Business Intelligence & Dashboards
Grafana
Rest of world Report an error0–5 in half steps. 5 means the rubric's top anchor is met on the evidence.
by Raintank Inc. (Grafana Labs) · grafana.com
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Grafana at a glance
- Vendor
- Raintank Inc. (Grafana Labs)
- Headquarters
- Not stated on the vendor’s pages as of 1 Nov 2026
- Data hosting
- Not stated on the vendor’s pages as of 1 Nov 2026
- Free plan
- Yes, per the vendor’s own page source, captured 1 Nov 2026
- Panel verdict
- The AI panel rates Grafana 3/5, the mean of 6 judges. Grafana, from Raintank Inc., d/b/a Grafana Labs of New York, is a dashboards product whose plugins query existing sources in real time without ingestion into a vendor store — self-managed, on Grafana Cloud or as a self-hosted Enterprise edition. how scores are made
- As of
- Vendor pages captured 1 Nov 2026; evaluated by the panel 1 Nov 2026. all sources
Read this page as one judge. Each weighs the same scores by what they care about.
The panel's verdict
Grafana, from Raintank Inc., d/b/a Grafana Labs of New York, is a dashboards product whose plugins query existing sources in real time without ingestion into a vendor store — self-managed, on Grafana Cloud or as a self-hosted Enterprise edition. Scores are strongest on governance and portability, 7 to 8: role-based permissions, SAML, SCIM and LDAP sync, an HTTP API with OpenAPI specifications, Git Sync and a Terraform provider. Sharing and embedding is weakest at 4 to 5: scheduled PDF email is documented; no public information was found on Slack or Microsoft Teams delivery, Excel export or embedding. Sovereignty splits, with five judges at 6 and the data analyst at 4: subprocessors AWS, Azure and Google Cloud are listed as USA (Default), EU regions only on customer selection subject to availability, and judges divide on whether the self-managed open-source edition proves a sovereign chain. Pricing transparency spans 5 to 7: the free tier and Pro at $8 / active user plus a $19 per month platform fee are published; Enterprise is custom with a $25,000 per year minimum commit.
Speaks for it
- Live queries through 150+ data source plugins read data where it already lives, with no migration or ingestion into a vendor store
- Governance and portability scored 7 to 8, the highest range on any criterion, on role-based permissions, SAML, SCIM provisioning and LDAP sync, an HTTP API with OpenAPI specifications, Git Sync and a Terraform provider
- Self-managed open-source and self-hosted Enterprise editions are documented for buyers who host their own instance
- The free tier's limits are published — 10k metrics, 50GB logs, 3 users, 14-day retention — and Pro lists $8 / active user plus a $19 per month platform fee including 3 active users
- The subprocessor list names each provider with its address, the data processing agreement is downloadable, and ISO 27001 and SOC 2 Type 2 are certified through A-LIGN
Held against it
- Sharing and embedding scored 4 to 5: scheduled PDF reports by email are documented, but we found no public information on delivery to Slack or Microsoft Teams, Excel export, or embedding dashboards
- We found no public information on a semantic layer where metrics such as revenue or churn are defined once and reused across reports, and self-service and modelling scores range 4 to 6
- The contracting entity is Raintank Inc. of New York, and infrastructure subprocessors AWS, Azure and Google Cloud are listed as USA (Default), with EU regions available only when the customer selects them, subject to availability
- The Enterprise tier is custom-priced with a minimum commit of $25,000 per year, and viewer seat pricing, VAT treatment and minimum term are not published
- We found no public information on scheduled or incremental refresh intervals, a gateway for databases behind a firewall, or connector limits per plan
Best for
- You need dashboards over databases and other sources that stay where they are, queried live through plugins rather than ingested into a vendor store
- Your team wants to self-host on its own servers and manage dashboards as code through Git Sync, the Terraform provider and the documented HTTP API
- You need role-based permissions, SAML single sign-on, SCIM provisioning and LDAP sync before handing dashboards to a wide internal audience
- You want to start on the published free tier limits — 10k metrics, 50GB logs, 3 users, 14-day retention — before committing
Avoid if
- You need to embed dashboards inside your own software product: the captured pages document scheduled PDF email, the Shared Dashboards and Snapshot APIs appear on the deprecated interfaces list, and we found no public information on an embedding licence model
- You need a cloud chain with EU hosting as the default: the published subprocessor list shows AWS, Azure and Google Cloud as USA (Default), and additional regions such as EU are available only when the customer selects them, subject to availability
- You need predictable costs for many occasional viewers — ask the vendor: the public pages we read do not show it
The scores
| Criterion | Panel median |
|---|---|
| Data sources, connectors & refresh | 3 of 5 |
| Dashboards, charts & interactivity | 3 of 5 |
| Self-service analysis & shared metrics | 3 of 5 |
| Sharing, scheduled reports & embedding | 2.5 of 5 |
| Access control, administration & portability | 3.5 of 5 |
| European sovereignty | 3 of 5 |
| Pricing transparency | 3 of 5 |
Data sources, connectors & refresh
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How this is scored
Which data the product can reach and how it stays current: native connectors to databases and warehouses (PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQL Server, BigQuery, Snowflake), to business applications (accounting, ERP, CRM, shop, help desk, ad platforms) and to files and spreadsheets (Excel, CSV, Google Sheets), live queries versus imported extracts, scheduled and incremental refresh with its minimum interval, joining data from several sources, light data preparation, access to databases behind a firewall (gateway, SSH tunnel, IP allow-list), and a generic REST or custom connector for what is not listed.
