OpenObserve vs Grafana
Escape multiple query languages, proprietary lock-in, and unpredictable per-seat billing. Full-stack observability at a fraction of the cost.
TRUSTED BY INNOVATIVE TEAMS
Why teams switch from Grafana
The many reasons that teams are making the switch from Grafana Cloud
Predictable pricing
A single ingest-based pricing model with no per-seat charges, ever. Grafana bills separately for log GB, metric series, trace spans, and user seats.
Logging built for petabyte scale
Apache Parquet on object storage, fast queries and automatic scaling, with no compaction jobs or index management ever.
One query language across everything
Standard SQL across all telemetry and PromQL for metrics. No LogQL, no TraceQL, no context-switching for your engineers and security teams.
Your data stays yours
All telemetry stored in open Apache Parquet on storage you already own. No proprietary formats, full data residency compliance, portable to any tooling.
Faster time to value
Switch your OTel Collector endpoint and you're done. No LogQL to learn, no new syntax to master, your team is productive from day one.
Feature comparison
Modern, full-stack observability
| Feature | Grafana | OpenObserve | Reference Links |
|---|---|---|---|
| Logs | ✓ Via Loki | ✓ Built-in | OTLP Log Ingestion |
| Metrics | ✓ Via Mimir | ✓ Built-in | Full Prometheus compatibility |
| Traces / APM | ✓ Via Tempo | ✓ Built-in | First-class OTel support |
| Dashboards and UI | ✓ Grafana UI | ✓ Built-in | Prebuilt + Builder + Custom Mode |
| Alerting | ✓ Built-in | ✓ Built-in | Alerts in OpenObserve |
| Frontend Monitoring (RUM) | ✓ | ✓ | Frontend Observability |
| Query language | LogQL + PromQL + TraceQL | SQL / PromQL | One language for all telemetry |
| Pricing model | Per seat + per GB + per series | Ingest-based only | Predictable at any scale |
| OpenTelemetry native | ✓ | ✓ | OTEL logs Migration |
| Data residency | Grafana-managed regions | Full control - your storage, your region | Bring Your Own Bucket (BYOB) lets you decide exactly where that data lives. |
Migrating from Grafana Cloud
Switching is easier than you think, especially if you're already using OpenTelemetry.
Start sending data without re-instrumenting
Point your existing OpenTelemetry Collector or Grafana Agent at O2 Cloud and begin ingesting immediately. Run O2 alongside your existing Grafana Cloud setup while you validate data parity. Application code stays completely untouched.
Translate queries and rebuild dashboards
Convert Loki LogQL to standard SQL using migration guides, filter expressions map to WHERE clauses, aggregation functions have direct equivalents. PromQL for metrics carries over unchanged. Most teams rebuild critical dashboards within a day or two.
Complete the cutover
Once you've validated your data, dashboards, and alerts in O2 Cloud, update your collectors and integrations to send data exclusively to O2 Cloud. After confirming alerting and on-call workflows are operating as expected, you can safely reduce or retire your Grafana Cloud deployment.
"I don't worry about cost. I don't worry about performance because we really kicked the tires on this - we took it out on the racetrack and ran it around."
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about switching from Grafana Cloud to OpenObserve
Yes. OpenObserve Cloud replaces the managed Loki, Prometheus/Mimir, Tempo, and Grafana UI services you get through Grafana Cloud in a single platform. For core use cases like log aggregation, metrics storage, distributed tracing, dashboards, and alerting, it is a complete replacement. Some advanced Grafana community plugins may need supplementary tooling, but 95%+ of teams find O2 covers everything they need.
LogQL and SQL share many concepts. Filter expressions map to SQL WHERE clauses, label filters become column filters, and aggregation functions like rate(), count_over_time(), and sum by() have direct SQL equivalents. PromQL queries for metrics carry over completely unchanged. Migration guides cover the most common patterns, and most teams complete query translation within a few days.
Grafana Cloud charges separately across log ingestion volume, active metric series, trace spans, and user seats , so costs compound quickly as your team and data grow. OpenObserve Cloud uses a single ingest-based pricing model with no per-seat charges at any tier.
PromQL-based dashboards and alerts carry over with minimal changes. Dashboards using LogQL will need to be rewritten in SQL , migration guides cover the most common patterns. Alert rules follow the same path: PromQL rules migrate as-is, while log-based alert conditions need to be translated. Most teams complete dashboard and alert migration within a day or two.
Yes. OpenObserve Cloud is fully compatible with Grafana Agent and any OpenTelemetry Collector setup. You point your existing agents at O2 Cloud endpoints , no changes to your instrumentation or agent configuration beyond the destination URL. Prometheus remote write is also fully supported.
Grafana Cloud enforces fixed retention tiers per plan, and longer retention means higher plan costs. OpenObserve Cloud stores all telemetry in open Apache Parquet format on object storage you control , S3, GCS, Azure Blob, or MinIO so retention is governed by your own storage policies, not by a SaaS pricing tier. You own the data and can query it with any tool that reads Parquet.