Softwr

Cloud · head to head

Grafana Cloud vs Zeabur

Grafana Cloud logo

Grafana Cloud

Cloud

Composable observability platform

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Zeabur logo

Zeabur

Cloud

AI-powered cloud deployment platform for developers

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; Zeabur free plan limited to single server with 48-hour log retention
  • They diverge on capability: Grafana Cloud covers Grafana Dashboards, Zeabur covers AI Agent.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where Grafana Cloud and Zeabur differ
AttributeGrafana CloudZeabur
Pricing modelUnknownFixed monthly plans
PlatformsWeb (Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Safari), APIWeb, CLI
Founded20142025

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Cloud).

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 Zeabur

  • AI Agent
  • Managed Servers
  • Domain and DNS Management
  • Email Service
  • AI Hub
  • Deploy Templates
  • Git Integration

What people use each for

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

Grafana Cloud

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

Zeabur

  • Deploying full-stack web applications without DevOps expertisenot Grafana Cloud
  • Building AI agent infrastructure with integrated API accessnot Grafana Cloud
  • Managing multi-region deployments with automated scalingnot Grafana Cloud
  • Running containerized services with built-in domain and emailnot 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

Zeabur

  • Free plan limited to single server with 48-hour log retention
  • Small team size may limit support and feature velocity
  • Building spec upgrades limited on lower tiers
  • Enterprise support not clearly documented

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

Zeabur

Free
  • FreeFree
    • 1 manageable server
    • 2C4G build specs
    • 48-hour log retention
  • Dev$5/month
    • 3 manageable servers
    • 7-day log retention
    • 250 MB file uploads
  • Pro$19/month
    • 10 manageable servers
    • 4C8G build specs
    • 30-day log retention
  • Team$79/month
    • 3 included seats
    • Unlimited manageable servers
    • 90-day log retention

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 Zeabur if

  • You need ai agent.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, CLI.
  • You also want managed servers.
Zeabur review

Questions people ask

Is Grafana Cloud or Zeabur better?
Neither clearly leads. Grafana Cloud starts at Free and Zeabur at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Grafana Cloud or Zeabur?
Grafana Cloud starts at Free and Zeabur at Free.
Does Grafana Cloud or Zeabur run on more platforms?
Grafana Cloud runs on Web (Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Safari), API. Zeabur runs on Web, CLI.
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 Zeabur is typically brought in for.
What can Grafana Cloud do that Zeabur cannot?
Grafana Cloud covers Grafana Dashboards, Prometheus Metrics, Loki Logs, Tempo Traces. Zeabur covers AI Agent, Managed Servers, Domain and DNS Management, Email Service.

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
Zeabur: What is included in the free plan?

The free plan includes 1 manageable server, 2C4G build specifications, 48-hour log retention, 50 MB file upload limit, and community support.

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
Zeabur: How do additional seats work on the Team plan?

The Team plan includes 3 seats with additional seats available at $24 per seat per month.

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
Zeabur: Is there a free trial period?

The Dev and Pro plans include 14 days free before billing begins.

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
Share

Related pages

More on Grafana Cloud

More on Zeabur

Keep looking

Other head to heads