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Software · head to head

Grafana vs Vagrant

Grafana logo

Grafana

Software

Observability and Data Visualization

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Vagrant logo

Vagrant

Software

Development environments made easy

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; Vagrant vagrant 2.4.3 and later is licensed under the Business Source License 1.1 with IBM Corporation as licensor, not an OSI open source licence
  • They diverge on capability: Grafana covers Dashboard creation, Vagrant covers Box management.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Grafana and Vagrant actually diverge.

Attributes where Grafana and Vagrant differ
AttributeGrafanaVagrant
PlatformsWeb, ApiLinux, Windows, Mac
Founded20142010

Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (open-source), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).

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 Vagrant

  • Box management
  • Provider support
  • Multi-machine setups
  • Provisioners
  • Networking
  • Synced folders
  • Snapshots
  • Plugins

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 Vagrant
  • Running observability across infrastructure and applicationsnot Vagrant

Vagrant

  • Reproducible local development environments defined in a Vagrantfilenot Grafana
  • Provisioning identical VMs across VirtualBox, VMware and Hyper-V for a teamnot Grafana
  • Sandboxing multi-machine setups on a developer laptopnot 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

Vagrant

  • Vagrant 2.4.3 and later is licensed under the Business Source License 1.1 with IBM Corporation as licensor, not an OSI open source licence
  • The Additional Use Grant forbids offering Vagrant to third parties on a hosted or embedded basis in a paid product that competes with IBM's paid versions of Vagrant
  • Each version converts to the MPL 2.0 Change License only four years after that version is first published
  • Uses that fall outside the Additional Use Grant require a separately negotiated licence from the licensor

Pricing, plan by plan

Grafana

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Dashboard creation
    • Alerting
    • Data source integration

Vagrant

Free
  • Open SourceFree
    • Development environment provisioning
    • Multiple providers
    • Provisioner 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 Vagrant if

  • You need box management.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Windows, Mac.
  • You also want provider support.
Vagrant review

Questions people ask

Is Grafana or Vagrant better?
Neither clearly leads. Grafana starts at Free and Vagrant at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Grafana or Vagrant?
Grafana starts at Free and Vagrant at Free.
Does Grafana or Vagrant run on more platforms?
Grafana runs on Web, Api. Vagrant runs on Linux, Windows, Mac.
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 Vagrant is typically brought in for.
What can Grafana do that Vagrant cannot?
Grafana covers Dashboard creation, Alerting, Data source integration, Visualization plugins. Vagrant covers Box management, Provider support, Multi-machine setups, Provisioners.
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