0 — Not a reporting product, or data can only be typed or pasted in by hand.
3 — Spreadsheet and file uploads plus a handful of named connectors; refresh schedules, live queries and blending sources are basic or not described.
5 — A published connector list covering the common databases, warehouses, spreadsheets and several named business applications, scheduled refresh with its interval stated, live queries or extracts at the customer's choice, data from two sources combined in one report, and a documented way to reach a database behind a firewall.
8 — Hundreds of maintained connectors or a full SQL layer over every major warehouse, incremental refresh and caching explained, a built-in data preparation or modelling step, a gateway or agent for on-premise sources, a generic REST or custom connector SDK, and connector limits (rows, API calls, history) stated per plan.
10 — Connectivity an organisation can standardise on: every source reachable live or by extract with the trade-offs documented, refresh down to minutes with lineage from report back to source, source changes detected and reported, and connector behaviour, quotas and failure handling published.
The Finance Controller
Over one hundred and fifty plugins are published, including BigQuery, Snowflake and Enterprise plugins for Oracle and ServiceNow, and the architecture queries sources in place in real time rather than forcing ingestion into a vendor store — which suits my ERP databases. Transformations combine results from different data sources, and SQL and visual query editors are documented. We found no public information on connectors to accounting or ERP systems, on scheduled refresh intervals, or on reaching a database behind a firewall. 1 2 3 11 12
The Managing Director
150+ plugins including documented BigQuery and Snowflake connectors with SQL and visual query editors, live queries that read the data where it already lives, transformations that combine several sources, and a platform for building our own plugins — a genuine warehouse story. But we found no public information on connectors for a CRM, accounting, help desk or project tools, on spreadsheet uploads, on refresh intervals, or on reaching a database behind our firewall, so I cannot see my four business apps joined on one screen from an afternoon's setup. 1 2 3 11 12
The Data Analyst
The 150-plus data source plugins hook into existing sources live without forcing me to ingest or migrate my warehouse anywhere, and the captured BigQuery and Snowflake plugins document both a SQL and a visual query editor with macros and partitioned tables, plus transformations that combine queries across sources. That said, we found no public information on a gateway or tunnel for databases behind a firewall, on incremental refresh and caching behaviour, or on connector limits per plan. 1 2 3 11 12
The IT Administrator
A hundred and fifty-plus plugins cover named sources including BigQuery, Snowflake and Oracle plus Splunk, ServiceNow, Datadog and Dynatrace under the Enterprise plugins, and the plugins query each source in real time without ingesting data into a vendor store — our ERP database stays where it is. Transformations combine data across queries and data sources, SQL expressions and recording rules sit on top, and a plugin development platform exists for what is not listed. We found no public information on scheduled refresh intervals, spreadsheet connectors or a documented gateway for databases behind a firewall, though the self-managed edition can run inside our own network. 1 2 3 11 12
The SaaS Product Lead
With 150+ data source plugins, including BigQuery and Snowflake with both SQL and visual query editors and Enterprise plugins for Oracle, ServiceNow, Splunk and Datadog, connector breadth is well documented, and panels render data in real time from sources wherever they live, with no ingestion into a vendor store. Transformations rename, summarize and calculate across queries from different data sources, and tooling exists to build custom plugins. We found no public information on reaching databases behind a firewall, on scheduled or incremental refresh, or on per-plan connector limits. 1 2 3 11 12
The Skeptic
The captured pages describe a live-query architecture — data source plugins hook into existing sources via APIs and render data in real time without migrating or ingesting it — with 150+ plugins, Enterprise plugins for Splunk, Oracle, ServiceNow, Datadog and Dynatrace, SQL and visual query editors for sources such as BigQuery and Snowflake, transformations that combine queries from different data sources, and a plugins platform for building your own. I found no public information on scheduled or incremental refresh with its minimum interval, a gateway or agent for databases behind a firewall, or connector limits stated per plan. 1 2 3 11 12
Dashboards, charts & interactivity
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How this is scored
What can be built and how readers use it: the range of chart types, tables and pivot tables, maps, KPI tiles with targets and comparisons, dashboard layout, filters and date controls that apply across a dashboard, drill-down and drill-through, cross-filtering by clicking a chart, templates for common sources, mobile and TV display, theming to the company's design, number formatting and localisation (decimal comma, currencies, German date formats), and accessibility of the result.
