Software · head to head
New Relic vs Grafana Cloud
The short version
- Each has a real cost: New Relic data ingest costs can be high for large-scale deployments with high logging volume, making budgeting difficult; 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: New Relic covers APM, Grafana Cloud covers Grafana Dashboards.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which New Relic and Grafana Cloud actually diverge.
| Attribute | New Relic | Grafana Cloud |
|---|---|---|
| Platforms | Web, Api, Mobile | Web (Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Safari), API |
| Founded | 2008 | 2014 |
Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (Unknown), 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 New Relic
- APM
- Infrastructure Monitoring
- Log Management
- Browser Monitoring
- Mobile Monitoring
- Kubernetes Monitoring
- AI Ops
- GitHub
Only in Grafana Cloud
- Grafana Dashboards
- Prometheus Metrics
- Loki Logs
- Tempo Traces
- Alerting
- OnCall
- Incident Management
- Docker
Both cover
- Synthetic Monitoring
- AWS
- Azure
- GCP
- Kubernetes
- PagerDuty
- SOC2
- HIPAA
- Cloud deployment
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
New Relic
- Application monitoring
- Infrastructure monitoring
- Error trackingnot Grafana Cloud
- Performance optimizationnot Grafana Cloud
Grafana Cloud
- Infrastructure monitoring
- Application monitoring
- Log aggregationnot New Relic
- Distributed tracingnot New Relic
Both are used for application monitoring, infrastructure monitoring, on those jobs the choice comes down to price and fit rather than capability.
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
New Relic
- Data ingest costs can be high for large-scale deployments with high logging volume, making budgeting difficult
- Core user licensing model adds complexity to pricing with distinction between full platform users and basic users
- Default logs obfuscation may miss some sensitive patterns requiring custom configuration
- Retention limits even on paid tiers require additional storage for long-term compliance requirements
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
New Relic
FreeNo published plan breakdown. See the New Relic review.
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 New Relic if
- You need apm.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, Api, Mobile.
- You also want infrastructure monitoring.
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 New Relic or Grafana Cloud better?
- Neither clearly leads. New Relic 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, New Relic or Grafana Cloud?
- New Relic starts at Free and Grafana Cloud at Free.
- Does New Relic or Grafana Cloud run on more platforms?
- New Relic runs on Web, Api, Mobile. Grafana Cloud runs on Web (Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Safari), API.
- Can I use New Relic for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is New Relic best used for?
- New Relic is most often used for application monitoring, infrastructure monitoring, error tracking, performance optimization. Of those, error tracking and performance optimization are not what Grafana Cloud is typically brought in for.
- What can New Relic do that Grafana Cloud cannot?
- New Relic covers APM, Infrastructure Monitoring, Log Management, Browser Monitoring. Grafana Cloud covers Grafana Dashboards, Prometheus Metrics, Loki Logs, Tempo Traces. Both handle Synthetic Monitoring, AWS, Azure, GCP.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
New Relic: Does New Relic offer a free tier?
Yes, New Relic's free tier is perpetual with no credit card required. It includes 100 GB of free data ingest monthly, one Full Platform User with access to all 50+ capabilities, and unlimited Basic Users for querying and dashboard creation.
SourceGrafana 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.
SourceNew Relic: How much does New Relic cost for paid plans?
Paid plans start at $49 per month per core user. New Relic uses consumption-based pricing where you pay only for what you use. Annual commitment options are available with volume discounts for larger teams.
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.
SourceNew Relic: What data retention is included in New Relic's free tier?
The free tier includes a minimum of 8 days data retention for troubleshooting. Paid plans offer extended retention periods and customizable data retention policies.
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.
SourceNew Relic: How many integrations does New Relic support?
New Relic provides access to 780+ integrations and unlimited hosts at no additional cost. These include monitoring integrations for various cloud services, databases, and applications.
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.
SourceNew Relic: Can I use New Relic to monitor multiple cloud providers?
Yes, New Relic is cloud-agnostic and supports monitoring across AWS, Google Cloud, Azure, and on-premises infrastructure in a single platform.
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.
SourceNew Relic: What is New Relic's ownership structure today?
New Relic was acquired by TPG and Francisco Partners on July 31, 2023, for $6.5 billion and transitioned from a publicly traded company to a private company in November 2023.
Source