Grafana Cloud alternatives: 6 open-source picks
These 6 Grafana Cloud alternatives replace it for $0, led by OpenObserve, HyperDX and Uptrace. All 6 are open source. License, stars and last commit checked by hand on 2026-08-29. No trials, no crippled tiers.
Logs, metrics, traces and dashboards in one stack; fewer logos, same telemetry.
licenseAGPL-3.0
runsyour machine or their cloud
installHosted signup, or a single binary/Docker container; Helm plus external services for HA
dataTelemetry is stored as Apache Parquet on local disk or object storage; single-node metadata defaults to SQLite, while HA uses PostgreSQL and NATS.
the catch vs Grafana CloudIt unifies the core telemetry signals, but it does not reproduce Grafana Cloud's enormous dashboard, data-source, alerting, and LGTM ecosystem.
setupThe easy single-node path still needs collectors and persistent storage; production HA adds Kubernetes, object storage, PostgreSQL, and NATS.
facts verified 2026-08-14
An OpenTelemetry stack with logs, metrics and traces; ClickHouse replaces the alphabet soup.
OpenTelemetry APM with two databases and no pretending that is one click.
licenseAGPL-3.0
runsyour machine or their cloud
installHosted signup, or Docker Compose with Uptrace, ClickHouse, PostgreSQL, Redis, and an OpenTelemetry Collector
dataSelf-hosted telemetry lives in ClickHouse, metadata in PostgreSQL, and transient cache/session data in Redis; Docker uses persistent named volumes.
the catch vs Grafana CloudIt is a capable OpenTelemetry APM, but it is narrower than the hosted Grafana, Prometheus, Loki, and Tempo ecosystem and carries a multi-database self-hosting burden.
setupEven the small-team Compose deployment is a multi-database stack, and production operation adds collectors, backups, TLS, retention tuning, and ordered upgrades.
facts verified 2026-08-14
Self-hosted uptime monitor with status pages, 90+ notification channels, and a slick dashboard
licenseMIT
runsyour server
setupnot verified by us yet — check the repo README
facts verified 2026-08-29
The de-facto open dashboarding platform — visualize metrics, logs, and traces from any source.
licenseAGPL-3.0
runsyour server
setupnot verified by us yet — check the repo README
facts verified 2026-08-29
Dead-simple cron job monitoring — get pinged when your scheduled tasks silently stop running.
licenseBSD-3-Clause
runsyour server
setupnot verified by us yet — check the repo README
facts verified 2026-08-29
What each one is, in full: Uptime Kuma · Grafana · Healthchecks
last updated 2026-08-29 · no votes, no pay-to-list · just what's real
the usual suspects · recommended everywhere, rejected here
Uptime KumaA good uptime dashboard, not hosted metrics, logs, traces and visualization.
how to choose a Grafana Cloud alternative
Easiest to get running
Uptime Kuma — a one-click install, no server to maintain.
Most proven
Uptime Kuma, with 68,000 GitHub stars — the largest community of the 6, which usually means more answers when something breaks.
Needs real ops to self-host
Uptrace is capable but expects someone to run a server, updates and backups. Budget for that before choosing it.
what you give up by leaving Grafana Cloud
- managed global telemetry, integrations, retention, support, and scalable operations
- global probe network
- phone and SMS delivery
- massive retention
- advanced incident response and support
None of the picks above covers all of it. The full verdict says which gaps matter.
Grafana Cloud alternatives at a glance
| tool | license | running it | platforms | stars | active |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenObserve | AGPL-3.0 | docker to self-host | web, self-hosted | 20,578 | 2026-08 |
| HyperDX | open source | docker to self-host | web, self-hosted | 9,798 | 2026-08 |
| Uptrace | AGPL-3.0 | self-host, real ops | web, self-hosted | 4,300 | 2026-06 |
| Uptime Kuma | MIT | one-click install | self-hosted, web | 68,000 | 2026-08 |
| Grafana | AGPL-3.0 | docker to self-host | self-hosted, web | 65,000 | 2026-08 |
| Healthchecks | BSD-3-Clause | one-click install | self-hosted, web | 8,000 | 2026-08 |
why people still pay for Grafana Cloud
People still pay for Grafana Cloud because monitoring must continue working during the exact outage it reports, which makes independent infrastructure and alert delivery the real product. The recurring cost buys probe geography, clocks, retries, deduplication, sampling, storage, paging, notification delivery, on-call rules, and its own uptime, not just the visible interface.
questions about switching from Grafana Cloud
Is there an open-source alternative to Grafana Cloud?
Yes: OpenObserve, HyperDX, Uptrace and 3 more. Every tool on this page is open source: no trials, no crippled tiers.
Can open source really replace Grafana Cloud?
Our verdict is YES. Uptime Kuma (68k stars), Grafana (65k stars), OpenObserve (21k stars) are mature open-source replacements for Grafana Cloud — self-host in one command and stop paying. The full verdict, and what you give up by switching, is at caniopensourceit.online/grafana-cloud.
What is the easiest open-source Grafana Cloud alternative to set up?
Uptime Kuma — a one-click install, no server to maintain.
What is the most popular open-source Grafana Cloud alternative?
By GitHub stars, Uptime Kuma (68,000). Grafana is next with 65,000.
