Direct answer: at 30-day retention, 40/100/300/700GB of logs per month and ingestion + storage (or bundle) only, log management in 2026 costs about: 40GB — Grafana Cloud 19, CloudWatch 21.20, Better Stack Nano 25; 100GB — Grafana 46.50, CloudWatch 53, Better Stack Micro 100; 300GB — Grafana 156.50, CloudWatch 159, Better Stack Mega 210; 700GB — CloudWatch 371, Grafana 376.50, Better Stack Tera 420 USD per month. Grafana’s 19 platform fee is cheapest up to about 50GB; from 100–300GB Grafana and CloudWatch are close, with Grafana slightly lower; at 700GB CloudWatch overtakes; Better Stack is the most expensive per log GB but bundles traces/metrics/on-call/status pages. Per-event pricing (e.g., Datadog) can reorder everything based on log-line size and cannot be compared directly with a per-GB table.
This guide is for SRE, platform and procurement teams running application logs, audit logs, container logs, search and alerting. Data cut-off: 6 November 2026; prices come from the US pricing pages of AWS CloudWatch, Grafana Cloud and Better Stack, in USD, excluding tax; all TCOs are editorial calculations, not vendor quotes. “GB ingested”, “GB stored”, “bundle” and “event” are different meters, so official facts, editorial assumptions and non-comparable items are kept separate.
CloudWatch: 0.50/GB ingest, 0.03/GB-month storage; Grafana Cloud: 19/month includes 50GB ingest and 30-day retention, then process 0.05 + write 0.40 + retain 0.10 = 0.55/GB; Better Stack: Nano 25 includes 40GB, Micro 100 includes 160GB, Mega 210 includes 340GB, Tera 420 includes 700GB, all 30-day. Grafana is lowest at 40–300GB, CloudWatch at 700GB; Better Stack sells a bundle, not a pure log GB price.
Three meters: per-GB ingest+storage, platform+GB, bundle
CloudWatch Logs: standard ingestion 0.50/GB (first 10TB/month; then 0.25/0.10/0.05 tiers), archive storage 0.03/GB-month; Logs Insights queries bill scanned GB separately, Live Tail 0.01/minute; cross-account/region copies and data protection are extra. Grafana Cloud: Pro 19/month includes 50GB ingestion and 30-day retention; beyond that, the public three-stage rates are process 0.05/GB, write 0.40/GB and retain 0.10/GB (sum 0.55/GB; automatic volume discounts); Free includes 50GB with 14-day retention. Better Stack: Telemetry Nano 25/month annual includes 40GB logs, 40GB traces and 40GB metrics; Micro 100 includes 160GB; Mega 210 includes 340GB; Tera 420 includes 700GB; all 30-day retention, unlimited members, plus uptime/incident/status page features.
| Platform | Meter | Published price/allowance | Boundary |
|---|---|---|---|
| AWS CloudWatch Logs | GB ingested + GB-month stored | 0.50/GB ingest; 0.03/GB-month storage | Queries/scans, Live Tail, copies extra |
| Grafana Cloud Pro | Platform fee + GB | 19/month includes 50GB; beyond 0.55/GB (three stages) | 30-day retention; queries/alerts included |
| Better Stack Nano | Bundle | 25/month includes 40GB logs + 40GB traces/metrics | 30-day; unlimited members; on-call included |
| Better Stack Micro/Mega/Tera | Bundle | 100/160GB; 210/340GB; 420/700GB | 30-day; overage via plan/add-on |
Sources: AWS CloudWatch Pricing, Grafana Cloud Pricing and Better Stack Pricing (US, accessed 6 November 2026). USD, excluding tax; CloudWatch uses standard log class and the first-10TB ingestion rate; Grafana uses Pro annual/public three-stage rates; Better Stack uses annual bundle prices. Queries, copies, data protection, support and migration are separate.