0 — No charts or dashboards; the product only stores or moves data.
3 — Standard bar, line and pie charts and a table on a dashboard; filters, drill-down and mobile display are basic or not described.
5 — A broad chart library with pivot tables, maps and KPI tiles with comparison to a previous period or target, dashboard-wide filters and date ranges, drill-down, templates for common sources, a mobile view, and number and date formats localised.
8 — Cross-filtering and drill-through between dashboards, custom visuals or a chart SDK, conditional formatting and annotations, dashboards themed to a brand, TV and presentation modes, pixel-exact or paginated reports for print, and accessibility of charts documented.
10 — Dashboards that a whole organisation reads daily: every interaction (filter, drill, cross-filter, parameter) available to readers without editor rights, performance on large data stated, accessibility conformance (WCAG) published, and every chart reproducible from a documented query.
The Finance Controller
Heatmaps, histograms, geomaps, time series, tables, stat and gauge panels give a broad chart library, with dashboard-wide template variables, drill-down apps, dashboard templates and annotations on the graphs. Dashboards can be generated as PDF and saved to file, which is the basis of my board report. We found no public information on pivot tables, mobile display, or number and date formats in German localisation. 1 2 3 11
The Managing Director
Heatmaps, histograms, geomaps, time series, tables, stat and gauge panels, plus dashboard templates, template variables as dashboard-wide controls, and drill-down apps that need no queries — a genuinely broad visualisation library. We found no public information on pivot tables, KPI panels with target or previous-period comparison, mobile or TV display, or localised number and date formats, which is what my team's phones and the office screen would need. 1 2 11
The Data Analyst
A genuinely broad visualisation library — heatmaps, histograms, geomaps, time series, tables, state timelines, stat and gauge panels — with template variables for dynamic dashboards, drilldown apps that work without writing queries, dashboard templates and annotations on charts. We found no public information on pivot tables, mobile display, or localised number and date formats such as decimal commas and German dates, which matters for my weekly finance review. 1 2 11
The IT Administrator
The chart library is broad — heatmaps, histograms, geomaps, time series, tables, state timeline, stat and gauge panels — with template variables working as dashboard-wide filters, annotations overlaying events on graphs, and drilldown apps that need no query writing. Dashboard templates, dynamic layouts with tabs, nested folders for organisation and Enterprise-level custom branding are documented. We found no public information on mobile display, localised number and date formats, or accessibility of the resulting dashboards. 1 2 3 11
The SaaS Product Lead
The visualization library is broad — heatmaps, histograms, geomaps, time series, tables, stat and gauge panels, state timelines — with template variables acting as dashboard-wide controls, drilldown apps, annotations, dashboard templates and responsive layout with tabs, and the Enterprise edition lets us replace the Grafana brand and logo with our own. That covers most of what my fleet customers would read daily. We found no public information on pivot tables, cross-filtering by clicking a chart, mobile or TV display, localised number and date formats, or accessibility of the charts. 2 1 11 3
The Skeptic
The feature pages list heatmaps, histograms, geomaps, time series, tables, stat panels, gauges and state timelines, plus dashboard templates, template variables, annotations, tabs and responsive layout, and drilldown apps that work without writing queries. I found no public information on pivot tables, cross-filtering or drill-through, mobile or TV display, number-format localisation, or accessibility of the resulting charts. 1 2 11
Self-service analysis & shared metrics
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How this is scored
Whether people outside the data team can answer their own questions and whether everyone gets the same answer: a visual query builder, a SQL editor for analysts, calculated fields and formulas, a semantic layer or data model where metrics such as revenue or churn are defined once and reused, metric definitions under version control (Git, dbt integration), questions in natural language with the generated query shown, forecasting and anomaly detection with the method stated, and notebooks or Python for deeper analysis.
0 — Dashboards can only be viewed; no one can ask a new question of the data.
3 — Charts are configured from a field list and simple calculated fields; shared metric definitions, SQL and a query builder are basic or not described.
5 — A visual query builder for business users and a SQL editor for analysts, calculated fields and formulas, saved questions reused across dashboards, a data model or dataset layer where joins and metrics are defined once, and natural-language questions that show the query they ran.
