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Axiom vs OpenObserve

SEPT 2026 audit

A comparison of Axiom and OpenObserve built from values read directly from each provider's own documentation, with the source recorded against every figure.

Reviewed by Palash BagchiUpdated 28 criteria comparedSources last checked

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.

Neither quite fits? Every other option, ranked by iScore: Axiom alternatives · OpenObserve alternatives

20 sourced criteria separate them — see where, with sources, below.

Visit Axiom documentationVisit OpenObserve documentation

No affiliate links, sponsored placements or paid rankings appear on this site. Ordering follows the sourced data and the stated criteria.

01.

At a glance.

CriterionAxiomOpenObserve
Pricing
Free tier
Yes
No — Cloud offers a 14-day trial only; the self-hosted Enterprise build is free up to 50 GB/day
Kind of free offerAlways freeFree trial
Credit card to startNoNo
Entry paid plan$25/month platform fee for Cloud, plus usage, with no minimum commitment. The plan carries an always-free allowance of 1 TB loaded, 100 GB-hours of query compute and 100 GB stored.No minimum: Cloud Professional is pay-as-you-go from $0.50 per GB ingested plus $0.01 per GB queried, billed monthly with no upfront commitment.
Pricing modelA 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.
Infrastructure
Regions
Two, both on AWS: US East 1 and EU Central 1. Axiom calls them edge deployments — you pick one per organisation and event data is stored at rest there, while the console stays at app.axiom.co. Datasets in one organisation can sit in different deployments. New ones are added on request rather than published as a roadmap.
Four OpenObserve Cloud regions: US West 2 (California, Azure), US East 2 (Ohio, AWS), EU Central 1 (Frankfurt, AWS) and Asia Pacific South 1 (Mumbai, AWS).
Uptime SLASold rather than included: the paid plan lists a paid SLA alongside dedicated support. No percentage is published on the pricing page.SLAs appear in the enterprise feature list alongside architecture reviews and volume discounts. No percentage is published on the pricing page.
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.
Session replay
Not supported — Axiom's own product-analytics page sends session replay to dedicated tools.
Supported
Self-hostable
Limited — Docs FAQ names a Bring Your Own Cloud plan; the deployment answer on the same page describes only managed Axiom Cloud.
Supported
Ingest price per GBNo per-GB rate published: 1 TB/month of data loading is included in the $25/month Cloud platform fee, with further usage metered as compute credits under automatic volume discounts.$0.50 per GB ingested, quoted with a 30% annual-commitment discount already applied.
Query priceMetered in GB-hours of query compute: 10 GB-hours/month free on Personal and 100 GB-hours/month included on Cloud; no per-GB-hour rate is published.$0.01 per GB queried, billed separately from ingest.
Support
Support on entry paid planCommunity support on the free Personal plan; email support on the paid plan, with a paid SLA and dedicated support offered as add-ons.Premium support is listed among the enterprise features. The pay-as-you-go cloud plan's support level is not stated; the page directs anyone wanting enterprise support to sales.
Compliance
SOC 2SOC 2 Type II audited; report available under NDA in the Trust Center.SOC 2 Type II certified; the report is requested through security@openobserve.ai or the trust portal.
ISO 27001ISO 27001 certified information security management.ISO 27001 certification announced November 2025, with the certificate held in the trust portal; the security page itself makes no ISO representation.
HIPAA
BAA available on the Axiom Cloud plan once the RBAC, SAML SSO and audit-log add-ons are enabled; sessions then time out after 24 hours.
Enterprise-tier Cipher Keys are documented as giving encryption and compliance support for HIPAA. A feature-level statement in the Enterprise Features docs, not a certification, audit report or BAA.
GDPR / data residencyBuilt to support GDPR with a DPA available; regional residency lets you keep data in your chosen region via the multi-region edge architecture.Customer selects the storage region and OpenObserve does not relocate stored data without instruction; a DPA covering EU and UK GDPR is published.
Encryption at rest
AES-256 at rest and TLS 1.2+ in transit; keys are managed and rotated by Axiom.
Not guaranteed by OpenObserve: storage-layer encryption and key management depend on the hosting provider and deployment architecture.
Role-based access controlAvailable as a $50/month self-serve add-on on Axiom Cloud, scoped to datasets and actions.Yes on Cloud (preconfigured) and Enterprise (via OpenFGA); not available in the open-source edition, where all users have unrestricted access.
Private networking / VPC
AWS PrivateLink supported, so AWS workloads can reach Axiom without an internet gateway or NAT.
Named for BYOC, where the customer manages VPC peering, Transit Gateway or PrivateLink; for Cloud the SLA names only the customer's own internet egress. Read from the shared-responsibility tables: Cloud in section 4.2, BYOC in 4.3.
Dedicated infrastructure
Multi-tenant by design: workspaces are logically isolated on a managed multi-tenant event store; pricing lists dedicated only as a support add-on.
Single-Tenant Hosted and OpenObserve-managed BYOC deployments are offered alongside multi-tenant Cloud, all under the 99.8% SLA.

