Networking · head to head
Splunk vs Thanos
Thanos
Cloud
Highly available Prometheus with long-term object storage
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Only Thanos has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
- Each has a real cost: Splunk no prices are published on any plan; every model requires contacting sales for an estimate; Thanos several components — sidecar, store, querier, compactor, ruler — each with its own configuration and failure modes
- They diverge on capability: Splunk covers Log aggregation, Thanos covers Global query.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Splunk and Thanos actually diverge.
Identical on both: 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 Splunk
- Log aggregation
- Real-time monitoring
- Data visualization
- Full-text search
- Custom dashboards
- Alert management
- Anomaly detection
- Log parsing
Only in Thanos
- Global query
- Object storage retention
- Deduplication
- Downsampling
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Splunk
- Log search and analysis across infrastructurenot Thanos
- SIEM, SOAR and UEBA for a security operations teamnot Thanos
- Application performance and infrastructure monitoringnot Thanos
- Cloud, private cloud or on-premises deploymentnot Thanos
Thanos
- Querying metrics across many clusters or regions from one placenot Splunk
- Retaining metrics for years without local disk growthnot Splunk
- Removing the gap that appears when a single Prometheus instance restartsnot Splunk
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Splunk
- No prices are published on any plan; every model requires contacting sales for an estimate
- Three separate pricing models, workload, ingest and entity, so the same deployment costs different amounts depending on which was signed
- Ingest pricing bills on data volume, so cost tracks how much you log rather than how much value you get from it
- Security, observability and platform are priced separately
Thanos
- Several components — sidecar, store, querier, compactor, ruler — each with its own configuration and failure modes
- The compactor is a common source of operational trouble and must not run twice against the same bucket
- Query latency over object storage is meaningfully higher than local Prometheus
- Object storage costs and API request charges become real at high volume
Pricing, plan by plan
Splunk
On request- Observability Cloud - Infrastructure$15/month
- Infrastructure monitoring for per host/month pricing
- Unlimited users and ability to scale to petabytes of data
- Observability Cloud - App & Infra$60/month
- App and infrastructure monitoring for per host/month pricing billed annually
- Observability Cloud - End-to-End$75/month
- End-to-end observability for per host/month pricing billed annually
- On-Call$5/month
- On-call management for per user per month pricing billed annually
- Covers up to 10 seats
Thanos
Free- ThanosFree
- Full functionality
- No usage limits
- Community support
Which should you pick?
Choose Splunk if
- You need log aggregation.
- You work on Web, Api.
- You also want real-time monitoring.
Choose Thanos if
- You need global query.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Kubernetes, Linux, Docker.
- You also want object storage retention.
Questions people ask
- Is Splunk or Thanos better?
- Neither clearly leads. Splunk starts at On request and Thanos at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Splunk or Thanos?
- Thanos has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Splunk and Free for Thanos.
- Does Splunk or Thanos run on more platforms?
- Splunk runs on Web, Api. Thanos runs on Kubernetes, Linux, Docker.
- Can I use Thanos for free?
- Yes. Thanos has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Splunk starts at On request.
- What is Splunk best used for?
- Splunk is most often used for log search and analysis across infrastructure, siem, soar and ueba for a security operations team, application performance and infrastructure monitoring, cloud, private cloud or on-premises deployment. Of those, log search and analysis across infrastructure and siem, soar and ueba for a security operations team are not what Thanos is typically brought in for.
- What can Splunk do that Thanos cannot?
- Splunk covers Log aggregation, Real-time monitoring, Data visualization, Full-text search. Thanos covers Global query, Object storage retention, Deduplication, Downsampling.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
Splunk: What is Splunk's pricing model?
Splunk offers activity-based, ingest, or workload pricing options depending on the product. Splunk Observability Cloud and AppDynamics use per-host or per-vCPU monthly pricing billed annually. Splunk Cloud Platform and Splunk Enterprise require custom quotes from sales.
SourceThanos: Is Thanos free?
Yes, open source and CNCF-incubating. Costs are the object storage it uses.
Splunk: How much does Splunk Enterprise cost?
Splunk Enterprise pricing requires contact with sales. The vendor offers data-ingest or workload pricing options, supports unlimited users, and can scale to petabytes of data, but specific rates are not published online.
SourceThanos: Does Thanos replace Prometheus?
No. It runs alongside existing Prometheus servers, adding global query, deduplication and long-term storage.
Splunk: What are the differences between Splunk's pricing options?
Splunk offers multiple pricing models: ingest-based pricing charges according to data volume brought into the system; workload-based pricing charges based on computing resources consumed by workloads. Both models apply to Splunk Enterprise and Splunk Cloud Platform. Standard support is included with product purchases; premium support is available as an add-on.
SourceThanos: Thanos or VictoriaMetrics?
Thanos layers onto Prometheus using object storage and is the more established multi-cluster answer. VictoriaMetrics is a separate store aiming at lower resource use and fewer moving parts.
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