Softwr

Cloud · head to head

Thanos vs Grafana

Thanos logo

Thanos

Cloud

Highly available Prometheus with long-term object storage

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Grafana logo

Grafana

Networking

Observability and Data Visualization

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Thanos several components — sidecar, store, querier, compactor, ruler — each with its own configuration and failure modes; Grafana the free tier retains metrics, logs and traces for 14 days only
  • They diverge on capability: Thanos covers Global query, Grafana covers Dashboard creation.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Thanos and Grafana actually diverge.

Attributes where Thanos and Grafana differ
AttributeThanosGrafana
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feeusage-based
PlatformsKubernetes, Linux, DockerWeb, Api
CategoryCloudNetworking
FoundedUnknown2014

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 Thanos

  • Global query
  • Object storage retention
  • Deduplication
  • Downsampling

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.

Thanos

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

Grafana

  • Metrics visualization and monitoringnot Thanos
  • Log aggregation and analysisnot Thanos
  • Distributed traces managementnot Thanos
  • System performance profilingnot Thanos

Where each one falls short

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

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

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

Thanos

Free
  • ThanosFree
    • 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 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

Choose Grafana if

  • You need dashboard creation.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Api.
  • You also want alerting.
Grafana review

Questions people ask

Is Thanos or Grafana better?
Neither clearly leads. Thanos 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, Thanos or Grafana?
Thanos starts at Free and Grafana at Free.
Does Thanos or Grafana run on more platforms?
Thanos runs on Kubernetes, Linux, Docker. Grafana runs on Web, Api.
Can I use Thanos for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Thanos best used for?
Thanos is most often used for querying metrics across many clusters or regions from one place, retaining metrics for years without local disk growth, removing the gap that appears when a single prometheus instance restarts. Of those, querying metrics across many clusters or regions from one place and retaining metrics for years without local disk growth are not what Grafana is typically brought in for.
What can Thanos do that Grafana cannot?
Thanos covers Global query, Object storage retention, Deduplication, Downsampling. Grafana covers Dashboard creation, Alerting, Data source integration, Visualization plugins.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Thanos: Is Thanos free?

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

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.

Source
Thanos: Does Thanos replace Prometheus?

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

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.

Source
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.

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.

Source
Grafana: 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.

Source
Share

Related pages

More on Thanos

More on Grafana

Keep looking

Other head to heads