Only criteria both providers publish appear here; a tinted cell marks a real difference. Criteria only one of them documents are listed below, and an absence there means we found no source — not that the feature is missing. How we source this.

The small bar above a value is inetGeek's own lean toward that side — computed from the same facts shown, never a number the provider published. See the picker below "The short answer" to weigh only the criteria you care about.

02.

Where they differ.

Free tier

Axiom
Yes
OpenObserve
No — Cloud offers a 14-day trial only; the self-hosted Enterprise build is free up to 50 GB/day
Sources (2) →

Kind of free offer

Axiom
Always free
OpenObserve
Free trial
Sources (2) →

Entry paid plan

Axiom
$25/month platform fee for Cloud, plus usage, with no minimum commitment. The plan carries an always-free allowance of 1 TB loaded, 100 GB-hours of query compute and 100 GB stored.
OpenObserve
No minimum: Cloud Professional is pay-as-you-go from $0.50 per GB ingested plus $0.01 per GB queried, billed monthly with no upfront commitment.
Sources (2) →

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) →
  • 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 · Report a correction

  • 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 · Report a correction

Regions

Axiom

Two, both on AWS: US East 1 and EU Central 1. Axiom calls them edge deployments — you pick one per organisation and event data is stored at rest there, while the console stays at app.axiom.co. Datasets in one organisation can sit in different deployments. New ones are added on request rather than published as a roadmap.

OpenObserve

Four OpenObserve Cloud regions: US West 2 (California, Azure), US East 2 (Ohio, AWS), EU Central 1 (Frankfurt, AWS) and Asia Pacific South 1 (Mumbai, AWS).

Sources (2) →

Uptime SLA

Axiom
Sold rather than included: the paid plan lists a paid SLA alongside dedicated support. No percentage is published on the pricing page.
OpenObserve
SLAs appear in the enterprise feature list alongside architecture reviews and volume discounts. No percentage is published on the pricing page.
Sources (2) →
  • Axiom Pricing ↗

    “compute credit pre-purchase for deeper discounts → all integrations → email support (paid SLA + dedicated available)”

    Read 2026-09-14 · official pricing · Report a correction

  • OpenObserve Pricing ↗

    “premium support deployment flexibility (public cloud, or bring your own cloud) architecture reviews volume discounts slas”

    Read 2026-09-14 · official pricing · Report a correction

Retention window

Axiom

30 days on the free Personal plan; configurable on Cloud rather than fixed.