8 — A semantic layer with governed metrics and dimensions reused across every report, definitions in code under Git version control or synced with dbt, certified or endorsed datasets, forecasting and anomaly detection with the method stated, and Python or notebook analysis beside the dashboards.
10 — Self-service that stays consistent at scale: every metric defined once and traced to every chart that uses it, changes reviewed and tested before they reach readers, AI answers grounded in the semantic layer with their limits documented, and the model exportable in an open format.
The Finance Controller
Business users get visual query editors and analysts get SQL, with saved queries to keep standards consistent, transformations for calculations across queries, and Git Sync to version dashboards. There is no evidence of a semantic layer where a metric like contribution margin is defined once and reused on every page, which is what would matter most in my monthly close. The AI assistant is described without any statement of the query it ran. 1 2 11
The Managing Director
A visual query editor sits beside a SQL editor, saved queries set consistent standards across dashboards, SQL expressions and transformations do the calculated fields, and Git Sync versions the work. We found no public information on a shared metric model where revenue or utilisation is defined once for everyone, on natural-language questions that show the query they ran, or on forecasting — so keeping forty people's numbers consistent would still fall on someone technical, and I have no one whose job is data. 1 2 11
The Data Analyst
Both a SQL editor and a visual query editor are documented, alongside saved queries, SQL expressions in dashboards and recording rules, and Git Sync to store and version dashboards — the Git workflow I want exists for dashboards. But we found no public information on a semantic layer where revenue or churn is defined once and reused across every report, and the AI assistant is described without any statement that natural-language answers show the query they ran. 1 2 11
The IT Administrator
Both a visual query editor and SQL editors are documented, with saved queries to standardise reuse, SQL expressions to transform data, and transformations that rename, summarise and calculate across data sources. Dashboards are versioned through Git Sync and deploy through the software pipeline with Terraform provisioning, which is the as-code discipline I want before departments build their own numbers. We found no public information on a governed semantic layer where revenue or churn is defined once, on forecasting and anomaly methods, or on Python notebooks. 1 2 11
The SaaS Product Lead
Both a visual query editor and a SQL editor are documented, with SQL expressions for calculations, saved queries to set consistent standards, drilldown apps for people who write no queries, Git Sync to version dashboards, and an AI assistant for prebuilt dashboards and intelligent filters — decent groundwork for customers building their own views. We found no public information on a semantic layer where business metrics like revenue or churn are defined once and reused across every report, on natural-language answers that show the query they ran, on forecasting, or on notebook or Python analysis. 11 1 2
The Skeptic
Both a visual query builder and a SQL editor are documented, with SQL expressions usable in dashboards, alerting and recording rules, saved queries for consistent standards, transformations across sources, Git Sync to version dashboards, and an AI Assistant that builds dashboards and filters. I found no public information on the query behind the AI Assistant's answers, a semantic layer where metrics are defined once and reused, dbt integration, forecasting and anomaly methods, or notebooks. 1 2 11
Sharing, scheduled reports & embedding
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How this is scored
How results reach the people who need them: sharing a dashboard with colleagues and with external parties, public or password-protected links, scheduled reports by email or chat (Slack, Microsoft Teams) as PDF, image or data, threshold alerts, comments and annotations, export to PDF, PowerPoint and Excel, embedding dashboards in an intranet, a website or the company's own software product, white-label options, and per-customer data separation for embedded use.
0 — Results cannot leave the editor; no sharing, export or embedding.
3 — Dashboards shared with other users of the account and exported to PDF or CSV; scheduled reports, alerts and embedding are basic or not described.
5 — Sharing with colleagues and by link, scheduled email reports with PDF or image, alerts when a metric crosses a threshold, export to PDF and Excel, and dashboards embedded in a website or intranet with an iframe or script.
8 — Reports delivered to Slack or Microsoft Teams, comments and annotations on dashboards, signed embedding with row-level filtering per viewer, an embedding SDK for a software product with white-label styling, client or guest portals, and an embedding licence model documented.
10 — Distribution as a product: multi-tenant embedded analytics with per-customer data isolation, theming and custom domains, end-user self-service inside the host application, every delivery channel automatable through an API, and usage of shared and embedded content reported to the customer.
