Cloud & Infrastructure · head to head
Hetzner Cloud vs Grafana Cloud
Hetzner Cloud
Cloud & Infrastructure
Affordable cloud servers in Europe
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
Grafana Cloud
Cloud & Infrastructure
Composable observability platform
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Hetzner Cloud cost-Optimized plans are shown as currently unavailable; Grafana Cloud active Series (AS) billing model is difficult to predict and control; misconfiguration can cause sudden spikes and unexpected bills
- They diverge on capability: Hetzner Cloud covers Cloud servers, Grafana Cloud covers Grafana Dashboards.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Hetzner Cloud and Grafana Cloud actually diverge.
| Attribute | Hetzner Cloud | Grafana Cloud |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | usage-based | Unknown |
| Platforms | Web, Api, Cli | Web (Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Safari), API |
| Founded | 1997 | 2014 |
Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Cloud & Infrastructure).
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 Hetzner Cloud
- Cloud servers
- Block storage
- Object storage
- Load balancers
- Networks
- Firewalls
- Floating IPs
- Backups
Only in Grafana Cloud
- Grafana Dashboards
- Prometheus Metrics
- Loki Logs
- Tempo Traces
- Alerting
- OnCall
- Synthetic Monitoring
- Incident Management
Both cover
- Docker
- Kubernetes
- Cloud deployment
- Web support
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Hetzner Cloud
- Low-cost virtual servers for development and testingnot Grafana Cloud
- European hosting with data held in Germany or Finlandnot Grafana Cloud
- Workloads with heavy egress, where included traffic mattersnot Grafana Cloud
- Self-hosting applications away from the hyperscalersnot Grafana Cloud
Grafana Cloud
- Infrastructure monitoringnot Hetzner Cloud
- Application monitoringnot Hetzner Cloud
- Log aggregationnot Hetzner Cloud
- Distributed tracingnot Hetzner Cloud
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Hetzner Cloud
- Cost-Optimized plans are shown as currently unavailable
- The shared-resource tiers are positioned for variable usage and development rather than sustained production workloads
- Regions are limited to Germany, Finland, the United States and Singapore, so latency to other markets is a real constraint
- The uptime guarantee is 99.9 percent, below what the large hyperscalers offer on comparable services
- Support is 24/7 by email, without a phone channel
Grafana Cloud
- Active Series (AS) billing model is difficult to predict and control; misconfiguration can cause sudden spikes and unexpected bills
- Reduced control and customization compared to self-hosted Grafana instances
- Data sovereignty concerns for organizations requiring on-premises data retention
- Limited reporting types compared to traditional BI tools for compliance and audit requirements
Pricing, plan by plan
Hetzner Cloud
Free- CX11$3.29/month
- 1 vCPU
- 1GB RAM
- 25GB SSD
- CX21$6.59/month
- 2 vCPU
- 4GB RAM
- 40GB SSD
Grafana Cloud
Free- FreeFree
- 10k active series (metrics)
- 50GB logs/traces per month
- 3 active users
- Pro$19/month
- Usage-based pricing beyond free tier
- 8 USD per active visualization user
- Included Grafana Alerting
- Enterprise$25000/year
- Minimum annual commitment
- Full-service deployment options
- Premium support
Which should you pick?
Choose Hetzner Cloud if
- You need cloud servers.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, Api, Cli.
- You also want block storage.
Choose Grafana Cloud if
- You need grafana dashboards.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web (Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Safari), API.
- You also want prometheus metrics.
Questions people ask
- Is Hetzner Cloud or Grafana Cloud better?
- Neither clearly leads. Hetzner Cloud starts at Free and Grafana Cloud at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Hetzner Cloud or Grafana Cloud?
- Hetzner Cloud starts at Free and Grafana Cloud at Free.
- Does Hetzner Cloud or Grafana Cloud run on more platforms?
- Hetzner Cloud runs on Web, Api, Cli. Grafana Cloud runs on Web (Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Safari), API.
- Can I use Hetzner Cloud for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is Hetzner Cloud best used for?
- Hetzner Cloud is most often used for low-cost virtual servers for development and testing, european hosting with data held in germany or finland, workloads with heavy egress, where included traffic matters, self-hosting applications away from the hyperscalers. Of those, low-cost virtual servers for development and testing and european hosting with data held in germany or finland are not what Grafana Cloud is typically brought in for.
- What can Hetzner Cloud do that Grafana Cloud cannot?
- Hetzner Cloud covers Cloud servers, Block storage, Object storage, Load balancers. Grafana Cloud covers Grafana Dashboards, Prometheus Metrics, Loki Logs, Tempo Traces. Both handle Docker, Kubernetes, Cloud deployment, Web support.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
Grafana Cloud: What are the exact limits of Grafana Cloud's free tier?
Grafana Cloud free tier includes 10,000 active series for metrics, 50GB logs and traces per month, 3 active visualization users, and 14-day retention with community support. No credit card required.
SourceGrafana Cloud: How is Grafana Cloud billed, and what are the per-unit costs?
Grafana Cloud Pro tier starts at $19/month platform fee plus usage-based charges. Metrics cost $6.50 per 1,000 active series above free limits, logs and traces are charged per GB ingested, and visualization users are $8 per active user.
SourceGrafana Cloud: Can I use Grafana Cloud for open-source Grafana deployments?
Grafana Cloud is the managed cloud service version. Open-source Grafana is free and can be self-hosted indefinitely on your own infrastructure.
SourceGrafana Cloud: What observability signals does Grafana Cloud include?
Grafana Cloud includes metrics (via Mimir), logs (via Loki), traces (via Tempo), profiles, and synthetics, with unified querying and visualization across all signals.
SourceGrafana Cloud: Does Grafana Cloud include alerting and how is it priced?
Yes, Grafana Alerting is included at no additional charge across all tiers. Rule storage, evaluation, and notification delivery are covered by the platform fee with no per-alert or per-notification fees.
Source