Four tiers: Grafana lowest at 40–300GB, CloudWatch at 700GB
At 30-day retention, ingestion + storage/bundle only: 40GB — CloudWatch 21.20, Grafana 19, Better Stack Nano 25; 100GB — CloudWatch 53, Grafana 46.50, Better Stack Micro 100; 300GB — CloudWatch 159, Grafana 156.50, Better Stack Mega 210; 700GB — CloudWatch 371, Grafana 376.50, Better Stack Tera 420. Annual: 254.40/228/300; 636/558/1,200; 1,908/1,878/2,520; 4,452/4,518/5,040 (CloudWatch/Grafana/Better Stack).
| Monthly logs (30 days) | CloudWatch | Grafana Cloud | Better Stack |
|---|---|---|---|
| 40GB | 21.20 | 19.00 | 25.00 (Nano) |
| 100GB | 53.00 | 46.50 | 100.00 (Micro) |
| 300GB | 159.00 | 156.50 | 210.00 (Mega) |
| 700GB | 371.00 | 376.50 | 420.00 (Tera) |
Editorial calculation, not a quote. CloudWatch = GB × 0.50 + GB × 0.03 (assumes 30-day full retention, no query fees); Grafana = 19 + max(0, GB − 50) × 0.55 (0.05 + 0.40 + 0.10); Better Stack = corresponding annual bundle. Excludes tax, queries/scans, copies, data protection, support, migration and custom retention; Better Stack bundles include traces/metrics/on-call.
Why 700GB flips: fixed platform fee vs linear GB price
Grafana’s advantage comes from 19/month including 50GB: low fixed fee at small volume; beyond that, 0.55/GB is slightly above CloudWatch’s 0.50 + 0.03 = 0.53/GB at 30-day retention, so at 700GB Grafana is 376.50 vs CloudWatch 371. The two are very close after 50GB, and the crossing depends on actual retention, query volume and Grafana’s automatic discounts. Better Stack’s bundle is 25 at 40GB, above Grafana 19/CloudWatch 21.20; at 700GB it is 420, about 13%–17% above the other two, but it packages traces, metrics, on-call and status pages, so it is not a pure per-GB comparison.
| Comparison | Formula | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Grafana vs CloudWatch | 19 + (GB − 50) × 0.55 vs GB × 0.53 | Very close after 50GB; CloudWatch slightly lower at 700GB |
| Better Stack vs Grafana | Bundle vs 19 + (GB − 50) × 0.55 | 40GB +6; 100GB +53.50; 300GB +53.50; 700GB +43.50 |
| Better Stack vs CloudWatch | Bundle vs GB × 0.53 | 40GB +3.80; 100GB +47; 300GB +51; 700GB +49 |
| CloudWatch queries | Logs Insights scanned GB extra | Heavy querying raises CloudWatch’s total |
Editorial calculation, not a quote. Grafana’s three-stage sum is an editorial assumption; if the bill applies only some stages, Grafana is lower. CloudWatch query fees are excluded; Better Stack bundles include traces/metrics/on-call, so value is not equivalent to pure logs.
Why Datadog is not in the main table: per-event pricing depends on log-line size
Datadog Standard Indexing is 1.70 per million log events (15-day; annual), plus 0.10/GB ingest. For the same 100GB, a 1KB average event means 100M events and about 170 in indexing fees; a 5KB average means 20M events and about 34. Fatter logs make per-event pricing cheaper; thinner logs make per-GB pricing cheaper. Putting it in the same table as CloudWatch/Grafana would create a false like-for-like comparison, so it is only explained in the limitations, without inventing a fixed rank. Measure average event size, index ratio and retention first.
| 100GB of logs | 1KB/event | 5KB/event | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Events | About 100M | About 20M | Based on 1,000/5,000 bytes |
| Datadog indexing (1.70/million) | About 170 | About 34 | Plus 0.10/GB ingest |
| CloudWatch 100GB | 53 | 53 | Per GB, not per event |
| Grafana 100GB | 46.50 | 46.50 | Per GB, not per event |
Editorial calculation, not a quote. Datadog uses Standard Indexing 15-day 1.70/million annual + 0.10/GB ingest; CloudWatch/Grafana use the 30-day basis in this article. Retention/index ratio/event size differ, so no direct ranking is made; the table only shows the direction of “per event vs per GB”.