The Finance Controller
Scheduled reporting automatically generates PDFs from dashboards and emails them to interested parties on a schedule, alert rules can be built on the data, and manual PDF export exists. We found no public information on sharing by link, delivery to Slack or Microsoft Teams, Excel export, or embedding dashboards in an intranet or website. 2 3 5 11
The Managing Director
Scheduled PDF reports emailed to interested parties, PDF export of any dashboard, alert rules on the underlying data, and custom branding — the Monday-morning email I want is documented. We found no public information on sharing by public or password-protected link, delivery to Slack or Teams, comments, Excel export, or embedding a dashboard in a website or intranet. 3 11
The Data Analyst
Scheduled PDF reports emailed automatically from any dashboard, PDF export to file, alerting with rules, annotations on charts and Viewer, Editor and Admin roles for sharing inside the account are documented. We found no public information on sharing links with external parties, delivery to Slack or Microsoft Teams, Excel export, or embedding dashboards in an intranet or website. 3 5 11
The IT Administrator
Scheduled reporting is real: PDFs are generated from any dashboard and emailed to interested parties on a schedule, dashboards export to PDF, and alert rules can be built on data conditions; shared dashboards and snapshots also exist as API objects. We found no public information on delivery to Slack or Microsoft Teams, export to Excel, or embedding dashboards in an intranet or our own software, which is what I would need before pushing reports to customers and the field. 3 5 11
The SaaS Product Lead
Scheduled PDF reports emailed on a schedule, PDF export, alert rules and white-label branding in the Enterprise edition are documented, which covers delivery basics for internal readers. For my use case the gap is decisive: we found no public information on embedding dashboards inside our own software product, on per-viewer row filtering in an embedded context (the fine-grained permissions documented are LBAC for Loki logs and general data source access), on an embedding SDK, or on an embedding licence model. 3 11 1 8
The Skeptic
Scheduled reporting is documented in concrete terms — PDFs generated from any dashboard and emailed to interested parties on a schedule — alongside alert rules, annotations and custom branding in the Enterprise edition. A Shared Dashboards API and a Snapshot API appear only in a list of deprecated interfaces, and I found no public information on sharing with external parties, delivery to Slack or Microsoft Teams, Excel export, or embedding via iframe or an SDK. 3 5 11
Access control, administration & portability
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How this is scored
What a company needs before it gives the tool to everyone, and what leaving would cost: roles and folder or workspace permissions, row-level and column-level security, single sign-on (SAML, OpenID Connect) and user provisioning (SCIM), audit logs and usage analytics, content certification and lifecycle, environments for development and production, a public REST API for administration and content, export of dashboards and definitions in a reusable format, open-source code, and a self-hosted or on-premise edition the customer runs on its own servers.
0 — A single shared login with no permissions; dashboards cannot be exported or administered.
3 — Users with view and edit rights; row-level security, single sign-on, an API and export of definitions are basic or not described.
5 — Roles and folder or workspace permissions, row-level security documented, single sign-on on at least one stated plan, an audit log, a documented REST API, and dashboards and data exportable on termination.
8 — Column-level security and data permissions inherited from the source, SAML and SCIM provisioning, usage analytics for admins, development and production environments or content promotion, dashboards and definitions as code that can be versioned and moved, and a self-hosted or on-premise edition with its own documentation.
10 — Governance and an exit that can be verified: open-source code under a named licence that runs fully self-hosted with feature parity stated, every object (data model, dashboards, permissions) exportable in a documented format another instance imports, audit logs streamed to the customer's own systems, and deletion of every copy on termination documented.
The Finance Controller
The Enterprise edition documents role-based permissions on Viewer, Editor and Admin roles, SAML single sign-on, SCIM provisioning, LDAP sync, data source permissions and usage insights for administrators, while dashboards are versioned with Git Sync and managed as code through Terraform and the documented HTTP API. Self-managed open-source and Enterprise editions are documented, which is the route my auditors would prefer. We found no public information on column-level security, audit logs, or separate development and production environments. 1 3 5 11
The Managing Director
Viewer, Editor and Admin roles with detailed permissions and nested folders, SAML single sign-on, SCIM and LDAP provisioning, usage insights and dashboard search for administrators, a documented OpenAPI HTTP API with a Swagger UI, and Git-versioned, pipeline-deployed dashboards — enough for me to hand this to forty people with confidence. We found no public information on column-level security, audit logs, or separate development and production environments. 1 3 5
The Data Analyst
This is the exit story I need: an open-source, self-managed edition I run myself, role-based permissions across Viewer, Editor and Admin, data source permissions and Loki fine-grained access rules, SAML and SCIM provisioning, usage insights, and dashboards as code through Git Sync, the Terraform provider and the documented HTTP API with OpenAPI specifications. We found no public information on column-level security or separate development and production environments. 1 3 5
The IT Administrator
