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Networking · head to head

Grafana vs Icinga

Grafana logo

Grafana

Networking

Observability and Data Visualization

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Icinga logo

Icinga

Networking

Open source infrastructure monitoring, free at its core, with paid support and modules sold separately by Icinga GmbH

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Grafana the free tier retains metrics, logs and traces for 14 days only; Icinga the free core has no vendor SLA, so production incidents are supported through community channels unless a paid support subscription is purchased
  • They diverge on capability: Grafana covers Dashboard creation, Icinga covers Forever Free core.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Grafana and Icinga actually diverge.

Attributes where Grafana and Icinga differ
AttributeGrafanaIcinga
Pricing modelusage-basedOpen source core, with paid repository, module and support subscriptions sold separately
PlatformsWeb, ApiLinux, Web
Founded2014Unknown

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

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

  • Dashboard creation
  • Alerting
  • Data source integration
  • Visualization plugins
  • API
  • Webhooks
  • REST
  • Web support

Only in Icinga

  • Forever Free core
  • Clustering and HA
  • Icinga Web and API
  • Enterprise modules (paid)
  • Integration ecosystem

What people use each for

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

Grafana

  • Metrics visualization and monitoringnot Icinga
  • Log aggregation and analysisnot Icinga
  • Distributed traces managementnot Icinga
  • System performance profilingnot Icinga

Icinga

  • An IT team wanting unlimited-scale open source monitoring with no per-host licence fee, running standard Linux distributionsnot Grafana
  • An organisation on RHEL or SLES that wants officially packaged Icinga builds via the repository subscription rather than building from sourcenot Grafana
  • A team wanting an SLA-backed vendor support relationship rather than relying on community forums for a production monitoring systemnot Grafana
  • A company already invested in Prometheus and Grafana wanting to add host and service-level alerting from a compatible open source toolnot Grafana

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Grafana

  • The free tier retains metrics, logs and traces for 14 days only
  • Free is capped at 10,000 active metric series and 50 GB each of logs and traces a month
  • The Pro plan carries a $19 a month platform fee before any usage charges
  • Logs and traces are billed on three separate meters, at $0.050 per GB processed, $0.400 per GB written and $0.100 per GB retained
  • Retaining data is an ongoing charge rather than a one off, so historical data costs every month it exists

Icinga

  • The free core has no vendor SLA, so production incidents are supported through community channels unless a paid support subscription is purchased
  • Repository access for enterprise Linux distributions like RHEL and SLES is not free, so organisations standardised on those distributions face a real recurring cost most open source monitoring buyers do not expect
  • Enterprise modules are gated behind a separate module subscription, so some functionality demonstrated in marketing material is not part of the free core
  • Self-hosting and operating Icinga requires real Linux and monitoring expertise that a commercial SaaS tool would otherwise absorb, so total cost of ownership includes staff time not captured in the licence price
  • Pricing for the paid subscriptions varies by geographic region and is not published as a single global rate card, complicating budgeting for multinational organisations
  • The web interface and configuration language, while capable, are less immediately polished than a fully commercial tool like PRTG, and initial setup takes longer to reach a usable state

Pricing, plan by plan

Grafana

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Limited usage across all services
    • 14-day retention for metrics, logs, traces, profiles
    • Community support only
  • Pro$19/month
    • Pay-as-you-go pricing with volume discounts
    • 13-month retention for metrics
    • 30-day retention for logs/traces/profiles
  • Enterprise$25000/year
    • Custom pricing based on annual volume
    • Premium support included
    • Custom retention options

Icinga

Free
  • IcingaFree
    • Unlimited hosts and services
    • Clustering and API
    • Community support
  • Support Subscription$undefined/year
    • Professional support (8x5 or 24/7)
    • Includes module and repository subscriptions

Which should you pick?

Choose Grafana if

  • You need dashboard creation.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Api.
  • You also want alerting.
Grafana review

Choose Icinga if

  • You need forever free core.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Web.
  • You also want clustering and ha.
Icinga review

Questions people ask

Is Grafana or Icinga better?
Neither clearly leads. Grafana starts at Free and Icinga at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Grafana or Icinga?
Grafana starts at Free and Icinga at Free.
Does Grafana or Icinga run on more platforms?
Grafana runs on Web, Api. Icinga runs on Linux, Web.
Can I use Grafana for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Grafana best used for?
Grafana is most often used for metrics visualization and monitoring, log aggregation and analysis, distributed traces management, system performance profiling. Of those, metrics visualization and monitoring and log aggregation and analysis are not what Icinga is typically brought in for.
What can Grafana do that Icinga cannot?
Grafana covers Dashboard creation, Alerting, Data source integration, Visualization plugins. Icinga covers Forever Free core, Clustering and HA, Icinga Web and API, Enterprise modules (paid).

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Grafana: What is Grafana's pricing model?

Grafana offers a freemium model with a free tier, Pro tier starting at 19 USD/month with pay-as-you-go usage charges, and Enterprise plans starting at 25000 USD/year.

Source
Icinga: Is Icinga free to run in production?

Yes, the core platform has no licence fee and no limit on hosts or services monitored.

Grafana: How long is data retention for each plan?

Free tier provides 14-day retention for metrics, logs, traces, and profiles. Pro tier extends this to 13 months for metrics and 30 days for logs/traces/profiles. Enterprise offers custom retention options.

Source
Icinga: What do the paid subscriptions actually add?

A repository subscription provides packages for certain enterprise Linux distributions, a module subscription unlocks enterprise-only add-on modules, and a support subscription bundles both with professional support.

Grafana: What support is included in each tier?

Free tier includes community support only. Pro tier provides 8 times 5 email support. Enterprise includes premium 24/7 support.

Source
Icinga: Is Icinga related to Nagios?

Yes, it originated as a fork of Nagios but has since diverged into an independently developed platform.

Grafana: Does Grafana offer volume discounts?

Yes, Grafana uses adaptive pricing with automatic volume discounts as usage scales, and provides cost-optimization tools to help eliminate spending on unused data.

Source
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