What is the difference between Grafana and New Relic?

Grafana is best for Teams wanting open-source dashboards and visualization, while New Relic is best for Engineering teams wanting all-in-one observability. Grafana starts at Free and New Relic starts at Free.

Is Grafana or New Relic cheaper?

Grafana starts at Free and is free. New Relic starts at Free with a free tier.

Is there a free alternative to New Relic?

Both Grafana and New Relic offer free tiers.

Grafana vs New Relic

Grafana is open-source observability platform for metrics visualization, dashboards, and alerting from any data source, while New Relic is full-stack observability platform with APM, infrastructure, logs, and browser monitoring. Grafana is open source and can be self-hosted, giving you full control over your data. Grafana is built for teams wanting open-source dashboards and visualization, whereas New Relic targets engineering teams wanting all-in-one observability.

At a glance

	Grafana	New Relic
Best for	Teams wanting open-source dashboards and visualization	Engineering teams wanting all-in-one observability
Starting price	Free	Free
Free tier	✓	✓
Open source	✓	—
Free tier available	✓	✓
Open source	✓	—
APM	—	✓
Alerting	✓	—
Browser	—	✓
Dashboards	✓	—
Data Sources	✓	—
Infrastructure	—	✓
Logs	—	✓
Open Source	✓	—
Synthetics	—	✓

Grafana

Strengths

Open source and transparent
Customizable dashboards give real-time visibility into project progress
Fully open-source — you can self-host, audit the code, and avoid vendor lock-in
The core product is free with no paywalled essentials

Weaknesses

May lack some advanced features
Self-hosting is free but requires server maintenance and DevOps knowledge
Fewer built-in features means you may need additional tools to cover gaps
Ecosystem of third-party integrations is smaller than the market leaders in monitoring

Try Grafana → Full review

New Relic

Strengths

Includes APM as a core feature, purpose-built for monitoring workflows
Includes Infrastructure as a core feature, purpose-built for monitoring workflows
Free 100 GB/mo — generous enough for most small teams to get real work done
Established product with 18+ years on the market and a mature ecosystem

Weaknesses

Free plan exists but key features are locked behind the paid upgrade
Enterprise-focused design means the interface can feel heavy for smaller teams
Ecosystem of third-party integrations is smaller than the market leaders in monitoring
Overkill for freelancers or small teams who need something lightweight

Try New Relic → Full review

The bottom line

Pricing: Both Grafana and New Relic are free. You can try both without spending a dollar.

Feature gaps: Grafana offers Alerting, Dashboards and Data Sources that New Relic lacks. New Relic brings APM, Browser and Infrastructure that Grafana does not have.

Team fit: Grafana is geared toward any size teams, while New Relic is aimed at enterprise teams. Pick the one that matches where your team is today and where it is headed — migrating tools later is always painful.

Open source: Grafana is open source, meaning you can self-host, audit the code, and avoid vendor lock-in. New Relic is proprietary — you are trusting the vendor with your data and uptime.

Where each tool shines: Grafana's biggest strengths are: open source and transparent. customizable dashboards give real-time visibility into project progress. New Relic's biggest strengths are: includes apm as a core feature, purpose-built for monitoring workflows. includes infrastructure as a core feature, purpose-built for monitoring workflows.

Watch out for: With Grafana, users commonly note that may lack some advanced features. With New Relic, the main complaint is that free plan exists but key features are locked behind the paid upgrade.

Choose Grafana if...

Your profile matches its sweet spot: teams wanting open-source dashboards and visualization
You need self-hosting, data sovereignty, or the ability to audit source code
You specifically need Alerting and Dashboards
You care about customizable dashboards give real-time visibility into project progress
Your team size fits the any size profile Grafana is designed for

Choose New Relic if...

You need a tool built for engineering teams wanting all-in-one observability
You specifically need APM and Browser
You care about includes infrastructure as a core feature, purpose-built for monitoring workflows
Your team size fits the enterprise profile New Relic is designed for
The free tier works for you: free 100 gb/mo