GitLab vs OpenObserve — Pricing, Plans, and Verified Costs (2026)
GitLab starts at $29/mo. OpenObserve uses custom pricing — request a quote to compare.
See price history: GitLab · 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.
- GitLab (Per Seat) — GitLab bills on a fixed plan from $29/mo, so the listed price is what you pay regardless of volume.
- 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.
Complete DevOps platform (source control + CI/CD + security + monitoring), publicly traded (GTLB), ~$8B market cap. Positioned as the alternative to stitching GitHub + Jenkins + Snyk + Datadog together. Distinctive as the largest all-remote public company (2,000+ employees, no offices) and for its self-hostable Community Edition. Priced free-$29/user/mo Premium + $99/user/mo Ultimate. Popular with regulated industries needing self-hosted DevOps.
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 | GitLab monthly | GitLab annual | OpenObserve monthly | OpenObserve annual |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free / starter | Free / Cloud Professional (PAYG) | Free | Free | Free | Free |
| Entry paid | Premium / — | $29 | $29 | — | — |
| 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
GitLab is worth it if… teams (20+ engineers) that want an integrated DevOps platform (source control + CI/CD + security scanning + issue tracking) in one tool — particularly if self-hosted is on the table. Free covers open source and small teams; Premium adds advanced code owners and security; Ultimate adds compliance and portfolio management.
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: Choose based on how you want to pay — GitLab is per seat, OpenObserve is per usage.
Choose GitLab over OpenObserve if…
Choose GitLab if…
- You want fixed-price predictability (per seat, from $29/mo).
- You match the profile GitLab is built for: teams (20+ engineers) that want an integrated DevOps platform (source control + CI/CD + security scanning + issue tracking) in one tool — particularly if self-hosted is on the table.
- 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
| GitLab | OpenObserve | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Entry price | $29/mo | Free |
| Enterprise available | Yes | Yes |
| Pricing model | Per Seat | Per Usage |
| Verification | Pricing under review | Pricing under review |
| Full pricing | View full pricing | View full pricing |
Pricing last verified September 27, 2026. Verification cadence varies by tool; check each tool page.