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Software · head to head

Grafana Cloud vs Wasabi

Grafana Cloud logo

Grafana Cloud

Software

Composable observability platform

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Wasabi logo

Wasabi

Software

Hot cloud storage without egress fees

From
$7.99/month
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; Wasabi 90-day minimum storage duration with no option to delete before full period without penalty
  • They diverge on capability: Grafana Cloud covers Grafana Dashboards, Wasabi covers Hot Cloud Storage.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where Grafana Cloud and Wasabi differ
AttributeGrafana CloudWasabi
Starting priceFree$7.99/month
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb (Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Safari), APIWeb, API
Founded20142015

Identical on both: pricing model (Unknown), 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 Wasabi

  • Hot Cloud Storage
  • S3 Compatible API
  • Object Lock
  • Versioning
  • Multi-region
  • Data Migration Tools
  • Immutability
  • Ransomware Protection

Both cover

  • SOC2
  • HIPAA
  • Encryption
  • Cloud deployment
  • Web support

What people use each for

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

Grafana Cloud

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

Wasabi

  • Backup and recoverynot Grafana Cloud
  • Media storagenot Grafana Cloud
  • Archive replacementnot Grafana Cloud
  • Ransomware protectionnot 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

Wasabi

  • 90-day minimum storage duration with no option to delete before full period without penalty
  • Significantly smaller global footprint than AWS with only 16 regions, resulting in higher latency for users in underserved regions
  • Performance can degrade with high-volume transactions requiring throughput management strategies
  • Hot storage only, no cold/archival storage tier for long-term data at lower cost
  • Support responsiveness gaps with teams experiencing multi-day waits for critical issue resolution

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

Wasabi

$7.99/month

No published plan breakdown. See the Wasabi 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 Wasabi if

  • You need hot cloud storage.
  • You work on Web, API.
  • You also want s3 compatible api.
Wasabi review

Questions people ask

Is Grafana Cloud or Wasabi better?
Neither clearly leads. Grafana Cloud starts at Free and Wasabi at $7.99/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Grafana Cloud or Wasabi?
Grafana Cloud has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Grafana Cloud and $7.99/month for Wasabi.
Does Grafana Cloud or Wasabi run on more platforms?
Grafana Cloud runs on Web (Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Safari), API. Wasabi runs on Web, API.
Can I use Grafana Cloud for free?
Yes. Grafana Cloud has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Wasabi starts at $7.99/month.
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 Wasabi is typically brought in for.
What can Grafana Cloud do that Wasabi cannot?
Grafana Cloud covers Grafana Dashboards, Prometheus Metrics, Loki Logs, Tempo Traces. Wasabi covers Hot Cloud Storage, S3 Compatible API, Object Lock, Versioning. Both handle SOC2, HIPAA, Encryption, Cloud deployment.

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
Wasabi: What is Wasabi's pricing structure?

Wasabi offers pay-as-you-go pricing at $7.99 per TB per month as of July 2026, with no egress or API request fees. Reserved capacity plans are available for multi-year terms with volume discounts.

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
Wasabi: Does Wasabi charge for data downloads or API calls?

No. Wasabi includes zero egress fees and zero API request fees, which is a major cost advantage over AWS S3. Customers can plan their budget to the penny without worrying about surprise data transfer charges.

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
Wasabi: Is there a minimum storage duration requirement?

Yes. Wasabi enforces a 90-day minimum storage term. Users who delete data before 90 days are still charged for the full 90-day period.

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
Wasabi: Is Wasabi S3-compatible?

Yes. Wasabi Hot Cloud Storage is fully S3-compatible, meaning organizations can integrate it into existing workflows without rewriting application code used with AWS S3.

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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