New Relic vs Grafana Cloud: pricing
Observability pricing · Pricing snapshot: June 2026
On headline entry cost, Grafana Cloud has a clearer fixed entry price (Free tier, then Pro from $19/mo + usage) while New Relic is usage-based. New Relic bills per gb / usage (100 GB/mo free, then $0.40/GB + per-user) and Grafana Cloud bills per gb / usage (Free tier, then Pro from $19/mo + usage). Both have a free tier. The real winner depends on your host count, data volume and team size. Pricing snapshot: June 2026 - verify current pricing on the vendor's site before relying on these figures.
Data as of June 2026.
New Relic vs Grafana Cloud side by side
| Factor | New Relic | Grafana Cloud |
|---|---|---|
| Company | New Relic, Inc. | Grafana Labs |
| Pricing model | Usage-based: per-GB ingested (all telemetry) + per-user (Full Platform / Core) | Usage-based: per active metric series + per-GB for logs/traces/profiles + per active user + flat platform fee |
| Primary billing | Per GB / usage | Per GB / usage |
| Headline price | 100 GB/mo free, then $0.40/GB + per-user | Free tier, then Pro from $19/mo + usage |
| Free tier? | Yes | Yes |
| Free tier detail | Free forever: 100 GB ingest/month + 1 Full Platform user + unlimited basic users. | Free forever: 10K active metric series, 50 GB logs, 50 GB traces, 50 GB profiles, 3 users, 14-day retention. |
| Covers | APM, Infrastructure & metrics, Log management, RUM, Distributed tracing, Error tracking | APM, Infrastructure & metrics, Log management, RUM, Distributed tracing |
Sources: New Relic, Inc. pricing · Grafana Labs pricing.
Per-signal rates
Where the two overlap, here is the rate each charges per signal:
| Signal | New Relic | Grafana Cloud |
|---|---|---|
| APM | Standard: $99/user; Pro: $349/user (annual) | $19/mo platform + $8 per active visualization user |
| Infrastructure & metrics | Counted in the shared ingest meter | 10K free, then $6.50 per 1,000 active series |
| Log management | 100 GB free, then $0.40/GB (Original) or $0.60/GB (Data Plus) | 50 GB free, then ~$0.45/GB |
| RUM | Counted in the shared ingest meter | Usage-based (counts toward signal meters) |
| Distributed tracing | Counted in the shared ingest meter | 50 GB free, then ~$0.45/GB |
Cheaper for small vs cheaper for scale
Small / starting out: Both have a free tier, so try each. On headline cost, Grafana Cloud has a clearer fixed entry price (Free tier, then Pro from $19/mo + usage) while New Relic is usage-based.
At scale: New Relic (generous free tier: 100 gb/mo + 1 full user, free forever) versus Grafana Cloud (very generous free tier (10k series + 50 gb logs/traces/profiles)). Remember New Relic bills per gb / usage and Grafana Cloud bills per gb / usage, which flips the answer depending on whether you scale by hosts, by data volume or by team size.
Verdict
On headline cost alone, Grafana Cloud has a clearer fixed entry price (Free tier, then Pro from $19/mo + usage) while New Relic is usage-based. But price is only part of the story. Read each full breakdown - New Relic and Grafana Cloud - and model your real workload in the cost calculator.
Frequently asked questions
Is New Relic or Grafana Cloud cheaper?
On headline entry cost, Grafana Cloud has a clearer fixed entry price (Free tier, then Pro from $19/mo + usage) while New Relic is usage-based. But the two use different models - New Relic bills per gb / usage and Grafana Cloud bills per gb / usage - so the real winner depends on your host count, data volume and team size. Compare the per-signal table on this page. Pricing snapshot: June 2026.
New Relic vs Grafana Cloud: which for a small team?
For a small team, lean to whichever has the more usable free tier and lower entry price. New Relic: Free forever: 100 GB ingest/month + 1 Full Platform user + unlimited basic users. Grafana Cloud: Free forever: 10K active metric series, 50 GB logs, 50 GB traces, 50 GB profiles, 3 users, 14-day retention.
New Relic vs Grafana Cloud: how do the billing models differ?
New Relic: Usage-based: per-GB ingested (all telemetry) + per-user (Full Platform / Core). Grafana Cloud: Usage-based: per active metric series + per-GB for logs/traces/profiles + per active user + flat platform fee. Per-host models penalize dense Kubernetes nodes; per-GB/per-event models penalize verbose telemetry. Model your real usage before deciding. Pricing snapshot: June 2026 - verify current pricing on the vendor's site before relying on these figures.
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Last updated: 2026-06-21