Axiom vs OpenObserve
SEPT 2026 auditA comparison of Axiom and OpenObserve built from values read directly from each provider's own documentation, with the source recorded against every figure.
The short answer
Choose Axiom if…
Small projects that want a real telemetry platform for nothing — 500 GB a month loaded with 30-day retention, permanently, is the most generous free allowance in this category.
Editorial · Palash Bagchi · approved
Choose OpenObserve if…
Teams that want one bill they can predict — ingest, query, and retention included — with session replay and RUM in the same product rather than as separate purchases.
Editorial · Palash Bagchi · approved
Consider something else if…
- Axiom: Query compute is billed as its own meter in GB-hours, so an expensive dashboard costs money even when ingest is inside the allowance.
- OpenObserve: Ingest is $0.50 per GB against Grafana Cloud's $0.050, so the simplicity costs an order of magnitude at volume.
2 sourced criteria separate them — see where, with sources, below.
Pick the criteria you care about. The chart counts how many of them lean toward each provider — the same read as scanning the bars below, just totalled for the ones you chose.
Axiom 0
OpenObserve 0
At a glance.
| Criterion | Axiom | OpenObserve |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | ||
| Pricing model | A platform fee plus three separate meters — data loaded, query compute in GB-hours, and stored GB — each with an always-free allowance included on every plan and automatic volume discounts above it. | Two meters and nothing else: $0.50 per GB ingested and $0.01 per GB queried, with retention included rather than sold as a tier. OpenObserve frames it as no hidden tiers and no surprise bills. |
| Observability | ||
| Retention window | 30 days on the free Personal plan; configurable on Cloud rather than fixed. | Included rather than priced: 15 months for metrics and 30 days for logs, traces, RUM and everything else, at no extra cost on pay-as-you-go. |
Where they differ.
Pricing model
- Axiom
- A platform fee plus three separate meters — data loaded, query compute in GB-hours, and stored GB — each with an always-free allowance included on every plan and automatic volume discounts above it.
- OpenObserve
- Two meters and nothing else: $0.50 per GB ingested and $0.01 per GB queried, with retention included rather than sold as a tier. OpenObserve frames it as no hidden tiers and no surprise bills.
Sources (2) →Sources ↓
- Pricing — Axiom ↗
“Platform fee + usage. No minimum commitment. → Always Free allowance (1 TB / 100 GB-hrs / 100 GB) included → Automatic volume discounts on usage beyond the allowance → Configurable retention”
Read 2026-09-06 · official pricing
- Pricing — OpenObserve ↗
“Pay-as-you-go from $0.50/GB ingested and $0.01/GB queried, with retention included. No hidden tiers, no surprise bills”
Read 2026-09-06 · official pricing
Retention window
30 days on the free Personal plan; configurable on Cloud rather than fixed.
Included rather than priced: 15 months for metrics and 30 days for logs, traces, RUM and everything else, at no extra cost on pay-as-you-go.
Sources (2) →Sources ↓
- Pricing — Axiom ↗
“→ 25 GB storage → 30-day retention → Full APL access [...] → Configurable retention”
Read 2026-09-06 · official pricing
- Pricing — OpenObserve ↗
“Included Retention Metrics 15 Months Non metrics (Logs, Traces and etc.) 30-Days [...] The Pay-as-you-Go plan includes the following default retention at no extra cost”
Read 2026-09-06 · official pricing
When these numbers change, hear about it. Sources are re-checked monthly; a repricing goes out as a short note.
Documented by only one.
These criteria are published by one provider and not the other. An absence here means we have not found a source, not that the feature is missing.
Questions this comparison answers.
Should I choose Axiom or OpenObserve?
Pick Axiom if Small projects that want a real telemetry platform for nothing — 500 GB a month loaded with 30-day retention, permanently, is the most generous free allowance in this category.
Pick OpenObserve if Teams that want one bill they can predict — ingest, query, and retention included — with session replay and RUM in the same product rather than as separate purchases.