Dynatrace vs Grafana — Pricing, Plans, and Verified Costs (2026)
Dynatrace starts at $7/mo. Grafana starts at $19/mo. Dynatrace is $12/mo cheaper on the entry tier than Grafana.
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.
- Dynatrace (Per Usage) — Dynatrace bills on usage — Annual commit rate-card: $7-$58/host/mo + $0.20/GB logs + $2.25/1K RUM sessions on top of a paid plan starting at $7/mo. The plan includes an allowance; anything beyond it is metered.
- Grafana (Per Usage) — Grafana bills on usage — $19/mo Pro base + pay-per-metric/log/trace GB above free tier on top of a paid plan starting at $19/mo. The plan includes an allowance; anything beyond it is metered.
Per-minute, per-credit and per-token rates exclude any downstream model, speech or telephony costs unless the vendor states otherwise.
Dynatrace is an enterprise observability + application security platform (Dynatrace Platform Subscription = annual minimum spend commit unlocking all platform capabilities at published rate-card). Foundation & Discovery from $7/host/mo; Infrastructure Monitoring $29/host/mo; Full-Stack Monitoring $58 per 8-GiB host/mo. Log Analytics $0.20/GB ingest + $0.0007/GiB-day retention. RUM $2.25 per 1K sessions. Larger commits unlock discounts. 15-day free trial. AI-powered root cause analysis (Davis AI) is core.
Grafana Cloud packages open-source observability (Prometheus, Loki, Tempo, Pyroscope, k6) as a managed platform with unified metrics, logs, traces, profiles, and load testing. Free tier includes 14-day retention across all data types plus community support. Pro from $19/mo adds 13-month metrics retention + 30-day logs/traces/profiles + email support + pay-as-you-go usage above generous free allowances. Enterprise starts at $25K/year commit with premium support and Federal/BYO Cloud deployment.
All plans compared
| Tier role | Plan | Dynatrace monthly | Dynatrace annual | Grafana monthly | Grafana annual |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free / starter | — / Free | — | — | Free | Free |
| Entry paid | Foundation & Discovery / Pro | $7 | $7 | $19 | $19 |
| Mid tier | Infrastructure Monitoring / — | $29 | $29 | — | — |
| Pro / power | Full-Stack Monitoring / — | $58 | $58 | — | — |
| Enterprise | Enterprise (DPS commit) / Enterprise | Custom | Custom | 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
Dynatrace is worth it if… Dynatrace is ideal for large enterprises that want AI-powered full-stack observability + application security under a single annual commit. Best if you can absorb an annual procurement cycle and value Davis AI root-cause detection out of the box.
Grafana is worth it if… Grafana Cloud is ideal for engineering teams who want open-source observability without operating the stack themselves. Best if you're comfortable with usage-based pricing that scales with metric volume rather than per-host commits.
Bottom line: Similar positioning, closer to a preference call than a strategic one.
Choose Dynatrace over Grafana if…
Choose Dynatrace if…
- You want to pay only for actual usage (per usage, from $7/mo).
- You match the profile Dynatrace is built for: ideal for large enterprises that want AI-powered full-stack observability + application security under a single annual commit.
- You need a general-purpose developer & infrastructure option rather than a vertical-specific one.
Choose Grafana if…
- You want to pay only for actual usage (per usage, from $19/mo).
- You match the profile Grafana is built for: Grafana Cloud is ideal for engineering teams who want open-source observability without operating the stack themselves.
- You need a general-purpose developer & infrastructure option rather than a vertical-specific one.
At a glance
| Dynatrace | Grafana | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | No | Yes |
| Entry price | $7/mo | $19/mo |
| Enterprise available | Yes | 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.
Frequently asked questions
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Common questions about Dynatrace and Grafana
- How much does Dynatrace cost in 2026?
- Does Dynatrace have a free plan?
- How often does Dynatrace change prices?
- What are the best Dynatrace alternatives in 2026?
- How much does Grafana cost in 2026?
- Does Grafana have a free plan?
- How often does Grafana change prices?
- What are the best Grafana alternatives in 2026?