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Cloud · head to head

Grafana Cloud vs Sysdig

Grafana Cloud logo

Grafana Cloud

Cloud

Composable observability platform

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Sysdig logo

Sysdig

Cybersecurity

Cloud-native runtime security platform with real-time detection and response

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Grafana Cloud has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • 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; Sysdig custom pricing requires sales contact, difficult to compare costs
  • They diverge on capability: Grafana Cloud covers Grafana Dashboards, Sysdig covers Real-time threat detection and response.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where Grafana Cloud and Sysdig differ
AttributeGrafana CloudSysdig
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelUnknownCustom pricing based on number of hosts, events processed, or time series data
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb (Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Safari), APIKubernetes, Docker, AWS, GCP, Azure, Cloud-native
CategoryCloudCybersecurity
Founded20142013

Identical on both: 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 Sysdig

  • Real-time threat detection and response
  • Runtime intelligence
  • AI-powered security agents
  • Vulnerability management
  • Cloud Security Posture Management
  • Container and Kubernetes security
  • Infrastructure as Code security
  • Cloud Infrastructure Entitlement Management

What people use each for

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

Grafana Cloud

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

Sysdig

  • Real-time threat detection in Kubernetes clustersnot Grafana Cloud
  • Container workload vulnerability prioritizationnot Grafana Cloud
  • Cloud security posture compliance monitoringnot Grafana Cloud
  • Infrastructure entitlement and permission analysisnot Grafana Cloud
  • AI workload security and threat remediationnot 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

Sysdig

  • Custom pricing requires sales contact, difficult to compare costs
  • No published pricing tiers or calculator available
  • Primarily focused on cloud-native environments
  • Requires integration with existing SIEM or monitoring tools for full visibility
  • Steep learning curve for runtime security concepts

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

Sysdig

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the Sysdig 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.
Grafana Cloud review

Choose Sysdig if

  • You need real-time threat detection and response.
  • You work on Kubernetes, Docker, AWS, GCP, Azure, Cloud-native.
  • You also want runtime intelligence.
Sysdig review

Questions people ask

Is Grafana Cloud or Sysdig better?
Neither clearly leads. Grafana Cloud starts at Free and Sysdig at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Grafana Cloud or Sysdig?
Grafana Cloud has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Grafana Cloud and On request for Sysdig.
Does Grafana Cloud or Sysdig run on more platforms?
Grafana Cloud runs on Web (Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Safari), API. Sysdig runs on Kubernetes, Docker, AWS, GCP, Azure, Cloud-native.
Can I use Grafana Cloud for free?
Yes. Grafana Cloud has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Sysdig starts at On request.
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 Sysdig is typically brought in for.
What can Grafana Cloud do that Sysdig cannot?
Grafana Cloud covers Grafana Dashboards, Prometheus Metrics, Loki Logs, Tempo Traces. Sysdig covers Real-time threat detection and response, Runtime intelligence, AI-powered security agents, Vulnerability management.

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
Sysdig: How does Sysdig achieve real-time threat detection?

Sysdig uses runtime intelligence with kernel-level system visibility, capturing live system calls to detect threats at machine speed, typically within 2 seconds.

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
Sysdig: What is runtime intelligence and how does it differ from configuration-based security?

Runtime intelligence reveals what is actually executing in cloud environments through kernel-level visibility, rather than relying on theoretical risks from configuration analysis alone.

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
Sysdig: What cloud platforms does Sysdig support?

Sysdig supports AWS, GCP, Azure, and IBM Cloud with multiple regional data centers across US, EU, and other regions.

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
Sysdig: Does Sysdig integrate with existing security tools?

Yes, Sysdig integrates with existing SIEM and monitoring tools to provide unified security visibility across cloud infrastructure.

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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