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Cloud · head to head

Grafana Cloud vs Rev

Grafana Cloud logo

Grafana Cloud

Cloud

Composable observability platform

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite
Rev logo

Rev

AI

Human and AI transcription, captions and subtitles priced per minute

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; Rev human transcription at 1.99 US dollars a minute means roughly 120 dollars an hour of audio, so a long-form interview series costs more in transcription than most teams assume before they run the arithmetic.
  • They diverge on capability: Grafana Cloud covers Grafana Dashboards, Rev covers Human transcription.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where Grafana Cloud and Rev differ
AttributeGrafana CloudRev
Pricing modelUnknownPer minute for human work, per seat per month for AI
PlatformsWeb (Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Safari), APIWeb, iOS, Android, API
CategoryCloudAI
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 Rev

  • Human transcription
  • AI transcription
  • Captions and subtitles
  • Legal transcripts
  • File analysis
  • Clio integration
  • Rev API
  • Speaker identification

What people use each for

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

Grafana Cloud

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

Rev

  • A law firm that needs a deposition transcript in a court-acceptable page format with a fixed turnaround and a published per-page price it can bill to a matter.not Grafana Cloud
  • A documentary or podcast producer costing a project in advance, because human transcription at a published per-minute rate makes the transcription line item a known number.not Grafana Cloud
  • A broadcaster needing compliant human captions rather than machine captions, where accuracy is a regulatory requirement and not a convenience.not Grafana Cloud
  • A team with high AI volume and occasional high-stakes files, using the subscription for the bulk and paying the discounted human rate only where accuracy matters.not 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

Rev

  • Human transcription at 1.99 US dollars a minute means roughly 120 dollars an hour of audio, so a long-form interview series costs more in transcription than most teams assume before they run the arithmetic.
  • AI minutes are allocated per seat per month and do not roll over, so bursty workloads, which is how most media production actually behaves, waste allowance in quiet months and run out in busy ones.
  • The product direction has moved towards legal and investigative use, so a newsroom or media buyer is choosing a tool whose roadmap priority sits elsewhere.
  • Foreign-language subtitles are priced from 6.49 to 15.99 US dollars per minute, an order of magnitude above transcription, which makes multi-language localisation of any volume of video expensive enough to change the plan.
  • Human turnaround is stated in hours rather than guaranteed contractually on the published plans, so a hard broadcast or filing deadline needs an agreement beyond the standard terms.

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

Rev

Free
  • FreeFree
    • 45 AI transcription and caption minutes per month
    • Up to 5 files analysed
    • No human transcription included
  • Essentials$25.49/month
    • 5,000 AI minutes per seat per month
    • Up to 3 seats
    • 10 per cent discount on human transcription, captions and subtitles
  • Pro$47.99/month
    • 10,000 AI minutes per seat per month
    • Up to 5 seats
    • 15 per cent discount on human work
  • Unlimited$undefined/month
    • Unlimited AI minutes
    • Up to 500 files analysed at once
    • Dedicated account specialist

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 Rev if

  • You need human transcription.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android, API.
  • You also want ai transcription.
Rev review

Questions people ask

Is Grafana Cloud or Rev better?
Neither clearly leads. Grafana Cloud starts at Free and Rev at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Grafana Cloud or Rev?
Grafana Cloud starts at Free and Rev at Free.
Does Grafana Cloud or Rev run on more platforms?
Grafana Cloud runs on Web (Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Safari), API. Rev runs on Web, iOS, Android, 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 Rev is typically brought in for.
What can Grafana Cloud do that Rev cannot?
Grafana Cloud covers Grafana Dashboards, Prometheus Metrics, Loki Logs, Tempo Traces. Rev covers Human transcription, AI transcription, Captions and subtitles, Legal transcripts.

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
Rev: How much is human transcription?

1.99 US dollars per minute with a stated accuracy target above 99 per cent, typically returned within 12 hours. Subscribers get 10 to 15 per cent off.

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
Rev: Is there a free tier?

Yes, 45 AI minutes per month and up to 5 files analysed, with no human transcription included.

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
Rev: Do unused AI minutes roll over?

No. The allowance is per seat per month and resets, which penalises irregular workloads.

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
Rev: Can it do subtitles in other languages?

Yes, across seventeen languages, priced from 6.49 to 15.99 US dollars per minute, considerably more than transcription.

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
Rev: Is Rev still a good choice for newsrooms?

It works, but the subscription tiers are now positioned around legal and investigative workflows, so a newsroom should compare it against a tool built specifically for journalism.

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