grafana Cloud covers Grafana Dashboards, Prometheus Metrics, Loki Logs, Tempo Traces. Microsoft Azure covers Virtual Machines, App Service, SQL Database, Blob Storage. Both handle Kubernetes, SOC2, HIPAA, Cloud deployment.

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
ShareXLinkedInRedditWhatsAppEmail

Related pages

More on Grafana Cloud

More on Microsoft Azure

Keep looking

Other head to heads