Cloud · head to head
OpenTelemetry vs Grafana
OpenTelemetry
Cloud
Vendor-neutral standard for traces, metrics and logs
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: OpenTelemetry genuinely complex to adopt: collectors, pipelines, samplers and exporters are a system to run in their own right; Grafana the free tier retains metrics, logs and traces for 14 days only
- They diverge on capability: OpenTelemetry covers Vendor-neutral SDKs, Grafana covers Dashboard creation.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which OpenTelemetry and Grafana actually diverge.
| Attribute | OpenTelemetry | Grafana |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Open source, no licence fee | usage-based |
| Platforms | Linux, macOS, Windows, Kubernetes, Docker | Web, Api |
| Category | Cloud | Networking |
| Founded | Unknown | 2014 |
Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated).
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 OpenTelemetry
- Vendor-neutral SDKs
- Collector
- Three signals
- Auto-instrumentation
Only in Grafana
- Dashboard creation
- Alerting
- Data source integration
- Visualization plugins
- API
- Webhooks
- REST
- Web support
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
OpenTelemetry
- Instrumenting once and keeping the option to change observability vendor laternot Grafana
- Standardising telemetry across services written in different languagesnot Grafana
- Routing and filtering telemetry centrally to control observability spendnot Grafana
Grafana
- Metrics visualization and monitoringnot OpenTelemetry
- Log aggregation and analysisnot OpenTelemetry
- Distributed traces managementnot OpenTelemetry
- System performance profilingnot OpenTelemetry
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
OpenTelemetry
- Genuinely complex to adopt: collectors, pipelines, samplers and exporters are a system to run in their own right
- Language SDKs mature at different rates, so a polyglot estate gets uneven support
- It produces and moves telemetry but does not store or visualise it, so a backend is still required and still billed
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
Pricing, plan by plan
OpenTelemetry
Free- OpenTelemetryFree
- Full functionality
- No usage limits
- Community support
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
Which should you pick?
Choose OpenTelemetry if
- You need vendor-neutral sdks.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Linux, macOS, Windows, Kubernetes, Docker.
- You also want collector.
Choose Grafana if
- You need dashboard creation.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, Api.
- You also want alerting.
Questions people ask
- Is OpenTelemetry or Grafana better?
- Neither clearly leads. OpenTelemetry starts at Free and Grafana at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, OpenTelemetry or Grafana?
- OpenTelemetry starts at Free and Grafana at Free.
- Does OpenTelemetry or Grafana run on more platforms?
- OpenTelemetry runs on Linux, macOS, Windows, Kubernetes, Docker. Grafana runs on Web, Api.
- Can I use OpenTelemetry for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is OpenTelemetry best used for?
- OpenTelemetry is most often used for instrumenting once and keeping the option to change observability vendor later, standardising telemetry across services written in different languages, routing and filtering telemetry centrally to control observability spend. Of those, instrumenting once and keeping the option to change observability vendor later and standardising telemetry across services written in different languages are not what Grafana is typically brought in for.
- What can OpenTelemetry do that Grafana cannot?
- OpenTelemetry covers Vendor-neutral SDKs, Collector, Three signals, Auto-instrumentation. Grafana covers Dashboard creation, Alerting, Data source integration, Visualization plugins.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
OpenTelemetry: Is OpenTelemetry free?
Yes, open source under the CNCF. What you pay for is the backend you export to.
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.
SourceOpenTelemetry: Does OpenTelemetry replace Datadog or Grafana?
No. It replaces their proprietary agents and instrumentation libraries. You still need a backend to store and query the data.
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.
SourceOpenTelemetry: Why adopt a vendor-neutral standard?
Because instrumentation is the expensive part. Once code emits OTel, changing observability vendor is a collector config change instead of re-instrumenting every service.
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.
SourceGrafana: 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.
SourceRelated pages
More on OpenTelemetry
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