Prometheus and Grafana are among the top choices when it comes to monitoring and visualizing DevOps systems, offering an impressive variety of features that make them indispensable tools in modern infrastructures. Here we compare both these tools across five key parameters to assist with making an informed decision.
Feature
Prometheus
Grafana
Data Source and Collection
Collects metrics from a variety of sources, including HTTP endpoints, DNS, and filesystems. Can also scrape metrics from other monitoring systems, such as Elasticsearch and InfluxDB.
Only uses data from external systems like Prometheus, MySQL, Azure Monitor, and Amazon CloudWatch.
Data Queries and Language
Uses PromQL, a powerful query language that allows users to select, aggregate, and filter time series data.
Uses its own query language, which is similar to PromQL but with some additional features.
Visualization and Dashboards
Does not have a built-in visualization tool. However, it can be used with Grafana to create powerful dashboards.
Is a powerful visualization tool that can be used to create interactive dashboards from data from a variety of sources.
Alerting and Monitoring
Can be used to create alerts based on thresholds and patterns in metrics data. Includes a built-in alerting system that can send notifications to users when alerts are triggered.
Can be used to create alerts based on data from Prometheus or other monitoring systems. Includes a built-in alerting system that can send notifications to users when alerts are triggered.
Pricing
Open source and free to use.
Open source, but there is a paid version that offers additional features, such as support for more data sources and users.
1. Data Source and Collection:Â
Prometheus was specifically created to collect metrics from various data sources using its time series database, with special emphasis placed on collecting system and application metrics - making it the go-to choice for infrastructure monitoring. In contrast, Grafana serves not as its own data source but more as an integration and visualization tool that connects to various other sources - ideal for complex monitoring setups where multiple sources need integrating into one view of monitoring setups.
2. Data Queries and Language:
Prometheus utilizes its proprietary query language known as PromQL which was designed specifically for time series data. With PromQL you can perform powerful queries and aggregates easily so as to easily extract meaningful insights from metrics. In contrast, Grafana allows for you to select between various query languages depending on which data source you use - making Grafana an adaptable way of querying data sources.
3. Visualization and Dashboards:
When it comes to visualizing and creating dashboards, Grafana is a standout choice. Its user-friendly interface and versatile options make it easy to craft visually appealing dashboards with customizable panels and various visualization features like filters and animated charts. If you're looking for powerful interactive dashboards, Grafana is the way to go.
4. Alerting and Monitoring:
However, if monitoring and alerting are your top priorities, then Prometheus is the better option. It was specifically designed for monitoring and features an advanced alerting system that allows you to set alerts based on metrics thresholds, trends, patterns, or complex rules defined using query language. Grafana can use data from Prometheus or other monitoring systems to create alerts. It can also send notifications to users when alerts are triggered.
5. Pricing:
Both Prometheus and Grafana are open-source tools and available for free, making them cost-effective solutions for monitoring and visualization needs. However, additional expenses may arise depending on your infrastructure setup. For Prometheus, this might involve allocating resources for storage and maintenance costs, while opting for Grafana might include costs related to connecting and managing data sources.
Ultimately, the choice between Prometheus and Grafana depends on your specific requirements for monitoring and visualization purposes. Prometheus offers powerful data collection features with its superb alerting system, while Grafana excels with visualization dashboards, providing multiple customizable options and multi-data source support.
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