Infrastructure and metrics monitoring pricing compared
Metrics · 14 vendors · Pricing snapshot: June 2026
Infrastructure monitoring is where the per-host vs usage-based divide is sharpest. Datadog ($15/host/month, Pro) and Splunk ($15/host/month) charge per host, which penalizes dense Kubernetes nodes. Dynatrace infra-only is ~$22/month per 8 GiB host. Grafana Cloud bills per active metric series ($6.50 per 1,000 above 10K free), so high cardinality drives cost rather than host count. New Relic, Elastic and Coralogix roll infra metrics into a per-GB ingest meter ($0.05/GB on Coralogix is the cheapest signal). Logz.io charges $0.40 per 1,000 time-series/day. If you run many small hosts or high-cardinality metrics, a usage or series-based model usually wins; for a stable host fleet, per-host can be simpler.
Source: Vendor pricing pages. Data as of June 2026.
Infrastructure & metrics pricing by vendor
| Vendor | Rate | Unit | Billing | Free tier? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Datadog | $15/host/mo | per host / month | Per host | Yes |
| New Relic | Counted in the shared ingest meter | per GB ingested | Per GB / usage | Yes |
| Grafana Cloud | 10K free, then $6.50 per 1,000 active series | per 1,000 active series / month | Per GB / usage | Yes |
| Dynatrace | ~$0.04/hr per host (~$22/mo, 8 GiB) | per host / hour | Per host | No |
| Splunk Observability Cloud | from $15/host/mo (annual) | per host / month | Per host | No |
| Elastic Observability | Per-GB (no per-host) | per GB ingested + retained | Per GB / usage | No |
| Better Stack | 30 GB metrics free; per-GB telemetry overage | per GB telemetry / month | Per GB / usage | Yes |
| Coralogix | $0.05/GB | per GB ingested | Per GB / usage | No |
| Logz.io | $0.40 per 1,000 time-series/day (18-mo retention) | per 1,000 time-series/day | Per GB / usage | Yes |
| Site24x7 | from $9-10/mo (Starter) | per plan / month | Per monitor | Yes |
| Sumo Logic | Metrics priced separately (DPM) | per data point per minute (DPM) | Per GB / usage | Yes |
| Splunk AppDynamics | $6/vCPU/mo | per vCPU / month | Per vCPU | No |
| Last9 | Pro $1,150/mo incl. 1B events, then usage | per event ingested | Per event / volume | Yes |
| Chronosphere | Custom / contact sales | usage-based (custom) | Custom / quote | No |
Pricing snapshot: June 2026 - verify current pricing on the vendor's site before relying on these figures.
How infrastructure & metrics is priced
Infrastructure/metrics is priced per host (Datadog, Splunk, Dynatrace), per active time-series (Grafana, Logz.io), per data-point-per-minute (Sumo Logic) or per GB/event ingested (New Relic, Elastic, Coralogix, Last9). Cardinality, not just host count, drives series-based bills.
Cheapest infrastructure & metrics (by listed rate)
- Splunk AppDynamics - $6/vCPU/mo
- Site24x7 - from $9-10/mo (Starter)
- Datadog - $15/host/mo
- Splunk Observability Cloud - from $15/host/mo (annual)
Usage-based / custom (no flat rate to rank): Better Stack, Chronosphere, Coralogix, Dynatrace, Elastic Observability, Grafana Cloud, Last9, Logz.io, New Relic, Sumo Logic.
Every vendor for infrastructure & metrics
$6/vCPU/mo
Site24x7from $9-10/mo (Starter)
Datadog$15/host/mo
Splunk Observability Cloudfrom $15/host/mo (annual)
Better Stack30 GB metrics free; per-GB telemetry overage
ChronosphereCustom / contact sales
Coralogix$0.05/GB
Dynatrace~$0.04/hr per host (~$22/mo, 8 GiB)
Elastic ObservabilityPer-GB (no per-host)
Grafana Cloud10K free, then $6.50 per 1,000 active series
Last9Pro $1,150/mo incl. 1B events, then usage
Logz.io$0.40 per 1,000 time-series/day (18-mo retention)
New RelicCounted in the shared ingest meter
Sumo LogicMetrics priced separately (DPM)
Frequently asked questions
Which observability vendor is cheapest for infrastructure & metrics?
On its listed infrastructure & metrics rate, Splunk AppDynamics ($6/vCPU/mo) is among the lowest of the priced vendors. Several vendors are usage-based here (Better Stack, Chronosphere, Coralogix, Dynatrace, Elastic Observability, Grafana Cloud, Last9, Logz.io, New Relic, Sumo Logic), so the real winner depends on your data volume. Pricing snapshot: June 2026.
How is infrastructure & metrics priced?
Infrastructure/metrics is priced per host (Datadog, Splunk, Dynatrace), per active time-series (Grafana, Logz.io), per data-point-per-minute (Sumo Logic) or per GB/event ingested (New Relic, Elastic, Coralogix, Last9). Cardinality, not just host count, drives series-based bills. Pricing snapshot: June 2026 - verify current pricing on the vendor's site before relying on these figures.
Which vendors offer infrastructure & metrics?
We track 14 vendors for infrastructure & metrics: Datadog, New Relic, Grafana Cloud, Dynatrace, Splunk Observability Cloud, Elastic Observability, Better Stack, Coralogix, Logz.io, Site24x7, Sumo Logic, Splunk AppDynamics, Last9, Chronosphere. Each has its own pricing page with rates, free-tier details and pros/cons.
Keep exploring
Last updated: 2026-06-21