Top 10 Grafana alternatives: The ultimate guide [2025]

The rest...

2. Kibana

Best for Elasticsearch power users

Kibana is a popular choice for those using Elasticsearch or Logstash from the Elastic Stack, but it inherits the same challenges as Grafana when it comes to managing large volumes of data and maintaining streamlined dashboards.

It offers robust support for exploring log and event data, powerful query capabilities, and visualizations tailored to time-series and search-heavy use cases. If your observability stack is already built around Elasticsearch, Kibana fits naturally into your workflow.

However, Kibana is highly tied to Elastic – and that’s both its strength and its limitation. It’s not designed to pull in data from other tools, and creating dashboards can require significant knowledge of Elasticsearch queries and schemas.

Key features

• Solid integrations with Elasticsearch and Logstash
• Configurable role-based access control
• Customizable dashboards with sharing

Where it falls short vs. SquaredUp:

• Elastic-only: No native support for external data sources or multi-tool views
• Steep learning curve: Requires fluency with Elasticsearch DSL
• Limited accessibility: Not built with business users or cross-tool observability in mind
• Heavier on infrastructure: Often part of a self-managed or Elastic Cloud deployment

Good if you:

• Are already fully invested in the Elastic Stack
• Have dedicated engineers comfortable with Elasticsearch and managing Elastic infrastructure

Not ideal if you:

• Need to visualize and correlate data across tools like Azure, AWS, ServiceNow, or SQL.
• Want fast, shareable dashboards for broader teams or exec stakeholders

Try if you need: A powerful frontend for Elasticsearch—but expect to stay within the Elastic ecosystem.

3. Tableau

Best for business intelligence, not real-time monitoring

Tableau is a heavyweight in the world of business intelligence (BI). It’s well known for its polished visualizations and drag-and-drop interface, and it’s loved for data analysts and business users who need to explore structured datasets from databases, spreadsheets, or data warehouses. With features like storytelling dashboards, calculated fields, and natural language queries, Tableau shines when you want to transform large datasets into compelling, interactive reports.

But while Tableau excels at historical analysis and data exploration, it’s not built for real-time monitoring or observability. Connecting to live infrastructure or cloud-native data sources often requires complex workarounds, and creating dashboards for engineering teams can feel heavy and slow.

Key features

• Best-in-class data visualizations for business reporting
• Rich support for calculated fields and data modeling
• Integrates with a wide range of structured data sources

Where Tableau falls short vs SquaredUp:

• Not real-time: Refresh cycles and live streaming are limited and not ideal for monitoring
• Not technical-tool friendly: No out-of-the-box support for tools like Prometheus, Azure Monitor, or APIs
• Heavy BI tool: Setup, licensing, and maintenance can be overkill for lean tech teams
• Not built for cross-functional observability: Hard to share insights across dev, ops, and execs quickly

Ideal if you:

• Are focused on business intelligence rather than IT or engineering monitoring
• Don’t mind some setup time and learning curve to get the most out of the platform
• Are okay with dashboards that may not update in real time or integrate natively with engineering tools

Not ideal if you:

• Want live, actionable insights from operational tools
• Need dashboards that work for both engineers and business teams without BI overhead

Best for: Analysts and business teams who need polished, presentation-ready reports from structured data.

4. Power BI

Microsoft’s flagship business intelligence platform for interactive analytics and reporting

Microsoft Power BI is a leading business intelligence and data visualization tool from Microsoft, designed to help organizations transform raw data into interactive dashboards and actionable insights. It offers seamless integration with the Microsoft ecosystem, a user-friendly drag-and-drop interface, and robust data modeling capabilities, making it a popular choice for business users and analysts.

It does offer robust integration with other Microsoft products, but its performance can lag with large datasets, and its dashboards can quickly become cluttered. If you need real-time, keep looking.

