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Software · head to head

Grafana Cloud vs Splunk

Grafana Cloud logo

Grafana Cloud

Software

Composable observability platform

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Splunk logo

Splunk

Software

Turn Data Into Doing

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; Splunk no prices are published on any plan; every model requires contacting sales for an estimate
  • They diverge on capability: Grafana Cloud covers Grafana Dashboards, Splunk covers Log aggregation.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where Grafana Cloud and Splunk differ
AttributeGrafana CloudSplunk
Pricing modelUnknownusage-based
PlatformsWeb (Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Safari), APIWeb, Api
Founded20142003

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 Splunk

  • Log aggregation
  • Real-time monitoring
  • Data visualization
  • Full-text search
  • Custom dashboards
  • Alert management
  • Anomaly detection
  • Log parsing

Both cover

  • Web support

What people use each for

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

Grafana Cloud

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

Splunk

  • Log search and analysis across infrastructurenot Grafana Cloud
  • SIEM, SOAR and UEBA for a security operations teamnot Grafana Cloud
  • Application performance and infrastructure monitoringnot Grafana Cloud
  • Cloud, private cloud or on-premises deploymentnot 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

Splunk

  • No prices are published on any plan; every model requires contacting sales for an estimate
  • Three separate pricing models, workload, ingest and entity, so the same deployment costs different amounts depending on which was signed
  • Ingest pricing bills on data volume, so cost tracks how much you log rather than how much value you get from it
  • Security, observability and platform are priced separately

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

Splunk

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Log aggregation
    • Real-time monitoring
    • Data visualization

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 Splunk if

  • You need log aggregation.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Api.
  • You also want real-time monitoring.
Splunk review

Questions people ask

Is Grafana Cloud or Splunk better?
Neither clearly leads. Grafana Cloud starts at Free and Splunk at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Grafana Cloud or Splunk?
Grafana Cloud starts at Free and Splunk at Free.
Does Grafana Cloud or Splunk run on more platforms?
Grafana Cloud runs on Web (Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Safari), API. Splunk runs on Web, 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 Splunk is typically brought in for.
What can Grafana Cloud do that Splunk cannot?
Grafana Cloud covers Grafana Dashboards, Prometheus Metrics, Loki Logs, Tempo Traces. Splunk covers Log aggregation, Real-time monitoring, Data visualization, Full-text search. Both handle Web support.

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
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