Software · head to head
Grafana Cloud vs New Relic
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; New Relic data ingest costs can be high for large-scale deployments with high logging volume, making budgeting difficult
- They diverge on capability: Grafana Cloud covers Grafana Dashboards, New Relic covers APM.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Grafana Cloud and New Relic actually diverge.
| Attribute | Grafana Cloud | New Relic |
|---|---|---|
| Platforms | Web (Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Safari), API | Web, Api, Mobile |
| Founded | 2014 | 2008 |
Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (Unknown), 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
- Incident Management
- Docker
Only in New Relic
- APM
- Infrastructure Monitoring
- Log Management
- Browser Monitoring
- Mobile Monitoring
- Kubernetes Monitoring
- AI Ops
- GitHub
Both cover
- Synthetic Monitoring
- AWS
- Azure
- GCP
- Kubernetes
- PagerDuty
- SOC2
- HIPAA
- Cloud deployment
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Grafana Cloud
- Infrastructure monitoring
- Application monitoring
- Log aggregationnot New Relic
- Distributed tracingnot New Relic
New Relic
- Application monitoring
- Infrastructure monitoring
- Error trackingnot Grafana Cloud
- Performance optimizationnot Grafana Cloud
Both are used for infrastructure monitoring, application monitoring, on those jobs the choice comes down to price and fit rather than capability.
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
New Relic
- Data ingest costs can be high for large-scale deployments with high logging volume, making budgeting difficult
- Core user licensing model adds complexity to pricing with distinction between full platform users and basic users
- Default logs obfuscation may miss some sensitive patterns requiring custom configuration
- Retention limits even on paid tiers require additional storage for long-term compliance requirements
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
New Relic
FreeNo published plan breakdown. See the New Relic review.
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.
Choose New Relic if
- You need apm.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, Api, Mobile.
- You also want infrastructure monitoring.
Questions people ask
- Is Grafana Cloud or New Relic better?
- Neither clearly leads. Grafana Cloud starts at Free and New Relic at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Grafana Cloud or New Relic?
- Grafana Cloud starts at Free and New Relic at Free.
- Does Grafana Cloud or New Relic run on more platforms?
- Grafana Cloud runs on Web (Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Safari), API. New Relic runs on Web, Api, 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, log aggregation and distributed tracing are not what New Relic is typically brought in for.
- What can Grafana Cloud do that New Relic cannot?
- Grafana Cloud covers Grafana Dashboards, Prometheus Metrics, Loki Logs, Tempo Traces. New Relic covers APM, Infrastructure Monitoring, Log Management, Browser Monitoring. Both handle Synthetic Monitoring, AWS, Azure, GCP.
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.
SourceNew Relic: Does New Relic offer a free tier?
Yes, New Relic's free tier is perpetual with no credit card required. It includes 100 GB of free data ingest monthly, one Full Platform User with access to all 50+ capabilities, and unlimited Basic Users for querying and dashboard creation.
SourceGrafana 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.
SourceNew Relic: How much does New Relic cost for paid plans?
Paid plans start at $49 per month per core user. New Relic uses consumption-based pricing where you pay only for what you use. Annual commitment options are available with volume discounts for larger teams.
SourceGrafana 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.
SourceNew Relic: What data retention is included in New Relic's free tier?
The free tier includes a minimum of 8 days data retention for troubleshooting. Paid plans offer extended retention periods and customizable data retention policies.
SourceGrafana 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.
SourceNew Relic: How many integrations does New Relic support?
New Relic provides access to 780+ integrations and unlimited hosts at no additional cost. These include monitoring integrations for various cloud services, databases, and applications.
SourceGrafana 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.
SourceNew Relic: Can I use New Relic to monitor multiple cloud providers?
Yes, New Relic is cloud-agnostic and supports monitoring across AWS, Google Cloud, Azure, and on-premises infrastructure in a single platform.
SourceNew Relic: What is New Relic's ownership structure today?
New Relic was acquired by TPG and Francisco Partners on July 31, 2023, for $6.5 billion and transitioned from a publicly traded company to a private company in November 2023.
Source