Which option fits which scenario?
Already on AWS, 100GB+ logs, light querying, predictable per-GB: CloudWatch, lowest at 700GB (371); watch Logs Insights scan fees. Want dashboards/alerting in one place, around 50GB, cost-sensitive: Grafana Cloud, 19 includes 50GB, 100GB 46.50; above 300GB it is close to CloudWatch. Want logs+traces+metrics+on-call+status pages in one bundle, no tool sprawl: Better Stack, from Nano 25, Micro 100 at 100GB; not the lowest for logs alone. Fat logs (5KB+) where per-event pricing favors you: Datadog-style products may be lower, but recalculate with real event counts. Long-term archive/compliance: CloudWatch archive at 0.03/GB-month or S3, with retrieval fees.
| Scenario | First choice | Why | Check first |
|---|---|---|---|
| AWS-native/100GB+/light queries | CloudWatch | 0.50/GB + 0.03/GB-month | Logs Insights scan fees |
| Dashboards/alerts/around 50GB | Grafana Cloud | 19 includes 50GB; beyond 0.55/GB | Three-stage rates, discounts |
| Full-stack observability/on-call/bundle | Better Stack | From Nano 25; includes traces/metrics | Bundle tier, 30-day retention |
| Fat logs/per-event cheaper | Datadog-class | 1.70/million events | Event size, index ratio, retention |
| Long-term archive/compliance | CloudWatch/S3 | 0.03/GB-month | Retrieval/restore fees |
| Self-hosted ELK/Loki | Instances + operations | Outside this TCO | Staff, storage, HA |
Sources: the three official pricing pages (accessed 6 November 2026). This is an editorial decision matrix, not vendor advice; actual query performance, latency, indexing, alerting, failover and support response were not tested.
What should procurement and acceptance specify?
At least ten things: GB/day and peaks, retention days, index/archive ratio, query/scan volume, event size, users/seats, whether traces/metrics are bundled, alerting/on-call, compliance/residency, migration/export. Run a 2–4 week POC on real logs and record ingested GB, event count, query scans, retention, alerts and the bill; do not compare only “per GB” or “per million events”.
- Volume: GB/day, peaks, compressed/uncompressed; multi-cloud/multi-cluster sources.
- Retention: hot/warm/cold tiers, 30/90/365 days, compliance.
- Indexing: full vs sampled/field indexing; query hit rate.
- Queries: Logs Insights/scanned GB, concurrency, dashboard refresh.
- Events: average/P95 log-line size; the main variable for per-event billing.
- Users: seats/members, RBAC, SSO, audit.
- Observability: whether traces/metrics/RUM are bundled, avoiding duplicate purchases.
- Alerting: log alerts, on-call, status page, notification channels.
- Compliance: data residency, encryption, BAA/HIPAA, subprocessors.
- POC: 2–4 weeks of real logs; GB, events, query scans, retention, alerts and bill.
FAQ
What is cheapest at 100GB/month?
Grafana 46.50, CloudWatch 53, Better Stack Micro 100 per month. Grafana is 19 including 50GB plus 50GB × 0.55 = 27.50; CloudWatch is 100 × 0.53 = 53; Better Stack Micro includes 160GB at 100, the most expensive for logs alone.
What is cheapest at 700GB/month?
CloudWatch 371, Grafana 376.50, Better Stack Tera 420. CloudWatch is 0.50 + 0.03 = 0.53/GB, about 371 at 700GB; Grafana is 19 + 650 × 0.55 = 376.50; Tera includes 700GB at 420. The gap is small, and heavy queries can push CloudWatch above Grafana.
Where does Grafana’s 0.55/GB come from?
The public three-stage rates process 0.05 + write 0.40 + retain 0.10 = 0.55/GB, added here; if the actual bill applies only some stages, Grafana is lower. The 19/month includes 50GB and 30-day retention; automatic volume discounts are excluded.
