Network & Connectivity · head to head
Grafana vs Splunk
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Grafana the free tier retains metrics, logs and traces for 14 days only; Splunk no prices are published on any plan; every model requires contacting sales for an estimate
- They diverge on capability: Grafana covers Dashboard creation, Splunk covers Log aggregation.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Grafana and Splunk actually diverge.
Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), platforms (Web, Api), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Network & Connectivity).
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
Only in Splunk
- Log aggregation
- Real-time monitoring
- Data visualization
- Full-text search
- Custom dashboards
- Alert management
- Anomaly detection
- Log parsing
Both cover
- API
- Webhooks
- REST
- Web support
- Api support
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Grafana
- Dashboards and visualisation over metrics, logs and tracesnot Splunk
- Running observability across infrastructure and applicationsnot Splunk
Splunk
- Log search and analysis across infrastructurenot Grafana
- SIEM, SOAR and UEBA for a security operations teamnot Grafana
- Application performance and infrastructure monitoringnot Grafana
- Cloud, private cloud or on-premises deploymentnot 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
Splunk
- No prices are published on any plan; every model requires contacting sales for an estimate
- Three separate pricing models, workload, ingest and entity, so the same deployment costs different amounts depending on which was signed
- Ingest pricing bills on data volume, so cost tracks how much you log rather than how much value you get from it
- Security, observability and platform are priced separately
Pricing, plan by plan
Grafana
Free- FreeFree
- Dashboard creation
- Alerting
- Data source integration
Splunk
Free- FreeFree
- Log aggregation
- Real-time monitoring
- Data visualization
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.
Choose Splunk if
- You need log aggregation.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, Api.
- You also want real-time monitoring.
Questions people ask
- Is Grafana or Splunk better?
- Neither clearly leads. Grafana starts at Free and Splunk at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Grafana or Splunk?
- Grafana starts at Free and Splunk at Free.
- Does Grafana or Splunk run on more platforms?
- Both run on Web, Api, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
- 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 dashboards and visualisation over metrics, logs and traces, running observability across infrastructure and applications. Of those, dashboards and visualisation over metrics, logs and traces and running observability across infrastructure and applications are not what Splunk is typically brought in for.
- What can Grafana do that Splunk cannot?
- Grafana covers Dashboard creation, Alerting, Data source integration, Visualization plugins. Splunk covers Log aggregation, Real-time monitoring, Data visualization, Full-text search. Both handle API, Webhooks, REST, Web support.
Related pages
Other head to heads
- Grafana vs Prometheus
- Grafana vs Cloudflare
- Grafana vs Consul
- Grafana vs Ivanti
- Grafana vs Palo Alto Networks
- Grafana vs Tailscale
- Grafana vs Traefik
- Grafana vs Ubiquiti UniFi
- Splunk vs Prometheus
- Splunk vs Cloudflare
- Splunk vs Consul
- Splunk vs Ivanti
- Splunk vs Palo Alto Networks
- Splunk vs Tailscale
- Splunk vs Traefik
- Splunk vs Ubiquiti UniFi