Softwr

Networking · head to head

Grafana vs ThousandEyes

Grafana logo

Grafana

Networking

Observability and Data Visualization

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
ThousandEyes logo

ThousandEyes

Networking

Internet and network path monitoring, owned by Cisco but still sold as a standalone product on its own annual contracts

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only; ThousandEyes cisco does not publish a current definitive rate card, so any price a buyer finds online is likely outdated and should be confirmed directly with sales before budgeting
  • They diverge on capability: Grafana covers Dashboard creation, ThousandEyes covers Path visualisation.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Grafana and ThousandEyes actually diverge.

Attributes where Grafana and ThousandEyes differ
AttributeGrafanaThousandEyes
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelusage-basedquote, unit-based consumption on annual or prepaid contracts
Free tierYesNo
Founded2014Unknown

Identical on both: platforms (Web, Api), 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 ThousandEyes

  • Path visualisation
  • Cloud, enterprise and endpoint agents
  • Internet Insights
  • Cisco ecosystem integration
  • Unit-based consumption billing

What people use each for

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

Grafana

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

ThousandEyes

  • A network operations team at a large enterprise needing to diagnose whether a performance problem sits inside their network, with an ISP, or at the destinationnot Grafana
  • An organisation already standardised on Cisco networking wanting internet path monitoring that integrates with existing Cisco toolingnot Grafana
  • A company needing endpoint agent testing from real employee devices to reproduce user-reported performance issuesnot Grafana
  • An SRE team wanting aggregated internet outage and BGP visibility across a wide customer base rather than building that dataset themselvesnot 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

ThousandEyes

  • Cisco does not publish a current definitive rate card, so any price a buyer finds online is likely outdated and should be confirmed directly with sales before budgeting
  • A 12-month minimum contract removes the option to trial the platform under real production load on a shorter commitment
  • Unit-based consumption billing across different test types is not always intuitive to forecast, and usage can grow unpredictably as more tests and agents are added
  • Since the Cisco acquisition, purchasing now runs through Cisco's broader enterprise sales and licensing process, which can be slower and less transparent than dealing with a smaller standalone vendor
  • Deep Cisco ecosystem integration is a real advantage only for organisations already standardised on Cisco; it offers less differentiated value for a non-Cisco shop
  • Endpoint agent pricing tiers (Essentials versus Advantage) gate meaningfully different capability, and choosing the wrong tier at signup can mean a contract renegotiation to get needed features

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

ThousandEyes

On request
  • ThousandEyes$undefined/year
    • Cloud and enterprise agent testing
    • Endpoint agents
    • Internet Insights

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 ThousandEyes if

  • You need path visualisation.
  • You work on Web, API.
  • You also want cloud, enterprise and endpoint agents.
ThousandEyes review

Questions people ask

Is Grafana or ThousandEyes better?
Neither clearly leads. Grafana starts at Free and ThousandEyes at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Grafana or ThousandEyes?
Grafana has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Grafana and On request for ThousandEyes.
Does Grafana or ThousandEyes run on more platforms?
Grafana runs on Web, Api. ThousandEyes runs on Web, API.
Can I use Grafana for free?
Yes. Grafana has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. ThousandEyes 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 ThousandEyes is typically brought in for.
What can Grafana do that ThousandEyes cannot?
Grafana covers Dashboard creation, Alerting, Data source integration, Visualization plugins. ThousandEyes covers Path visualisation, Cloud, enterprise and endpoint agents, Internet Insights, Cisco ecosystem integration.

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
ThousandEyes: Is ThousandEyes still sold as a standalone product after the Cisco acquisition?

Yes, it remains a distinct, purchasable product line rather than being merged into another Cisco offering.

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
ThousandEyes: Is there a published, current price list?

No, Cisco does not publish a definitive current rate card; historical unit prices exist online but should not be treated as confirmed 2026 pricing.

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
ThousandEyes: What is the minimum contract length?

12 months.

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
Share

Related pages

More on Grafana

More on ThousandEyes

Keep looking

Other head to heads