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Networking · head to head

Grafana vs MikroTik RouterOS

Grafana logo

Grafana

Networking

Observability and Data Visualization

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
MikroTik RouterOS logo

MikroTik RouterOS

Networking

Router and network operating system with a one-time perpetual licence rather than a recurring subscription

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Grafana has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Grafana the free tier retains metrics, logs and traces for 14 days only; MikroTik RouterOS the management interface and overall polish are less refined than enterprise competitors like Cisco or Juniper, and the learning curve for advanced configuration is real
  • They diverge on capability: Grafana covers Dashboard creation, MikroTik RouterOS covers Full routing and firewall stack.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Grafana and MikroTik RouterOS actually diverge.

Attributes where Grafana and MikroTik RouterOS differ
AttributeGrafanaMikroTik RouterOS
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelusage-basedOne-time purchase, per licence level
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, ApiWeb
Founded2014Unknown

Identical on both: 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 MikroTik RouterOS

  • Full routing and firewall stack
  • Perpetual licensing
  • Cloud Hosted Router (CHR)
  • Winbox and CLI management
  • Wireless and VLAN support

What people use each for

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

Grafana

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

MikroTik RouterOS

  • A network engineer or small ISP wanting capable BGP and firewall routing hardware at a lower total cost than Cisco or Juniper equivalentsnot Grafana
  • An organisation that specifically wants to avoid ongoing recurring licence dependency for core routing hardwarenot Grafana
  • A team wanting to run RouterOS as a virtual router in the cloud (CHR) with its own separate perpetual licensing tiersnot Grafana
  • A hobbyist or small business self-managing network infrastructure without a vendor support contractnot 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

MikroTik RouterOS

  • The management interface and overall polish are less refined than enterprise competitors like Cisco or Juniper, and the learning curve for advanced configuration is real
  • Formal vendor support is thinner than what an enterprise buyer gets from Cisco or Juniper; community forums and documentation are the primary self-support resource
  • Feature and licence-level naming (Level 3 through Level 6, and separately Free/P1/P10/P-Unlimited on CHR) is confusing enough that buyers commonly need to research which level a given deployment actually requires
  • Perpetual licensing on hardware, while avoiding a recurring fee, also means MikroTik has less ongoing incentive to keep pushing free feature updates to a specific licence level indefinitely, and major version jumps sometimes bring new requirements
  • Hardware build quality and long-term reliability at the low end of MikroTik's range is more variable than higher-priced enterprise-grade routing hardware
  • Security patch cadence and past history of vulnerabilities in RouterOS mean patching discipline matters more without vendor-managed cloud updates the way Meraki or Mist provide automatically

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

MikroTik RouterOS

On request
  • RouterOS (bundled with hardware)$undefined/one-time
    • Licence level included with the router purchase price
    • Perpetual, does not expire
  • Cloud Hosted Router (CHR)$undefined/one-time
    • Free tier available with throughput limits
    • P1, P10 and P-Unlimited perpetual licence levels
    • 60-day trial on paid levels

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 MikroTik RouterOS if

  • You need full routing and firewall stack.
  • You also want perpetual licensing.
MikroTik RouterOS review

Questions people ask

Is Grafana or MikroTik RouterOS better?
Neither clearly leads. Grafana starts at Free and MikroTik RouterOS at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Grafana or MikroTik RouterOS?
Grafana has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Grafana and On request for MikroTik RouterOS.
Does Grafana or MikroTik RouterOS run on more platforms?
Grafana runs on Web, Api. MikroTik RouterOS runs on Web.
Can I use Grafana for free?
Yes. Grafana has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. MikroTik RouterOS starts at On request.
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 MikroTik RouterOS is typically brought in for.
What can Grafana do that MikroTik RouterOS cannot?
Grafana covers Dashboard creation, Alerting, Data source integration, Visualization plugins. MikroTik RouterOS covers Full routing and firewall stack, Perpetual licensing, Cloud Hosted Router (CHR), Winbox and CLI management.

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
MikroTik RouterOS: Does a MikroTik router stop working if I stop paying anything?

No, the RouterOS licence bundled with hardware is a one-time purchase and does not expire or require ongoing payment.

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
MikroTik RouterOS: Is CHR licensed the same way as physical hardware?

It uses its own separate perpetual licence tiers (Free, P1, P10, P-Unlimited) rather than the Level 3-6 scheme used on physical hardware.

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
MikroTik RouterOS: Can I upgrade a licence level later?

Yes, upgrading to a higher licence level is possible at the price difference between levels rather than buying a new licence outright.

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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