Loki vs OpenObserve: Pricing and Ratings Compared (2026)
Entry prices and free plans as read on each vendor's pricing page, and user ratings as published on review sites, for Loki and OpenObserve side by side. This page compares data; it is not a hands-on review.
On the data: On the data below, Loki leads on a free plan. We do not name an overall winner for this pair.
Short on time? Here's the quick answer
Based on published vendor pricing and features and on public review data, here's who should pick what:
Loki
Log aggregation by Grafana Labs
Best for you if:
- • You want a fully free tool (OpenObserve requires payment)
OpenObserve
Open source, petabyte-scale observability for logs, metrics, and traces at a fraction of the cost.
Best for you if:
- • You want significantly lower storage costs (up to 140x compared to Elasticsearch)
| At a Glance | Loki | OpenObserve |
|---|---|---|
Starts at | Free 100% free | Not published |
Category | Log Management Monitoring | Monitoring Log Management |
Rating | 4.0/5 PeerSpot 4.0 49 reviews | n/a |
Free plan | Yes | No |
Watch out for | n/a | Audit Trail is 2% of monthly spend. |
Choose Loki or OpenObserve?
Choose Loki if
- You want a fully free tool (OpenObserve requires payment)
- You want grafana-native logging
- You want cost-effective at scale
- You work in log management, not monitoring
Choose OpenObserve if
- You want significantly lower storage costs (up to 140x compared to Elasticsearch)
- You want high performance and scalability, capable of handling petabytes of data
- You work in monitoring, not log management
In-Depth Analysis
Loki
Log aggregation by Grafana Labs
Loki's pricing is exceptionally fair and generous, as it is entirely free and open-source.
Strengths
- Pro: Grafana-native logging
- Pro: Cost-effective at scale
- Pro: Label-based indexing
- Pro: Good for Kubernetes
- Pro: Simple architecture
Weaknesses
- Con: Less features than Elasticsearch
- Con: Query language different
- Con: Full-text search limited
- Con: Learning curve
- Con: Some scale limitations
Key features
OpenObserve
Open source, petabyte-scale observability for logs, metrics, and traces at a fraction of the cost.
OpenObserve's Pay As You Go model offers a fair and transparent pricing structure, especially for ingestion at $0.50 per GB and querying at $0.01 per GB, which can be competitive for high-volume users.
Watch out
Audit Trail is 2% of monthly spend.
Strengths
- Pro: Significantly lower storage costs (up to 140x compared to Elasticsearch).
- Pro: High performance and scalability, capable of handling petabytes of data.
- Pro: Open-source nature allows for community contributions, security audits, and full control.
- Pro: Unified platform for logs, metrics, and traces simplifies observability.
- Pro: Supports open standards and protocols for vendor-neutral integration.
Weaknesses
- Con: Pricing for advanced features like AI Assistant and AI SRE Agent is currently in preview, future costs are not fully detailed.
- Con: Requires some technical expertise for self-hosting and managing storage buckets.
Key features
Plans and prices: Loki vs OpenObserve
| Tool | Plans and prices | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Loki |
| grafana.com/oss/loki read Oct 8, 2026 |
| OpenObserve |
| openobserve.ai/pricing read Oct 22, 2026 |
Prices as read on each vendor's own pricing page on the date shown. Plans are listed per tool and are not matched against the other tool's plans: a plan name or price in one column says nothing about the same row in the other. Details on Loki pricing and OpenObserve pricing.
Key Takeaways
Loki
- Has a free plan
OpenObserve
- Choose if you want open source, petabyte-scale observability for logs, metrics, and traces at a fraction of the cost
What the data shows
On the data below, Loki leads on a free plan. We do not name an overall winner for this pair.
- Only Loki has a published user rating (4.0/5 from 49 reviews); OpenObserve has none we can show.
- Only Loki has a free plan.
Criteria: user rating (only above 20 reviews on both sides, gap of 0.2 or more), entry price (only on the same billing basis), free plan. How we rate
Frequently Asked Questions
How do Loki and OpenObserve compare in 2026?
On the data below, Loki leads on a free plan. We do not name an overall winner for this pair. Only Loki has a published user rating (4.0/5 from 49 reviews); OpenObserve has none we can show. Only Loki has a free plan.
What are Loki and OpenObserve used for?
Loki: Log aggregation by Grafana Labs. OpenObserve: Open source, petabyte-scale observability for logs, metrics, and traces at a fraction of the cost.
What does Loki cost vs OpenObserve?
Loki is free. OpenObserve has no public paid-plan price on file. Prices read on the vendors' pricing pages, latest check Oct 22, 2026.
What's the main difference between Loki and OpenObserve?
Loki's main strength: grafana-native logging. OpenObserve's main strength: significantly lower storage costs (up to 140x compared to Elasticsearch).