Grafana vs New Relic — Pricing, Plans, and Verified Costs (2026)
Grafana starts at $19/mo. New Relic starts at $99/mo. Grafana is $80/mo cheaper on the entry tier than New Relic.
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.
- 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.
- New Relic (Per Usage) — New Relic bills on usage — Free 100GB/mo + 1 user; then $0.30-$0.55/GB + $99-$549 per full user/mo on top of a paid plan starting at $99/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.
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.
New Relic is a full-stack observability platform with 50+ capabilities (APM, infrastructure, logs, RUM, browser, mobile). Best-in-class free tier: 100GB/mo ingest + 1 full-platform user + unlimited basic users. Paid tiers layer per-user fees (Standard ~$99/user/mo, Pro up to $549/user/mo) plus per-GB ingest above 100GB. Enterprise custom.
All plans compared
| Tier role | Plan | Grafana monthly | Grafana annual | New Relic monthly | New Relic annual |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free / starter | Free | Free | Free | Free | Free |
| Entry paid | Pro / Standard | $19 | $19 | $99 | $99 |
| Pro / power | — / Pro | — | — | $349 | $349 |
| Enterprise | 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
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.
New Relic is worth it if… New Relic is ideal for teams starting observability who want a generous free tier (100GB) to test-drive before committing. Best if you can plan around hybrid per-user + per-GB pricing that scales with team size and data volume.
Bottom line: Similar positioning, closer to a preference call than a strategic one.
Choose Grafana over New Relic if…
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.
Choose New Relic if…
- You want to pay only for actual usage (per usage, from $99/mo).
- You match the profile New Relic is built for: ideal for teams starting observability who want a generous free tier (100GB) to test-drive before committing.
- You need a general-purpose developer & infrastructure option rather than a vertical-specific one.
At a glance
| Grafana | New Relic | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Entry price | $19/mo | $99/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 Grafana and New Relic
- 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?
- How much does New Relic cost in 2026?
- Does New Relic have a free plan?
- How often does New Relic change prices?
- What are the best New Relic alternatives in 2026?