Softwr

Networking · head to head

Grafana vs Jaeger

Grafana logo

Grafana

Networking

Observability and Data Visualization

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Jaeger logo

Jaeger

Cloud

Open-source end-to-end distributed tracing

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; Jaeger tracing is only as good as the instrumentation, and partial instrumentation produces misleading gaps
  • They diverge on capability: Grafana covers Dashboard creation, Jaeger covers Distributed trace search.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Grafana and Jaeger actually diverge.

Attributes where Grafana and Jaeger differ
AttributeGrafanaJaeger
Pricing modelusage-basedOpen source, no licence fee
PlatformsWeb, ApiLinux, Kubernetes, Docker
CategoryNetworkingCloud
Founded2014Unknown

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), 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

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

Only in Jaeger

  • Distributed trace search
  • Dependency graph
  • Adaptive sampling
  • Pluggable storage

What people use each for

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

Grafana

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

Jaeger

  • Finding which service in a request path causes the latencynot Grafana
  • Understanding real service dependencies rather than the diagram on the wikinot Grafana
  • Debugging failures that only appear under production traffic patternsnot 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

Jaeger

  • Tracing is only as good as the instrumentation, and partial instrumentation produces misleading gaps
  • Storage is the real operational cost: high-volume tracing on Elasticsearch or Cassandra is a cluster to run and pay for
  • Traces alone, without correlated metrics and logs, leave you switching between tools during an incident

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

Jaeger

Free
  • JaegerFree
    • Full functionality
    • No usage limits
    • Community support

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 Jaeger if

  • You need distributed trace search.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Kubernetes, Docker.
  • You also want dependency graph.
Jaeger review

Questions people ask

Is Grafana or Jaeger better?
Neither clearly leads. Grafana starts at Free and Jaeger at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Grafana or Jaeger?
Grafana starts at Free and Jaeger at Free.
Does Grafana or Jaeger run on more platforms?
Grafana runs on Web, Api. Jaeger runs on Linux, Kubernetes, Docker.
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 Jaeger is typically brought in for.
What can Grafana do that Jaeger cannot?
Grafana covers Dashboard creation, Alerting, Data source integration, Visualization plugins. Jaeger covers Distributed trace search, Dependency graph, Adaptive sampling, Pluggable storage.

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
Jaeger: Is Jaeger free?

Yes, open source and CNCF-graduated. Costs are the storage backend you run.

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
Jaeger: Do I use Jaeger or OpenTelemetry?

Both, usually. Instrument with OpenTelemetry and use Jaeger to store and query the traces.

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
Jaeger: Does Jaeger handle metrics and logs?

No. It is a tracing system. Metrics and logs need Prometheus, Loki or an equivalent.

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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