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Tencent Cloud vs Thanos

Tencent Cloud logo

Tencent Cloud

Cloud

Cloud solutions for global enterprises

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Thanos logo

Thanos

Cloud

Highly available Prometheus with long-term object storage

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Tencent Cloud no pricing details accessible on main site; customers must navigate to dedicated pricing portal; Thanos several components — sidecar, store, querier, compactor, ruler — each with its own configuration and failure modes
  • They diverge on capability: Tencent Cloud covers CVM - Cloud Virtual Machines, Thanos covers Global query.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Tencent Cloud and Thanos actually diverge.

Attributes where Tencent Cloud and Thanos differ
AttributeTencent CloudThanos
Pricing modelusage-basedOpen source, no licence fee
PlatformsLinux, Windows, Api, CliKubernetes, Linux, Docker
Founded2010Unknown

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Cloud).

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 Tencent Cloud

  • CVM - Cloud Virtual Machines
  • COS - Cloud Object Storage
  • TencentDB
  • SCF - Serverless Computing
  • CDN
  • Load Balancer
  • VPC
  • API Gateway

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.

Tencent Cloud

  • Gaming platformsnot Thanos
  • Social medianot Thanos
  • Video streamingnot Thanos
  • Asia-Pacific deploymentnot Thanos
  • Mobile applicationsnot Thanos

Thanos

  • Querying metrics across many clusters or regions from one placenot Tencent Cloud
  • Retaining metrics for years without local disk growthnot Tencent Cloud
  • Removing the gap that appears when a single Prometheus instance restartsnot Tencent Cloud

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Tencent Cloud

  • No pricing details accessible on main site; customers must navigate to dedicated pricing portal

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

Tencent Cloud

Free
  • Free TrialFree
    • Free trial credits
    • CVM instances
    • Cloud storage
  • Pay-as-You-GoFree
    • Flexible pricing
    • No long-term contracts
    • Global infrastructure

Thanos

Free
  • ThanosFree
    • Full functionality
    • No usage limits
    • Community support

Which should you pick?

Choose Tencent Cloud if

  • You need cvm - cloud virtual machines.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Windows, Api, Cli.
  • You also want cos - cloud object storage.
Tencent Cloud review

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.
Thanos review

Questions people ask

Is Tencent Cloud or Thanos better?
Neither clearly leads. Tencent Cloud starts at Free and Thanos at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Tencent Cloud or Thanos?
Tencent Cloud starts at Free and Thanos at Free.
Does Tencent Cloud or Thanos run on more platforms?
Tencent Cloud runs on Linux, Windows, Api, Cli. Thanos runs on Kubernetes, Linux, Docker.
Can I use Tencent Cloud for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Tencent Cloud best used for?
Tencent Cloud is most often used for gaming platforms, social media, video streaming, asia-pacific deployment. Of those, gaming platforms and social media are not what Thanos is typically brought in for.
What can Tencent Cloud do that Thanos cannot?
Tencent Cloud covers CVM - Cloud Virtual Machines, COS - Cloud Object Storage, TencentDB, SCF - Serverless Computing. Thanos covers Global query, Object storage retention, Deduplication, Downsampling.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Tencent Cloud: How do I access Tencent Cloud pricing?

Tencent Cloud pricing is available at buy.cloud.tencent.com/pricing. The main site provides navigation to pricing for various cloud products and services.

Source
Thanos: Is Thanos free?

Yes, open source and CNCF-incubating. Costs are the object storage it uses.

Thanos: Does Thanos replace Prometheus?

No. It runs alongside existing Prometheus servers, adding global query, deduplication and long-term storage.

Thanos: 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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