Key features:

• Deep integration with Excel, SQL Server, Azure, and other Microsoft services
• Powerful data modeling and transformation with Power Query
• Wide range of pre-built and customizable visualizations

Where Power BI falls short of SquaredUp:

• Limited native integrations with engineering and IT tools (e.g., Datadog, SolarWinds, Jira, Elasticsearch), often requiring manual data extraction or complex setup.
• Real-time dashboards are difficult to achieve; data is typically refreshed on a schedule, making live monitoring and instant insights challenging.
• Steep learning curve and significant setup time, especially for teams without dedicated BI expertise.
• Data often remains siloed—correlating and visualizing information across multiple tools is cumbersome and lacks unified search or analytics

Ideal if:

• You need rich business analytics and executive reporting
• You look for deep Microsoft ecosystem integration
• You want self-service data exploration for business teams

Not ideal if:

• You need real-time monitoring of technical or time-series data
• You want extensive open-source extensibility
• Your primary use case is IT operations or DevOps observability

Pricing:

• Free tier with limited features
• Power BI Pro: $10 per user/month
• Power BI Premium: from $20 per user/month or $4,995 per capacity/month(Pricing as of 2024; check Microsoft for latest details)

5. Google Data Studio

Google’s free, cloud-based platform for easy data visualization and reporting

Google Data Studio (formerly Looker Studio) is a user-friendly, web-based data visualization tool that enables organizations to turn raw data into interactive, shareable dashboards and reports. With integration across Google’s ecosystem and a drag-and-drop interface, it’s designed to make data storytelling accessible for business users, marketers, and analysts alike, but it often struggles with integrating non-Google data sources efficiently.

Key features

• Solid Google integrations, including BigQuery
• Visual query builder
• Clean interface, and simple sharing

Where it Google Data Studio falls short of SquaredUp:

• Limited integration with engineering and IT tools, often requiring complex workarounds.
• Lacks real-time data visualization and operational monitoring capabilities.
• Missing advanced features like dependency mapping and unified search across multiple platforms.
• Customization and analytics are geared more toward marketing, not complex IT environments.

Ideal if:

• Your teams already use Google Workspace or Google Analytics
• If your marketing and business users need quick, collaborative reporting

Not ideal if:

• You need advanced alerting, monitoring, or real-time technical observability
• Your primary data sources are outside the Google ecosystem
• You require complex data transformations or scripting

Try if you need:

• Fast, collaborative business reporting
• Visualizing marketing, web, or sales data from Google sources
• An easy, no-cost way to share interactive dashboards with your team

Pricing:

• Free for unlimited users and reports
• No paid tiers as of 2025; some data connectors may have separate costs

6. Redash

Open-source SQL-based data visualization and dashboarding tool

Redash is a general-purpose data visualization platform designed for users who need to query, visualize, and share data from a wide range of databases and sources.

With a focus on SQL querying and collaboration, Redash enables teams to build and distribute dashboards quickly, making it a popular choice for data analysts and engineers seeking flexibility and transparency in their reporting workflows.

It is a solid open-source tool, yet it requires significant setup and maintenance, which can be a barrier for many organizations.

Best for:

Data analysts, engineers, and teams comfortable with SQL who need to visualize and share data from multiple sources.

Key features

• Popular open-source choice
• Large library of database integrations
• Leverages the existing query syntax of the data source

Where Redash falls short of SquaredUp:

• Requires significant technical expertise for setup and ongoing maintenance, making it less accessible for non-technical users.
• Lacks real-time data correlation and unified dashboards across multiple engineering and IT tools – data remains siloed.
• No built-in features for dependency mapping, health roll-ups, or contextualizing operational data for proactive monitoring.
• Collaboration and sharing are less streamlined, with fewer options for large-scale team environments or enterprise needs.

