Grafana vs Vellum — Pricing, Plans, and Verified Costs (2026)
Grafana starts at $19/mo. Vellum starts at $30/mo. Grafana is $11/mo cheaper on the entry tier than Vellum.
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.
- Vellum (Tiered) — Vellum bills on a fixed plan from $30/mo, so the listed price is what you pay regardless of volume.
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.
Personal AI assistant that runs your tasks in a hosted environment. Plans priced by 'computer size' (small/medium/large) and included storage (10/30/60 GB), with each tier bundling usage. Higher tiers add an Assistant email and dedicated subdomain. Custom Plan builds a bespoke fit for heavier workflows. Vellum pivoted to this consumer-friendly assistant product in 2026 after operating as an LLMOps platform earlier.
All plans compared
| Tier role | Plan | Grafana monthly | Grafana annual | Vellum monthly | Vellum annual |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free / starter | Free / Start Free | Free | Free | Free | Free |
| Entry paid | Pro / Mighty | $19 | $19 | $30 | $30 |
| Mid tier | — / Super | — | — | $100 | $100 |
| Pro / power | — / Ultra | — | — | $200 | $200 |
| Enterprise | Enterprise / Custom | 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.
Vellum is worth it if… individuals who want a persistent AI assistant that can execute multi-step tasks, keep files in a hosted workspace, and be reached via a custom email or subdomain. Mighty $30 suits casual daily use; Super $100 adds email/subdomain features for prosumers; Ultra $200 targets power users who lean on the assistant heavily.
Bottom line: Choose based on how you want to pay — Grafana is per usage, Vellum is tiered.
Choose Grafana over Vellum 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 Vellum if…
- You want fixed-price predictability (tiered, from $30/mo).
- You match the profile Vellum is built for: individuals who want a persistent AI assistant that can execute multi-step tasks, keep files in a hosted workspace, and be reached via a custom email or subdomain.
- You need a general-purpose developer & infrastructure option rather than a vertical-specific one.
At a glance
| Grafana | Vellum | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Entry price | $19/mo | $30/mo |
| Enterprise available | Yes | Yes |
| Pricing model | Per Usage | Tiered |
| Verification | Pricing under review | Checked September 29, 2026 |
| Full pricing | View full pricing | View full pricing |
Pricing last verified September 29, 2026. Verification cadence varies by tool; check each tool page.