This is close to what I require before rollout: viewer, editor and admin roles with detailed permissions, data source permissions, active LDAP sync, SAML single sign-on and SCIM provisioning are all documented — the single sign-on pieces in the Enterprise edition — alongside usage insights and per-dashboard activity reporting for administrators. Every instance exposes an HTTP API with a published OpenAPI specification, dashboards and definitions move as code through Git Sync and Terraform, and there is a documented self-managed open-source edition we can run on our own servers, which is my preferred route. We found no public information on column-level security or permissions inherited from the source database, and row-level control is only evidenced for Loki log data sources. 1 3 5
The SaaS Product Lead
Role-based permissions on Viewer, Editor and Admin org roles, nested folder permissions, SAML, SCIM provisioning and LDAP team sync are all documented, alongside usage insights and dashboard analytics for admins, a full HTTP API with OpenAPI specifications and Swagger UI, Git Sync and pipelines to ship dashboards as versioned code, and a self-managed open-source edition we could run on our own infrastructure. We found no public information on column-level security or a dedicated audit log, which is what I would want before giving it to 600 customers. 3 1 5
The Skeptic
Role-based permissions across Viewer, Editor and Admin, data source permissions with fine-grained Loki log access, SAML, LDAP and SCIM provisioning, usage insights for admins, an HTTP API on every instance with published OpenAPI specifications, a Terraform provider, Git Sync, and both an open-source self-managed edition and a self-hosted Enterprise edition are all documented. I found no public information on an audit log or a general statement of row-level and column-level security. 1 3 5
European sovereignty
panel opinion
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How this is scored
Who the contracting entity and the parent company are, where the connected business data is queried, cached, extracted and stored, and who the subprocessors are (hosting, query engine, AI model providers, email delivery of reports, support and payment tools). Independently sourced by the sovereignty pipeline; a BI tool reads revenue, customer and employee data from many systems, so every place a copy or cache lands counts, not only the account database. A self-hosted or open-source edition the customer runs on its own European servers counts as the customer's chain, whatever the vendor's seat.
0 — Non-EU vendor and contracting entity, hosting unstated, subprocessors unnamed, and no data processing agreement offered.
3 — A privacy policy and a data processing agreement exist, but hosting location is unstated or non-EU and the subprocessors are not listed.
5 — EU hosting available and an EU contracting entity or EU representative, but parts of the chain (query engine, extracts and caches, AI features, report emails, support, payment) run through non-EU providers without a stated safeguard.
8 — EU hosting on named infrastructure, EU contracting entity, subprocessors listed with their locations, a data processing agreement published, where extracts and caches are stored stated, and security certifications (ISO 27001, SOC 2) stated — or a self-hosted edition documented that keeps every query and cache on the customer's own servers.
10 — Sovereign end to end and evidenced: European ownership, entity, hosting and every subprocessor including AI features, or a self-hosted open-source edition with no call home, data export and deletion documented, and certifications published with their scope rather than implied.
The Finance Controller
The contracting entity is Raintank Inc. of New York, and the listed subprocessors — AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, Sendgrid, OpenAI, Anthropic — are United States by default, with a footnote that additional regions such as the EU are available where the customer selects them. A data processing agreement is published, ISO 27001 and SOC 2 Type 2 are stated with their auditor, the EU-US Data Privacy Framework is cited, and a self-managed open-source edition exists that queries data where it lives rather than ingesting it. For me the self-hosted route on our own servers is the auditable chain; the cloud chain defaults to the United States. 1 6 7 8 9
The Managing Director
The contracting entity is Raintank Inc., d/b/a Grafana Labs of New York, and the listed subprocessors — AWS, GCP, Azure, OpenAI, Anthropic, Sendgrid and the payment processor NMI — are USA by default, with regions such as EU 'available' only when the customer selects them. A Data Processing Agreement is published, ISO 27001 and SOC 2 Type 2 are stated, and the company participates in the EU-US Data Privacy Framework with a European Privacy Supplement. A self-managed open-source edition we could run on our own European servers is documented, but we found no public information on where extracts and caches are stored. 1 6 7 8 9
The Data Analyst
The contracting entity is Raintank Inc. of New York, and the published subprocessor list names AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, Anthropic, OpenAI, Tavily and Sendgrid all as USA by default, with EU regions only as a customer-selected option subject to availability — a data processing agreement, a European privacy supplement, ISO 27001 and SOC 2 Type 2 are published. A self-managed open-source edition exists, but the captured pages do not state where its queries and caches run, so I cannot count it as a proven sovereign chain. 1 6 7 8 9
The IT Administrator
The contracting entity is Raintank Inc. in New York, and the cloud chain defaults to US subprocessors — AWS, Azure and Google for infrastructure, Sendgrid for report email, OpenAI and Anthropic for optional AI features — with a footnote that additional regions such as EU are available where customers select them. On the credit side, the subprocessor list names each provider with its location, the data processing agreement is published for download, ISO 27001 and SOC 2 Type 2 are stated, and they participate in the EU-US Data Privacy Framework. For us the decisive route is the documented self-managed open-source edition, whose plugins query data wherever it lives with no ingestion into a vendor store — though we found no public information on where extracts and caches are stored, or on an EU contracting entity or representative. 1 2 6 7 8 9
The SaaS Product Lead
