OpenObserve vs Splunk Observability Cloud
No per-host pricing. No custom-metric (MTS) limits. Logs, metrics, and traces in one platform — no separate log product required.
TRUSTED BY INNOVATIVE TEAMS
Why teams switch from Splunk Observability Cloud
The many reasons that teams are making the switch
No Per-Host Pricing
Host-based plans punish containers and autoscaling. OpenObserve bills on ingest — scale replicas without scaling your bill.
No Custom-Metric (MTS) Math
No metric time series entitlements, no 100–200 MTS-per-host limits, no histogram multipliers. Send the metrics you need.
Logs Included, Not Bolted On
Splunk Observability Cloud views logs via Log Observer Connect backed by Splunk Enterprise/Cloud — a separately licensed product. OpenObserve stores and searches logs natively.
Plain OpenTelemetry
No vendor collector distribution or wrapped SDKs required. OpenObserve ingests OTLP directly from the upstream OpenTelemetry Collector.
140x Storage Efficiency
Columnar Parquet on object storage delivers better compression and longer retention without budget blowouts.
Self-Host or Cloud
Splunk Observability Cloud is SaaS-only. OpenObserve is open source — run it in your own VPC, air-gapped, or use our cloud.
See how OpenObserve replaces Splunk Observability Cloud
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Feature comparison
Modern, full-stack observability
| Feature | Splunk Observability Cloud | OpenObserve | Reference Links |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feature parity: logs, metrics, traces, dashboards, alerts, pipelines | Metrics, traces, RUM; logs via Log Observer Connect | ✓ All in one platform | LogsMetricsTracesDashboardsAlertsPipelines |
| Pricing model | Per-host: ~$15/host/mo (Infra) to ~$75/host/mo (End-to-End), billed annually; or per-MTS usage plans | Usage-based on ingest — no per-host or per-seat fees | See pricing |
| Custom metrics | MTS entitlements per host (e.g. 100–200 custom MTS); overages billed, histograms counted as 8 MTS | No per-series entitlements or overage charges | Metrics docs |
| Native log storage & search | Requires Splunk Enterprise / Splunk Cloud (separate license) behind Log Observer Connect | Built in — full-text search, SQL, and pipelines | Logs overview |
| Container & autoscaling cost behavior | Monitored hosts/containers count toward billing; scale-out raises cost | Host count irrelevant — pay only for data ingested | |
| OpenTelemetry support | ✓ via Splunk Distribution of the OTel Collector and wrapped SDKs | ✓ vanilla upstream OTel Collector, OTLP native | OpenTelemetry with OpenObserve |
| Query language | SignalFlow (proprietary) for metrics; SPL for logs on Splunk platform | SQL/PromQL | Used universally with no learning curve |
| Open Source | ✗ | ✓ (core under open license, source on GitHub) | |
| Self-hosting & data residency | SaaS only — data lives in Splunk's realms | Self-host on your infra or use OpenObserve Cloud | Architecture |
| Storage & retention | Vendor-managed; retention tied to plan (metrics up to 13 months) | Your object storage (S3/GCS/Azure), retention on your terms | Storage management |
| Real User Monitoring | ✓ (separately priced add-on) | ✓ Included | RUM docs |
| IAM & SSO | ✓ | ✓ | SAML, OIDC, LDAP, role-based access |
Migrating from Splunk Observability Cloud
If you're already on OpenTelemetry, most of the work is configuration — not re-instrumentation.
Dual-ship from your existing collectors
The Splunk Distribution of the OpenTelemetry Collector speaks OTLP. Add an OTLP exporter pointing at OpenObserve alongside your existing SignalFx/Splunk exporters and send to both platforms during evaluation — no code changes.
Standardize on upstream OpenTelemetry
Swap splunk-otel-* SDK wrappers and SPLUNK_ environment variables for standard OTel SDKs and OTEL_ config, and move to the upstream Collector build. Route logs to OpenObserve via OTLP, Fluent Bit, or Vector instead of a separate Splunk platform.
Recreate dashboards and detectors, then cut over
Rebuild key charts and translate detectors into OpenObserve alerts using SQL/PromQL. Validate side by side, shift workloads gradually, then drop the Splunk exporters. Our team can help accelerate this process.
"OpenObserve is super fast, definitely very lightweight, and you can get started with an initial POC in two to three minutes to be honest."
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about switching from Splunk Observability Cloud to OpenObserve
Yes, for teams that want logs, metrics, and traces in one OpenTelemetry-native platform without per-host pricing. Splunk Observability Cloud (built from SignalFx and Omnition) is a strong real-time metrics and APM product, but logs require the separate Splunk platform and costs are tied to host counts and metric time series. OpenObserve covers all three signals natively, bills on ingest, and can be self-hosted or run as cloud.
Splunk Observability Cloud lists at roughly $15/host/month for Infrastructure Monitoring, ~$55/host/month for standalone APM, and ~$75/host/month for the end-to-end plan (billed annually), with custom metrics governed by per-host MTS entitlements and overage charges. Log ingest is licensed separately on the Splunk platform. OpenObserve has no per-host, per-seat, or per-MTS fees — you pay for data ingested, and columnar Parquet on object storage keeps long-term retention cheap. Teams with large container fleets or heavy custom metrics usually see the biggest savings.
Usually less than migrating from agent-based tools, because Splunk Observability Cloud is already OpenTelemetry-based. Its collector distribution and SDK wrappers sit on top of standard OTel, so migration is mostly configuration: add an OTLP exporter to OpenObserve, dual-ship for a few weeks, swap SPLUNK_ env vars for OTEL_ equivalents, then rebuild key dashboards and detectors. Most teams complete a cutover in weeks, not months.
Logs are first-class in OpenObserve — full-text search, SQL queries, dashboards, alerts, and pipelines — stored in the same platform as your metrics and traces. In Splunk Observability Cloud, Log Observer Connect lets you view logs, but the logs themselves must be ingested and licensed in Splunk Cloud Platform or Splunk Enterprise. With OpenObserve there is no second product to buy or operate.
Be honest about your usage. Splunk Observability Cloud excels at real-time streaming metrics (SignalFlow detectors), full-fidelity NoSample trace ingestion, and mature RUM/Synthetics. OpenObserve matches the core: logs, metrics, traces, RUM, dashboards, alerts, and pipelines with SQL/PromQL. If your workflows depend on SignalFlow-specific analytics or Splunk's synthetics suite, plan replacements during evaluation. Many teams find they use a fraction of what they pay for.
Yes. OpenObserve's source is on GitHub with 19.8k+ stars, and you can self-host it as a single binary or an HA cluster via Helm — in your VPC, on-prem, or air-gapped. Splunk Observability Cloud is SaaS-only. If data residency or control matters, self-hosting with your own object storage bucket is a major differentiator.
Yes. OpenObserve is SOC2 Type II certified and ISO 27001 compliant. We process over 2 PB of data daily across thousands of deployments, including Fortune 100 enterprises. Enterprise features include RBAC, SSO, sensitive data redaction, and dedicated support.
OpenObserve: the open-source Splunk Observability Cloud alternative
An open-source, SQL and OpenTelemetry-native platform that unifies logs, metrics, and traces with no per-host or per-MTS pricing — and no separate log product. Radius.ai got started with a working POC in minutes, not months. Also evaluating other tools? See how OpenObserve compares to Splunk, Datadog, New Relic.
- Ingest-based pricing — host count and MTS never inflate your bill
- Logs, metrics, traces, and RUM in one platform
- Self-hosted or cloud — your data, your control