- Grafana alternatives at a glance
- Ten Grafana alternatives to consider
- Grafana's licence changed, and it matters for some teams
- What to compare in a dashboard tool
- How to rebuild your key dashboards
- Monitoring mistakes to avoid
- Questions to ask before you replace your dashboards
- My plain advice on Grafana alternatives
- Frequently asked questions
Grafana alternatives are other tools for building dashboards on metrics, logs and other data, usually for monitoring servers, apps and websites. Some are full monitoring systems with dashboards built in, others are open-source visualisation tools you point at your own data. Choose by the data sources you use and how much you want to self-host.
Grafana is the go-to dashboard for a lot of technical teams, but it isn't the only way to see what your servers and apps are doing. Some teams want monitoring with dashboards included, and others want something lighter.
Here are ten Grafana alternatives in no particular order, sorted alphabetically, from open-source dashboards to complete monitoring tools. Each description comes from the vendor's own website, re-checked today. If your dashboards are more about marketing numbers, my look at what Google Analytics really involves covers that side.
Start with your data. Prometheus metrics, Elasticsearch logs, SQL databases and time-series stores all suit different tools.
Then decide how much you want to run yourself. Self-hosted tools give you control, while hosted tools save you upgrades and storage worries.
Grafana alternatives at a glance
In the free plan column, Yes means the tool's own site describes a free version, free plan or open-source download, Trial only means a time-limited trial, and No means neither is stated. Free versions often come with limits, so check what's included before you rely on one.
| Tool | Type | Good for | Free plan |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apache Superset | Open-source BI and dashboards | SQL data exploration | Yes |
| Checkmk | IT monitoring | Infrastructure monitoring | Yes |
| Chronograf | Time-series dashboards | InfluxDB data | Yes |
| Kibana | Search and log dashboards | Elasticsearch data | Yes |
| Netdata | Real-time monitoring | Per-second server metrics | Yes |
| Perses | Open-source dashboards | Managing panels as code | Yes |
| Redash | Query and dashboard tool | SQL queries to charts | Yes |
| SigNoz | Open-source observability | Metrics, logs and traces | Yes |
| Uptrace | Observability platform | Tracing with OpenTelemetry | Yes |
| Zabbix | Open-source monitoring | Network and server checks | Yes |
Ten Grafana alternatives to consider
Apache Superset
Best for: Data teams who want open-source dashboards and charts on top of SQL databases.
Checkmk
Best for: IT teams who want server and network monitoring with dashboards and alerting included.
Chronograf
Best for: Teams storing metrics in InfluxDB who want dashboards built for it.
Kibana
Best for: Teams with logs and events in Elasticsearch who want to search and chart them.
Netdata
Best for: Engineers who want instant, per-second metrics from servers with little setup.
Perses
Best for: Teams who want open, standards-based dashboards they can manage as code.
Redash
Best for: Analysts who want to write SQL and share the results as simple dashboards.
SigNoz
Best for: Teams who want metrics, logs and traces together on OpenTelemetry.
Uptrace
Best for: Developers who want distributed tracing and metrics built on OpenTelemetry.
Zabbix
Best for: Teams who want long-established, self-hosted monitoring for networks and servers.
Grafana's licence changed, and it matters for some teams
Here's a detail people miss when they self-host. Grafana Labs' own licensing page says that on April 20, 2021, its core open-source projects moved from the Apache License 2.0 to AGPLv3.
For most internal dashboards that changes nothing. But if you modify the code and offer it to others as a service, AGPL has obligations Apache didn't. If that's your situation, check the licence of any alternative too, not just the features.
What to compare in a dashboard tool
- Data sources: native support for what you already store.
- Alerting: alerts that reach the right person.
- Hosting: self-hosted, cloud, or both.
- Dashboards as code: version control for dashboard changes.
- Access: roles so viewers can't break panels.
How to rebuild your key dashboards
- List the five dashboards people open every week.
- Connect the new tool to the same data sources.
- Rebuild those five first, panel by panel.
- Recreate the alerts and test each one.
- Retire old dashboards nobody misses after a month.
Monitoring mistakes to avoid
- Alerting on everything. Noise trains people to ignore alerts.
- No owner. Every dashboard needs someone responsible.
- Forgetting retention. Check how long data is kept.
- Skipping access control. Lock down who can edit.
If you also report numbers to clients, my reporting narrative prompt pack helps turn charts into a clear story.
Questions to ask before you replace your dashboards
People get attached to their dashboards. Ask these questions before you move, so the switch feels like an upgrade rather than a loss.
- Which data sources does it support natively?
- Can alerts go to the same chat and on-call tools?
- Can we manage dashboards as code?
- How are logins and roles handled?
- What happens to data retention and storage?
Then show the new dashboards to the people who use the old ones. Their feedback in week one decides whether the change sticks.
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Do you make monitoring and dashboard tools? Tool makers can ask to be considered for a featured place on this list.
My plain advice on Grafana alternatives
Don't migrate every dashboard. Most teams have dozens that nobody looks at. Rebuild the few that drive decisions and let the rest go.
And treat alerts as the real product. A pretty dashboard is nice, but the alert that wakes the right person is what protects your site.
Frequently asked questions
What's the best open-source alternative to Grafana?
Several open-source dashboard and monitoring tools are free to self-host.
Is Grafana still open source?
Its core projects moved to the AGPLv3 licence in 2021, according to Grafana Labs.
Can I use these tools with Prometheus?
Many support Prometheus data directly or through plugins.
Do these tools include alerting?
Most monitoring tools include alerting. Some dashboard tools rely on separate alerting.
What's OpenTelemetry?
It's an open standard for collecting metrics, logs and traces from your apps.
Can I build dashboards from SQL databases?
Yes. Several tools here are built around SQL queries.
What does dashboards as code mean?
Dashboards are stored as files you can review and version like code.
Do I need a separate log tool?
Some tools handle logs too. Others focus on metrics.
Is self-hosting hard?
Small setups are manageable, but someone must handle updates and storage.
How many dashboards should a small team have?
As few as possible. A handful that people use beats dozens nobody opens.
Can viewers edit my dashboards?
Most tools have roles that keep viewers read-only.
Can I move dashboards automatically?
Rarely. Expect to rebuild the important ones by hand.
Can business users build their own dashboards?
Some tools make it easy with drag-and-drop panels, while others suit technical users who write queries.
Do I need a separate database for metrics?
Usually yes. Dashboards read from a data store, such as a time-series database or a log store.
Can I embed dashboards in other tools?
Several tools let you embed panels in wikis, portals or internal apps.