The subcontracting chain is published with addresses — AWS, Azure and Google Cloud as infrastructure, OpenAI, Anthropic and Tavily for optional AI features, Twilio SendGrid for email and alerting, all USA by default with a note that additional regions such as EU are available subject to availability — and a data processing agreement is downloadable, with ISO 27001 and SOC 2 Type 2 certified through A-LIGN and EU-US Data Privacy Framework participation. The contracting entity is Raintank Inc. of New York, so the cloud route is a US chain with EU hosting only on selection. The self-managed open-source edition, which queries data wherever it lives without a vendor backend store, is the path that would keep the chain on our own European servers. 8 7 6 9 1 2
The Skeptic
The contracting entity is Raintank Inc., d/b/a Grafana Labs of 165 Broadway, New York, with information transferred to and processed in the United States; subprocessors are published with addresses, but AWS, Azure and Google Cloud are listed as USA by default with EU regions only 'subject to availability', and the AI features run through OpenAI, Anthropic and Tavily in the USA with report email via Sendgrid. A data processing agreement is downloadable, ISO 27001 and SOC 2 Type 2 are certified, and self-managed open-source and Enterprise editions are documented for customers who host their own instance. I found no public information on an EU contracting entity or EU representative, or on where extracts and caches sit in the cloud chain. 1 6 7 8 9
Pricing transparency
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How this is scored
Whether a buyer can compute the real annual cost from public pages alone: price per creator or editor seat and whether viewers are free or paid, capacity or usage pricing (rows, refreshes, queries, AI credits), which features (row-level security, SSO, embedding, API, more connectors, faster refresh) sit behind a higher tier or "contact sales", the price of embedding for external users, the self-hosted edition's licence, the free tier and its limits, minimum term and setup.
0 — No public prices at all; every customer is a sales call.
3 — A starting price or a free tier exists, but how cost scales with viewers, data volume or features is unclear.
5 — Tiers are public with their seat price and main inclusions, but at least one commonly needed piece (viewer seats, row-level security, SSO, embedding, extra connectors or refresh frequency) is unpriced or "on request".
8 — Every tier priced publicly with its scaling rule (creators, viewers, capacity, rows), viewer pricing stated, add-ons and usage overage priced, embedded and self-hosted pricing stated, minimum term and VAT treatment stated.
10 — Complete price computability: annual cost derivable for a given number of creators and viewers, data volume and feature set, with every add-on, embedding, setup, support and overage fee and the cancellation and data-return terms published.
The Finance Controller
The free tier is published with its limits (10k metrics, 50GB logs, 3 users, 14-day retention), Pro starts at $8 per active user with a platform fee of $19 per month including 3 active users, and detailed usage prices for logs, host hours and AI tokens are public. The Enterprise tier is custom pricing with contact sales and a minimum commit of $25,000 per year, cloud or self-hosted. We found no public information on viewer seat pricing, embedding pricing, or VAT treatment and minimum terms. 1 2 4
The Managing Director
The free tier's limits, Pro 'Starts at $8 / active user' with a 'Platform fee of $19 per month', 'Starts at $55 / user with Enterprise Plugins', and per-usage rates for Kubernetes, logs and AI tokens are public. But the tier carrying single sign-on, provisioning and the enterprise plugins is custom-priced with a 'Minimum commit of $25,000 per year', and we found no public information on whether occasional viewers count as active users, on minimum term or on VAT — so I cannot compute what it costs when the whole team wants to look. 1 2 4
The Data Analyst
The free tier limits are stated in detail, the Pro tier is published as $8 per active user plus a $19 per month platform fee including three active users with a pricing calculator referenced, and per-usage prices for AI tokens, host hours and test executions are public. The Enterprise tier and the self-hosted licence are custom with a stated minimum commit of $25,000 per year, and we found no public information on VAT treatment, minimum term, or a separately priced viewer seat. 1 2 4
The IT Administrator
The free tier is precisely limited (10k metrics, 50GB each of logs, traces and profiles, three users) and usage add-ons are unusually exactly priced — "Starts at $20 / active AI user", "Starts at $0.01 / host hour ($7.20/host)" for Kubernetes monitoring, "Starts at $55 / user with Enterprise Plugins" — while Pro is published at "Starts at $8 / active user" with a platform fee of "$19 per month" including three active users. The Enterprise tier, which carries the single sign-on and self-hosted enterprise capabilities, is "Prices are Custom" with a stated minimum commit of "$25,000 per year" behind contact us. We found no public information on viewer versus editor seat pricing, embedding costs, minimum term or VAT treatment, so a full annual cost cannot be computed from public pages alone. 1 2 4
The SaaS Product Lead
The free tier's limits are unusually explicit (10k metrics, 50GB of logs, traces and profiles, 3 users, 14-day retention), Pro starts at $8 / active user with a $19 per month platform fee that includes 3 active users, Enterprise Plugins are $55 / user, and Enterprise is custom with a $25,000 / year spend commit minimum covering cloud or self-hosted, plus published per-service usage rates. What I cannot compute before signing a customer is the self-hosted licence beyond that floor, viewer-specific pricing, any embedding licence, minimum term or VAT treatment — we found no public information on those. 4 2
The Skeptic
The free tier is stated as 'Always $0' with concrete limits (10k metrics, 50GB logs, 3 users, 14-day retention), Pro at '$8 / active user' plus a platform fee of '$19 per month' including 3 active users, metered prices per host-hour and per million tokens for AI features, and Enterprise is custom with a stated 'Minimum commit of $25,000 per year' covering cloud or self-hosted. Viewer seats, embedding, VAT treatment and minimum term are the pieces a buyer still cannot compute from the captured pages. 1 2 4
European sovereignty — proven facts
0 of 6 dimensions provenBuilt only from facts shown on the vendor's own pages. A dimension we could not prove is left open, not scored as zero.
