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Cloud & Infrastructure · head to head

Grafana Cloud vs Ubiquiti UniFi

Grafana Cloud logo

Grafana Cloud

Cloud & Infrastructure

Composable observability platform

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
U

Ubiquiti UniFi

Network & Connectivity

Effortlessly manage 100+ APs in the same way you manage an individual AP

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; Ubiquiti UniFi product page states no licensing fees but publishes no hardware price; buyers must go to the Ubiquiti Store or an authorized distributor for a figure

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Grafana Cloud and Ubiquiti UniFi actually diverge.

Attributes where Grafana Cloud and Ubiquiti UniFi differ
AttributeGrafana CloudUbiquiti UniFi
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelUnknownone-time
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb (Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Safari), APIWeb
CategoryCloud & InfrastructureNetwork & Connectivity
Founded2014Unknown

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 Ubiquiti UniFi

Nothing recorded that Grafana Cloud does not also cover.

What people use each for

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

Grafana Cloud

  • Infrastructure monitoringnot Ubiquiti UniFi
  • Application monitoringnot Ubiquiti UniFi
  • Log aggregationnot Ubiquiti UniFi
  • Distributed tracingnot Ubiquiti UniFi

Ubiquiti UniFi

No use cases recorded yet. See the Ubiquiti UniFi review.

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

Ubiquiti UniFi

  • Product page states no licensing fees but publishes no hardware price; buyers must go to the Ubiquiti Store or an authorized distributor for a figure
  • Newest WiFi 7 access points such as the U7 Pro require compatible UniFi controller hardware or cloud console to manage centrally

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

Ubiquiti UniFi

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the Ubiquiti UniFi 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 Ubiquiti UniFi if

Nothing in the data separates Ubiquiti UniFi from Grafana Cloud on the points above - pick on price and on how each one feels to use.

Ubiquiti UniFi review

Questions people ask

Is Grafana Cloud or Ubiquiti UniFi better?
Neither clearly leads. Grafana Cloud starts at Free and Ubiquiti UniFi at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Grafana Cloud or Ubiquiti UniFi?
Grafana Cloud has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Grafana Cloud and On request for Ubiquiti UniFi.
Does Grafana Cloud or Ubiquiti UniFi run on more platforms?
Grafana Cloud runs on Web (Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Safari), API. Ubiquiti UniFi runs on Web.
Can I use Grafana Cloud for free?
Yes. Grafana Cloud has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Ubiquiti UniFi 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 Ubiquiti UniFi is typically brought in for.
What can Grafana Cloud do that Ubiquiti UniFi cannot?
Grafana Cloud covers Grafana Dashboards, Prometheus Metrics, Loki Logs, Tempo Traces.

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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