Who is each tool for?
Pr
Prometheus
Teams wanting powerful open-source metrics monitoring with PromQL
Gr
Grafana Mimir
Teams needing horizontally scalable Prometheus storage
Pros and Cons
Pr
Prometheus
Pros
- Powerful PromQL query language
- Excellent Kubernetes integration
- Active open-source community
- Pull-based model is firewall-friendly
Cons
- Limited long-term storage by default
- No built-in dashboards (needs Grafana)
- High cardinality can be challenging
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
Feature Comparison
Feature
Pr
PrometheusGr
Grafana MimirAPM
5
4
Log Management
3
3
Infrastructure Monitoring
9
9
Alerting
8.5
8
Integrations
8.5
8.5
Ease of Use
7
6.5
Support
7
7.5
Value for Money
10
9.5
Overall Score
8.9
8.7
Pricing
Pr
Prometheus
Free / Open Source
Pricing varies by data volume and features. Contact Prometheus 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.
Our Verdict
Both Prometheus and Grafana Mimir are excellent observability platforms. Prometheus edges ahead with a score of 8.9/10, particularly excelling in APM and Alerting.