Ideal if:

• You're after flexible, SQL-driven analytics and reporting
• You want quick dashboarding across multiple databases
• You're looking for lightweight, open-source BI without vendor lock-in

Not ideal if:

• You need advanced time-series monitoring, alerting, or DevOps observability
• Your team prefers a point-and-click interface over writing SQL
• You require extensive dashboard customization or plugin support
• You want a large, active open-source community and robust documentation

Pricing:

• Free and open-source (self-hosted)
• Managed options available via Databricks

7. Domo

Cloud-native business intelligence and AI-powered analytics platform

Domo is a comprehensive, cloud-based business intelligence platform that connects to virtually any data source, enabling organizations to centralize, analyze, and visualize data at scale. With integrated AI, machine learning, and automation capabilities, Domo empowers users of all technical backgrounds to build interactive dashboards, uncover insights, and drive smarter business decisions—all within a secure, governed environment. While it provides a comprehensive suite of business intelligence tools, it comes with a high price tag and complexity that can deter smaller teams.

Best for: Enterprises and fast-growing organizations needing scalable analytics, AI-driven insights, and seamless integration across diverse data sources.

Key features

• Built to serve the entire business
• Strong analytics features to deliver insights
• Data processing features, such as ETL

Where Domo falls short of SquaredUp:

• Integrations with engineering and IT monitoring tools are limited, requiring extra effort to unify technical data sources.
• Real-time operational monitoring is less robust—Domo is designed more for scheduled business reporting than live IT insights.
• Lacks specialized features like dependency mapping and health roll-ups for proactive issue detection.
• Can be complex and costly to scale across technical teams, especially for organizations focused on IT observability.

Ideal if:

• You want scalable, enterprise-grade analytics with built-in AI
• You're looking for centralized dashboards for business and executive reporting
• You need seamless integration with diverse data sources and cloud platforms.

Not ideal if:

• You need open-source flexibility or self-hosting
• Your primary focus is real-time infrastructure or DevOps monitoring
• You have a limited budget or need a lightweight, free solution

Pricing:

• Custom pricing based on organization size and needs; no public free tier
• Free trial available

8. Looker

Google Cloud’s enterprise business intelligence and embedded analytics platform

Looker is a cloud-based business intelligence (BI) and data analytics platform that enables organizations to explore, analyze, and share real-time insights from multiple data sources.

With its powerful data modeling layer (LookML), browser-based access, and deep integration with Google Cloud, Looker provides a governed, collaborative environment for building interactive dashboards, reports, and embedded analytics—all designed to drive better decision-making at scale.

It offers advanced analytics capabilities (compared to Google Data Studio) but requires a deep understanding of its proprietary LookML language, making it less accessible to a wider audience. At scale, it's also very expensive.

Best for: Enterprises and data-driven organizations needing governed analytics, embedded BI, and advanced data modeling across cloud and hybrid environments.

Key features

• Powerful analytics engine
• Native LookML query syntax
• Easy to integrate into other business tools

Where Looker falls short of SquaredUp:

• Limited native integrations with engineering and IT operations tools, making unified observability challenging.
• Real-time monitoring and live dashboards are less accessible—Looker is optimized for scheduled business analytics.
• Lacks built-in features like dependency mapping and health roll-ups for proactive IT management.
• Requires significant technical setup and expertise, making it less approachable for teams without dedicated data specialists.

Ideal if

• You want enterprise-grade, governed BI and analytics
• You're looking for embedded analytics for customer-facing apps
• You require consistent business logic and metrics across multiple data sources

Not ideal if:

• You need open-source flexibility or self-hosting
• Your primary focus is real-time infrastructure or DevOps monitoring
• You have a limited budget or need a lightweight, free solution

Pricing:

• Custom pricing; must contact Google Cloud sales for a quote9
• No free tier; entry-level setup fee may apply

9. Metabase

Open-source business intelligence and analytics for effortless data exploration

Metabase is an intuitive, open-source business intelligence platform that enables users to create, visualize, and share interactive dashboards and reports.

