Yes, Grafana is free. The open source edition costs nothing to download and run on your own servers, and Grafana's download page says the recommended Enterprise edition can also be used for free, with all the open source features included. If you'd rather not host it, Grafana Cloud has a free tier with allowances such as 3 active users, 10k metrics series and 50 GB of logs a month. You only pay for self hosting costs, Enterprise features or Cloud usage beyond the free allowances.
It's easy to look at a polished Grafana dashboard and assume it must cost a fortune. It doesn't have to. But there are three different ways to run Grafana, and each one is free in a different way.
The three ways to use Grafana for free
| Option | What's free | What you still pay for |
|---|---|---|
| Grafana OSS (open source) | The software itself | Your own servers and the time to run them |
| Grafana Enterprise edition, unlicensed | All open source features, free to use | A licence only if you want Enterprise features and plugins |
| Grafana Cloud free tier | A hosted account with monthly allowances | Usage above the free allowances, on a paid tier |
Open source Grafana
Grafana Labs describes Grafana as an open source data visualisation and monitoring solution, with 150+ plugins that bring different data sources into one dashboard. The licence matters if you plan to modify it: Grafana Labs announced on 20 April 2021 that its core open source projects would move from the Apache License 2.0 to AGPLv3. For most businesses simply running Grafana internally, that's not a practical issue, but if you build a product on top of a modified version, read the licensing page first.
The free Enterprise edition
Here's the detail most people miss. On Grafana's download page, the Enterprise edition is marked as the default and recommended choice. Grafana says it includes all the features of the open source edition, can be used for free, and can be upgraded to the full Enterprise feature set later, including Enterprise plugins. So if you're installing Grafana yourself, you can pick the Enterprise build at no cost and keep the option to upgrade later.
Grafana Cloud's free tier, as of October 2026
Grafana Cloud is the hosted version. Its pricing page lists these free allowances:
| Grafana Cloud product | Free tier allowance | Retention |
|---|---|---|
| Grafana visualisation | 3 active users a month, community support | Not applicable |
| Metrics | 10k active series a month | 14 days |
| Logs | 50 GB ingested a month | 14 days |
| Traces | 50 GB ingested a month | 14 days |
| Load testing | 500 virtual user hours a month | Not applicable |
Grafana's pricing page says the free tier needs no credit card and gives access to everything Grafana Cloud offers, within those limits.
When you start paying
On Grafana Cloud, the Pro tier has a $19 monthly platform fee, as of October 2026, which includes the same allowances and then charges pay as you go. Examples from the pricing page:
- Grafana users beyond 3 active a month: $8 per active user
- Metrics beyond 10k active series: $6.50 per 1k series, with 13 month retention
- Logs and traces beyond 50 GB: charged per GB to process, write and retain, with 30 day retention
- Grafana with Enterprise plugins: $55 per user
Above that, Enterprise plans are custom priced and Grafana lists a minimum commit of $25,000 per year. That's aimed at large organisations, not small teams.
What the free options leave out
- Support: Grafana Cloud's free tier comes with community support, while the paid tier adds 8x5 email support.
- History: free Cloud metrics, logs and traces are kept for 14 days.
- Enterprise plugins: these need a paid licence or the Enterprise plugins option on Cloud.
- Your time: self hosting is free software, but someone still has to install, upgrade, secure and back it up.
Grafana Cloud's free tier also includes Grafana Assistant, its AI helper for asking questions, building dashboards and running investigations, for up to 3 active AI users a month, according to its pricing page. For a small team, that's enough to try it without paying anything.
One more practical point. If you start on the Cloud free tier and later decide to self host, or the other way round, the skills and dashboard designs your team builds carry over, because both run the same Grafana software. Starting free on Cloud doesn't lock you into Cloud, so it's a low risk way to find out whether Grafana suits your team.
Commercial platforms are compared in our Datadog and Dynatrace comparison.
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Which free option should you pick?
- Choose Grafana Cloud's free tier if you want dashboards running today with nothing to install and you're a team of three or fewer active users.
- Choose the free Enterprise edition if you're self hosting, because it includes everything in open source and leaves room to upgrade.
- Choose plain open source Grafana if your policy requires community open source builds only.
- Watch retention. Free Cloud data is kept for 14 days, so it's not the place for long term history.
Grafana often sits on top of Prometheus or another data source, so it's worth seeing it in the wider picture. I've compared the best observability tools, and if Grafana isn't quite right, here are some Grafana alternatives to consider.
My verdict
Grafana is free in every sense a small business needs. Self host the free Enterprise edition if you have someone technical and want full control, or start on Grafana Cloud's free tier if you don't. Most small teams won't hit the free limits for a while, and when you do, the paid tier starts with a modest platform fee rather than a big contract.
How Grafana fits with a metrics store is explained in our Prometheus and Grafana guide.
Frequently asked questions
Is Grafana free to use?
Yes. Open source Grafana is free to self host, Grafana's Enterprise edition can be used for free, and Grafana Cloud has a free tier.
Is Grafana open source?
Yes. Grafana Labs describes Grafana as open source, and its core projects moved to the AGPLv3 licence in 2021.
What are the Grafana Cloud free tier limits?
Grafana lists 3 active users, 10k metrics series, 50 GB of logs and 50 GB of traces a month, with 14 day retention.
How much does Grafana Cloud Pro cost?
Grafana lists a $19 monthly platform fee, then pay as you go pricing above the included allowances, as of October 2026.
Should I download Grafana OSS or Enterprise?
Grafana recommends the Enterprise edition by default. It includes all open source features, is free to use and can be upgraded later.
