Dash0 vs OpenObserve — Pricing, Plans, and Verified Costs (2026)
Both Dash0 and OpenObserve use custom pricing — request quotes from each to compare.
See price history: Dash0 · OpenObserve
How pricing works
These two tools don't price the same way, so the headline numbers below aren't directly comparable until you plug in your own volume.
- Dash0 (Per Usage) — Dash0 bills purely on usage — $0.20/M metrics + $0.60/M spans/logs/events (no monthly base). There is no fixed per-seat fee, so the monthly cost depends entirely on how much you consume.
- OpenObserve (Per Usage) — OpenObserve bills purely on usage — $0.50/GB ingest + $0.01/GB query (30% off annual, no per-seat fees). There is no fixed per-seat fee, so the monthly cost depends entirely on how much you consume.
Per-minute, per-credit and per-token rates exclude any downstream model, speech or telephony costs unless the vendor states otherwise.
Dash0 is a consumption-based OpenTelemetry-native observability platform with zero monthly base fee — pay only for data ingested. Rates: $0.20 per million metric data points (13-month retention), $0.60 per million spans/log records/web events (30-day retention), $0.20 per thousand synthetic API check runs (13-month retention), $0.60 per Agent0 AI credit, $10/user for AI Coding Insights. 14-day unlimited free trial, no credit card. Recently acquired Polar Signals.
OpenObserve is a Datadog/Splunk/New Relic alternative positioned on transparent pay-as-you-go pricing with no per-seat or per-host fees. Cloud PAYG: $0.50/GB ingestion + $0.01/GB query (30% off with annual commit). Includes 15-month metrics retention + 30-day non-metrics retention default. Enterprise adds SSO/RBAC, AI SRE agent, BYO bucket infinite retention. Self-hosted OSS is free; Self-hosted Enterprise free up to 50GB/day.
All plans compared
| Tier role | Plan | Dash0 monthly | Dash0 annual | OpenObserve monthly | OpenObserve annual |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free / starter | Pay-as-you-go / Cloud Professional (PAYG) | Free | Free | Free | Free |
| Enterprise | — / Cloud Enterprise | — | — | Custom | Custom |
Tier names differ across vendors. Rows are aligned by tier role, not name. Full tier structures on each tool's page.
What each is best for
Dash0 is worth it if… Dash0 is ideal for teams tired of predicting observability spend against per-host commits. Best if telemetry volume is bursty and you want granular per-signal cost visibility instead of tier-based billing.
OpenObserve is worth it if… OpenObserve is ideal for teams migrating off Datadog, Splunk, or New Relic who want radically transparent pay-per-GB pricing with no seat fees. Best if your telemetry cost is dominated by log and metric volume rather than user count.
Bottom line: Similar positioning, closer to a preference call than a strategic one.
Choose Dash0 over OpenObserve if…
Choose Dash0 if…
- You want to pay only for actual usage (per usage, a free entry tier).
- You match the profile Dash0 is built for: ideal for teams tired of predicting observability spend against per-host commits.
- You need a general-purpose developer & infrastructure option rather than a vertical-specific one.
Choose OpenObserve if…
- You want to pay only for actual usage (per usage, a free entry tier).
- You match the profile OpenObserve is built for: ideal for teams migrating off Datadog, Splunk, or New Relic who want radically transparent pay-per-GB pricing with no seat fees.
- You need a general-purpose developer & infrastructure option rather than a vertical-specific one.
At a glance
| Dash0 | OpenObserve | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Entry price | Pricing not published | Free |
| Enterprise available | No | Yes |
| Pricing model | Per Usage | Per Usage |
| Verification | Pricing under review | Pricing under review |
| Full pricing | View full pricing | View full pricing |
Pricing last verified September 27, 2026. Tracked daily.