It has a strong focus on simplicity and self-service analytics, helping teams to explore data, ask questions, and uncover insights without needing deep technical expertise or SQL knowledge. While it is user-friendly and open-source, it often lacks the advanced features needed for large-scale data environments.

Best for: Small to medium-sized businesses, startups, and teams seeking easy, self-service analytics without complex setup or licensing costs.

Key Features

• Beginner-friendly user experience
• Flexible, in the right hands
• Easy to automate regular reports

Where Metabase falls short of SquaredUp:

• Limited integration with engineering, observability, and IT tools – Metabase primarily targets business databases, making unified technical monitoring difficult.
• Lacks real-time data correlation and monitoring; dashboards are typically refreshed on a schedule, not live.
• No built-in features for dependency mapping, health roll-ups, or contextualizing data for proactive IT management.
• Advanced analytics and unified dashboards across diverse tools require more manual setup and technical expertise than SquaredUp’s out-of-the-box plugins and data mesh architecture.

Ideal if:

• You want simple, self-service data exploration and dashboarding.
• You're looking for a quick setup for business intelligence without coding.
• You need affordable, open-source BI with easy sharing and collaboration.

Not ideal if:

• You need advanced monitoring, alerting, or time-series analytics for IT/DevOps.
• Your use case requires extensive plugin support or a large open-source ecosystem.
• You need deep customization or advanced analytics/machine learning capabilities.

Pricing:

• Open-source: Free
• Enterprise: £2,450 to £3,950 per instance/year (with additional features and support).
• Free trial available

10. Qlik Sense

Modern self-service analytics and data visualization powered by associative technology

Qlik Sense is a robust, AI-powered platform designed to help users interact with and learn from data, offering a variety of self-service tools. It's flexible, and relatively affordable, though the price per seat and additional costs for plugins may be an issue for some teams. Performance can suffer when working with large datasets.

Best for: Organizations seeking self-service analytics, governed BI, and interactive dashboards across business functions; teams that value flexibility and data discovery.

Key features

• Available as a cloud, on-prem, or hybrid solution
• Visual and conversational analytics
• Mature features for automation, alerting, and reporting

Where Qlik Sense falls short of SquaredUp

• Limited native integrations with engineering, observability, and IT tools, making unified operational monitoring difficult.
• Real-time data correlation and live dashboards are less robust – Qlik Sense is primarily designed for scheduled business analytics, not instant IT insights.
• Lacks built-in features for dependency mapping, health roll-ups, and contextualizing data for proactive IT management.
• Requires more technical setup and expertise to unify data from multiple sources, compared to SquaredUp’s out-of-the-box plugins and data mesh architecture.

Ideal if:

• You're looking for self-service BI and interactive dashboards for business users.
• You want associative data exploration and AI-driven insights.
• You require scalable analytics across multiple data sources and deployment models.

Not ideal if:

• Your primary need is real-time monitoring or DevOps observability
• You require open-source flexibility or a free, lightweight solution
• You want deep plugin support or a large open-source ecosystem

Pricing:

• Subscription-based, with custom pricing for business and enterprise plans
• Free trial available; no public free tier

Conclusion

While there are many tools that serve as alternatives to Grafana for your dashboard needs, they all fall into the same category of last generation, legacy solutions. They struggle with the same issues of complexity, costly data ingestion, a steep learning curve, or dashboard sprawl. None of these options solve the real problem... that our needs as users have changed, and the old solutions just haven't kept up.

SquaredUp is reinventing dashboards. It really is the only next-generation alternative. Its ability to seamlessly integrate data, eliminate dashboard sprawl, enable powerful roll-up, and provide real-time operational intelligence makes it the standout choice for any organization looking to advance its dashboarding capabilities. When considering your options, make sure you're trying to solve the real problem... is it just Grafana that isn't working out, or has the entire market fallen behind?

So, why settle for more of the same when you can elevate your dashboarding experience with SquaredUp?