observability.fyi

Grafana Loki vs Grafana Mimir

A detailed comparison of two leading observability platforms.

Gr

Grafana Loki

Like Prometheus, but for logs

8.5/10
Gr

Grafana Mimir

Scalable long-term storage for Prometheus

8.7/10
Overview

Who is each tool for?

Gr

Grafana Loki

Teams wanting cost-effective log aggregation with Grafana

Gr

Grafana Mimir

Teams needing horizontally scalable Prometheus storage

Analysis

Pros and Cons

Gr

Grafana Loki

Pros

  • Cost-effective (indexes labels only)
  • Native Grafana integration
  • Prometheus-like label system
  • Easy to operate

Cons

  • No full-text indexing
  • Query performance depends on labels
  • Less powerful search than Elasticsearch
Full review
Gr

Grafana Mimir

Pros

  • Unlimited horizontal scalability
  • 100% PromQL compatible
  • Multi-tenant architecture
  • Cost-effective long-term storage

Cons

  • Complex to self-host at scale
  • Requires Kubernetes expertise
  • Steeper learning curve than SaaS options
Full review
Ratings

Feature Comparison

Feature
Gr
Grafana Loki
Gr
Grafana Mimir
APM
4
4
Log Management
8.5
3
Infrastructure Monitoring
7
9
Alerting
7.5
8
Integrations
8
8.5
Ease of Use
8
6.5
Support
7.5
7.5
Value for Money
9.5
9.5
Overall Score
8.5
8.7
Investment

Pricing

Gr

Grafana Loki

Free / Cloud from $49/mo

Pricing varies by data volume and features. Contact Grafana Loki for a custom quote.

Gr

Grafana Mimir

Free / Cloud from $49/mo

Pricing varies by data volume and features. Contact Grafana Mimir for a custom quote.

Conclusion

Our Verdict

Both Grafana Loki and Grafana Mimir are excellent observability platforms. Grafana Mimir edges ahead with a score of 8.7/10, particularly excelling in Infrastructure Monitoring and Alerting.