Grafana vs uptime-kuma
Side-by-side comparison of features, pricing, ratings, and alternatives.
Grafana is a multi-platform open source analytics and interactive visualization web application. It provides charts, graphs, and alerts for the web when connected to supported data sources. A feature-rich platform for building dashboards and visualizing time-series data.
Uptime Kuma is a self-hosted uptime and status page that allows you to monitor your websites and applications. It provides a simple and easy-to-use interface to create and manage your status pages.
- Highly customizable and extensible
- Supports multiple data sources and plugins
- Real-time data streaming and alerting capabilities
- Large community of developers and users
- Self-hosted solution for maximum control and security
- Customizable status pages with your own branding
- Real-time monitoring and alert system
- Support for multiple languages
- Steep learning curve for beginners
- Can be resource-intensive for large-scale deployments
- Limited support for certain data sources and plugins
- Limited scalability
- Steep learning curve for customization
- Limited support for advanced features
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The Verdict
AI-generated from listing dataUptime‑Kuma is the safer default for simple, self‑hosted uptime monitoring with branding, while Grafana offers deeper, multi‑source observability at the cost of complexity.
Key differences
- •Uptime‑Kuma focuses on website/app uptime checks and status pages; Grafana is a general‑purpose observability dashboard.
- •Grafana supports many data sources (Prometheus, Elasticsearch, etc.); Uptime‑Kuma only integrates with Discord, Telegram, GitHub.
- •Grafana includes multi‑tenancy and auth methods (OAuth, LDAP); Uptime‑Kuma has no built‑in auth beyond self‑hosting.
- •Uptime‑Kuma is a single‑purpose, lightweight JavaScript app; Grafana is a larger TypeScript platform that can be resource‑intensive.
Pricing & value
Both are free open‑source tools; value depends on required feature set.
Ease of use / learning curve
Uptime‑Kuma’s UI is simpler for basic uptime checks; Grafana’s extensive options create a steeper learning curve.
Features & depth
Grafana provides multi‑source dashboards, plugins, auth, and multi‑tenancy; Uptime‑Kuma is limited to uptime monitoring.
Integrations & ecosystem
Grafana integrates with Prometheus, Graphite, Elasticsearch, Kubernetes; Uptime‑Kuma only lists Discord, Telegram, GitHub.
Collaboration
Grafana’s multi‑tenancy and role‑based access support team collaboration; Uptime‑Kuma lacks these features.
Scalability
Grafana is designed for large‑scale deployments; Uptime‑Kuma notes limited scalability.
Support
Grafana offers email, docs, and community forum; Uptime‑Kuma only GitHub Issues and community forum.
Security & privacy
Uptime‑Kuma is self‑hosted, giving full control over data; Grafana can be self‑hosted but adds complexity.
Choose Grafana if…
DevOps/SRE groups requiring unified dashboards across many data sources and advanced auth.
Choose uptime-kuma if…
Small teams needing quick, branded uptime/status pages with full self‑hosting control.
Common questions
Is there any cost to use either tool?
Both are free open‑source; no licensing fees are listed.
Can I monitor custom metrics beyond website uptime?
Grafana supports many data sources for custom metrics; Uptime‑Kuma is limited to website/app uptime checks.
How does self‑hosting affect security?
Uptime‑Kuma’s self‑hosted model gives full data control; Grafana can also be self‑hosted but adds more components to secure.