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Networking · head to head

Grafana vs OPNsense

Grafana logo

Grafana

Networking

Observability and Data Visualization

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
OPNsense logo

OPNsense

Networking

FreeBSD-based firewall and routing platform with weekly updates and a full configuration API

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; OPNsense throughput depends entirely on hardware you selected yourself, and intrusion prevention at multi-gigabit rates will saturate a machine that handled plain firewalling fine, with no vendor sizing commitment to fall back on.
  • They diverge on capability: Grafana covers Dashboard creation, OPNsense covers Stateful firewall on pf.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Grafana and OPNsense actually diverge.

Attributes where Grafana and OPNsense differ
AttributeGrafanaOPNsense
Pricing modelusage-basedOpen source, no licence fee
PlatformsWeb, Apix86-64 appliances, Virtual machines, Deciso hardware
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 OPNsense

  • Stateful firewall on pf
  • VPN suite
  • Suricata IDS and IPS
  • Full configuration API
  • High availability
  • Weekly update cadence

What people use each for

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

Grafana

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

OPNsense

  • Replacing a small business firewall appliance whose renewal quote exceeded the cost of the hardwarenot Grafana
  • Branch offices where the firewall configuration must be produced by Ansible rather than by handnot Grafana
  • Sites that need WireGuard and intrusion prevention on the same box without separate feature licencesnot Grafana
  • A homelab or lab network needing VLAN routing, multi-WAN and DNS filtering on one machinenot 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

OPNsense

  • Throughput depends entirely on hardware you selected yourself, and intrusion prevention at multi-gigabit rates will saturate a machine that handled plain firewalling fine, with no vendor sizing commitment to fall back on.
  • The weekly update cadence is good for security but means more change events than a team used to annual appliance firmware, and occasional regressions reach production installations.
  • FreeBSD underneath limits driver support compared with Linux, so recent network cards and some virtualisation drivers can be unsupported or slow.
  • The plugin ecosystem is uneven in quality; some plugins are maintained by a single contributor and can lag a major release, breaking a function you depended on.
  • Community support is a forum, so an outage at two in the morning on the free edition is your problem alone unless you bought the business subscription in advance.

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

OPNsense

Free
  • OPNsense Community EditionFree
    • MIT licence with no feature restrictions
    • All VPN, IDS and HA features included
    • Weekly updates and two major releases a year
  • OPNsense Business Edition$undefined/year
    • Stabilised update track lagging community releases
    • Commercial support from Deciso
    • Additional enterprise plugins and configuration backup

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 OPNsense if

  • You need stateful firewall on pf.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on x86-64 appliances, Virtual machines, Deciso hardware.
  • You also want vpn suite.
OPNsense review

Questions people ask

Is Grafana or OPNsense better?
Neither clearly leads. Grafana starts at Free and OPNsense at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Grafana or OPNsense?
Grafana starts at Free and OPNsense at Free.
Does Grafana or OPNsense run on more platforms?
Grafana runs on Web, Api. OPNsense runs on x86-64 appliances, Virtual machines, Deciso hardware.
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 OPNsense is typically brought in for.
What can Grafana do that OPNsense cannot?
Grafana covers Dashboard creation, Alerting, Data source integration, Visualization plugins. OPNsense covers Stateful firewall on pf, VPN suite, Suricata IDS and IPS, Full configuration API.

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
OPNsense: How is it different from pfSense?

It is a 2015 fork with an MIT licence, a fixed weekly release cadence, a complete configuration API and a different interface. Feature coverage is comparable; the release process and API are the real differences.

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
OPNsense: Do I need the Business Edition?

Only if you want commercial support or a slower, stabilised update stream. No features are withheld from the community edition.

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
OPNsense: Can it handle a gigabit internet connection?

Plain firewalling on modest current hardware, comfortably. With Suricata inspection enabled, expect to need a considerably stronger CPU.

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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