| Legal entity | Not determined ⚠ unverified | — | uncited Report an error |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hosting location | Not determined ⚠ unverified | — | uncited Report an error |
| Hosting options | Not determined ⚠ unverified | — | uncited Report an error |
| Open source | Not determined ⚠ unverified | — | uncited Report an error |
| Data processing agreement | Not determined ⚠ unverified | — | uncited Report an error |
| Transfer impact assessment | Not determined | — | uncited Report an error |
Questions about Grafana
Is Grafana European?
No. whats-best.ai classifies Grafana as Rest of world.
Where does Grafana store data?
Not stated on the vendor’s pages as of 1 Nov 2026.
Does Grafana have a free plan?
Yes. Grafana has a free plan, per the vendor’s page captured 1 Nov 2026.
What are the best alternatives to Grafana?
As of 1 Nov 2026, the panel rates Metabase (3.5/5), Preset (Apache Superset) (3.5/5) and Holistics (3/5) highest among the other 15 Business Intelligence & Dashboards products evaluated. Ratings that look equal are rounded to half stars; the order uses the unrounded rating, then the name. The highest-rated European alternative is Luzmo (EU-Made). Ratings are the AI panel’s opinion, formed from public evidence: how scores are made. The full list, with European products first: Grafana alternatives.
Where this could be wrong
- Evidence ages. The oldest capture behind this page is from 1 Nov 2026. Vendors change pricing and policies without notice; every fact reflects its source as of the capture date shown in the registry.
- Weak sourcing — Data processing agreement, Open source, Legal entity, Hosting location, Hosting options. Not confirmed on the vendor’s own pages as captured.
- AI can misread a source. Extraction and judgement are automated; a citation guarantees traceability, not infallibility. If something here is wrong, say so — no account needed, every report is decided within 5 business days, and accepted corrections are published.
What we left out
A claim that does not survive our checks costs us the claim, not the page. This is what was taken off this one.
- 12 pricing facts could not be confirmed on the vendor’s page as captured and were left out of this page and of the panel’s material. Know more? Tell us
- 1 product fact could not be confirmed on the vendor’s page as captured and was left out of this page and of the panel’s material. Know more? Tell us
- 5 sovereignty dimensions could not be confirmed on the vendor’s own pages and are shown as unknown. Know more? Tell us
- 6 of the readings below were written against an earlier fact sheet — a fact has been corrected, added or pulled since. Until the panel next runs on this product you are reading the older judgement. Know more? Tell us
Sources (15)
The pages every claim on this page was read from — each one checked, dated, and kept verifiable.
- 1 Vendor product page (open source) grafana.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
- 2 Features page (Grafana Cloud) grafana.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
- 3 Features page (Grafana Enterprise) grafana.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
- 4 Pricing page grafana.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
- 5 API documentation grafana.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
- 6 Security / trust page grafana.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
- 7 Data processing agreement (dpa) grafana.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
- 8 Subprocessor list grafana.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
- 9 Privacy policy grafana.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
- 10 Terms of service grafana.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
- 11 Data sources, connectors & refresh — found from sitemap grafana.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
- 12 Data sources, connectors & refresh — found from sitemap grafana.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
- 13 Access control, administration & portability — found from sitemap grafana.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
- 14 Self-hosting / on-premises installation docs — found from the homepage grafana.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
- 15 Code repository (open-source licence) — found from the homepage github.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →