OpenObserve vs Snowflake — Pricing, Plans, and Verified Costs (2026)
Both OpenObserve and Snowflake use custom pricing — request quotes from each to compare.
See price history: OpenObserve · Snowflake
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.
- 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.
- Snowflake (Per Usage) — Snowflake bills purely on usage — $2-$4+ per compute credit (per-second billing) + ~$23/TB/mo storage. 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.
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.
Snowflake is the AI data cloud with decoupled compute + storage pricing. Standard ~$2/credit; Enterprise ~$3/credit; Business Critical ~$4/credit (HIPAA/PCI); Virtual Private Snowflake custom. Compute per second (60-sec minimum); storage ~$23/TB/mo. 30-day trial with $400 credit.
All plans compared
| Tier role | Plan | OpenObserve monthly | OpenObserve annual | Snowflake monthly | Snowflake annual |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free / starter | Cloud Professional (PAYG) / — | Free | Free | — | — |
| Entry paid | — / Standard | — | — | $2 | $2 |
| Teams | — / Business Critical | — | — | $4 | $4 |
| Enterprise | Cloud Enterprise / Enterprise | Custom | Custom | $3 | $3 |
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
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.
Snowflake is worth it if… Snowflake is ideal for enterprises building a data cloud who want decoupled compute + storage billing so idle warehouses don't rack up cost.
Bottom line: Similar positioning, closer to a preference call than a strategic one.
Choose OpenObserve over Snowflake if…
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.
Choose Snowflake if…
- You want to pay only for actual usage (per usage, a free entry tier).
- You match the profile Snowflake is built for: ideal for enterprises building a data cloud who want decoupled compute + storage billing so idle warehouses don't rack up cost.
- You need a general-purpose developer & infrastructure option rather than a vertical-specific one.
At a glance
| OpenObserve | Snowflake | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes | No |
| Entry price | Free | Pricing not published |
| 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.