Why is Better Stack more expensive?
It sells a Telemetry bundle: Nano 25 includes 40GB logs + 40GB traces + 40GB metrics; Micro 100 includes 160GB; Mega 210 includes 340GB; Tera 420 includes 700GB, plus uptime/incident/on-call/status pages. It is not the lowest per log GB, but may be lower when replacing several tools.
Does CloudWatch have query fees?
Yes. Logs Insights bills scanned GB separately, and Live Tail is 0.01/minute; this article counts ingestion + storage only. Heavy querying and dashboard refreshes raise CloudWatch’s total, while Grafana/Better Stack include queries in their plans.
Why is Datadog not in the main table?
It indexes per million log events, so the same 100GB can be 100M events at 1KB or 20M at 5KB — a 5× difference; retention/index ratio also differ. A single table would be a false like-for-like. The comparison table only shows direction: about 170 indexing at 1KB vs 34 at 5KB, plus 0.10/GB ingest.
How do different retentions compare?
This article standardises on 30 days: CloudWatch storage 0.03/GB-month; Grafana Pro 30 days; Better Stack bundles 30 days. Datadog’s main basis is 15 days, so it is excluded. For 90-day/1-year retention, recalculate storage/archive costs; do not apply the 30-day result.
What hidden costs should we expect?
Queries/scans, Live Tail, cross-account/region copies, data protection, long-term archive/retrieval, traces/metrics/RUM, seats/SSO, on-call/status pages, support/SLA, migration/export and tax. CloudWatch S3 archive adds S3 requests/storage; Grafana discounts require volume; Better Stack overage requires an add-on.
Research method and limitations
This article separates “official facts” from “editorial modelling”: CloudWatch ingestion/storage/query rules, Grafana’s 19/month + 50GB + three-stage rates and Better Stack’s Nano/Micro/Mega/Tera bundles come from the three US pricing pages (accessed 6 November 2026); the 40/100/300/700GB totals are arithmetic on published unit prices, not vendor quotes. It does not compare query performance, latency, indexing, alerting, failover or support response.
Eight limitations: (1) only US public list prices are used, excluding tax, discounts, commitments and regional differences; (2) a uniform 30-day retention is assumed; hot/warm/cold tiers change the result; (3) Grafana’s 0.55/GB is an editorial sum of process+write+retain; automatic discounts are excluded; (4) CloudWatch counts ingestion + storage only, excluding queries/scans, Live Tail, copies and data protection; (5) Better Stack bundles include traces/metrics/on-call, so value is not equivalent to pure logs; (6) per-event products such as Datadog are excluded from the main table to avoid false rankings from event size/retention; (7) self-hosted ELK/Loki, S3 archive retrieval and SIEM are excluded; (8) prices and terms can change by contract, region and exchange rate. Treat this as a unit-conversion template and replace assumptions with a 2–4 week real-log POC.
Sources and basis
- AWS, CloudWatch Pricing: aws.amazon.com/cloudwatch/pricing. Standard log ingestion 0.50/GB (first 10TB/month), archive storage 0.03/GB-month; Logs Insights bills scanned GB separately, Live Tail 0.01/minute; cross-account/region copies and data protection are extra. Accessed 6 November 2026.
- Grafana, Pricing: grafana.com/pricing. Pro 19/month includes 50GB ingestion and 30-day retention; beyond that process 0.05/GB, write 0.40/GB, retain 0.10/GB (sum 0.55/GB); Free 50GB/14 days. Accessed 6 November 2026.
- Better Stack, Pricing: betterstack.com/pricing. Telemetry Nano 25/month includes 40GB logs/traces/metrics; Micro 100/160GB; Mega 210/340GB; Tera 420/700GB; 30-day retention, unlimited members, plus uptime/incident/on-call/status pages. Accessed 6 November 2026.
Data cut-off 6 November 2026; prices are public list prices excluding tax; all models are editorial calculations. This is not procurement advice.