OpenObserve

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) →
  • Pricing — Axiom ↗

    “→ 25 GB storage → 30-day retention → Full APL access [...] → Configurable retention”

    Read 2026-09-06 · official pricing · Report a correction

  • 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 · Report a correction

Session replay

Axiom
Not supported — Axiom's own product-analytics page sends session replay to dedicated tools.
OpenObserve
Supported
Sources (2) →

Self-hostable

Axiom
Limited — Docs FAQ names a Bring Your Own Cloud plan; the deployment answer on the same page describes only managed Axiom Cloud.
OpenObserve
Supported
Sources (2) →

Ingest price per GB

Axiom
No per-GB rate published: 1 TB/month of data loading is included in the $25/month Cloud platform fee, with further usage metered as compute credits under automatic volume discounts.
OpenObserve
$0.50 per GB ingested, quoted with a 30% annual-commitment discount already applied.
Sources (2) →

Query price

Axiom
Metered in GB-hours of query compute: 10 GB-hours/month free on Personal and 100 GB-hours/month included on Cloud; no per-GB-hour rate is published.
OpenObserve
$0.01 per GB queried, billed separately from ingest.
Sources (2) →

Support on entry paid plan

Axiom
Community support on the free Personal plan; email support on the paid plan, with a paid SLA and dedicated support offered as add-ons.
OpenObserve
Premium support is listed among the enterprise features. The pay-as-you-go cloud plan's support level is not stated; the page directs anyone wanting enterprise support to sales.
Sources (2) →
  • Axiom Pricing ↗

    “all integrations → community support [...] email support (paid SLA + dedicated available)”

    Read 2026-09-14 · official pricing · Report a correction

  • OpenObserve Pricing ↗

    “role-based access control (rbac) premium support deployment flexibility (public cloud, or bring your own cloud) architecture reviews volume discounts slas [...] for ingestion volumes above 50 gb per day or additional enterprise support, contact the openobserve sales team.”

    Read 2026-09-14 · official pricing · Report a correction

SOC 2

Axiom
SOC 2 Type II audited; report available under NDA in the Trust Center.
OpenObserve
SOC 2 Type II certified; the report is requested through security@openobserve.ai or the trust portal.
Sources (2) →

ISO 27001

Axiom
ISO 27001 certified information security management.
OpenObserve
ISO 27001 certification announced November 2025, with the certificate held in the trust portal; the security page itself makes no ISO representation.
Sources (2) →

HIPAA

Axiom
BAA available on the Axiom Cloud plan once the RBAC, SAML SSO and audit-log add-ons are enabled; sessions then time out after 24 hours.
OpenObserve
Enterprise-tier Cipher Keys are documented as giving encryption and compliance support for HIPAA. A feature-level statement in the Enterprise Features docs, not a certification, audit report or BAA.
Sources (2) →

GDPR / data residency

Axiom
Built to support GDPR with a DPA available; regional residency lets you keep data in your chosen region via the multi-region edge architecture.
OpenObserve
Customer selects the storage region and OpenObserve does not relocate stored data without instruction; a DPA covering EU and UK GDPR is published.
Sources (2) →
  • Security and compliance, by default - Axiom ↗

    “GDPR Built to support GDPR requirements with privacy-first data handling. [...] Regional residency Keep your data in your chosen region with multi-region edge architecture.”

    Read 2026-09-13 · official site · Report a correction

  • Security & Compliance | OpenObserve ↗

    “Customers select among the storage regions available for their service, as reflected in their order or deployment configuration. OpenObserve does not relocate stored Customer Data to another region without customer instructions or agreement.”

    Read 2026-09-13 · official site · Report a correction

Encryption at rest

Axiom
AES-256 at rest and TLS 1.2+ in transit; keys are managed and rotated by Axiom.
OpenObserve
Not guaranteed by OpenObserve: storage-layer encryption and key management depend on the hosting provider and deployment architecture.
Sources (2) →

Role-based access control

Axiom
Available as a $50/month self-serve add-on on Axiom Cloud, scoped to datasets and actions.
OpenObserve
Yes on Cloud (preconfigured) and Enterprise (via OpenFGA); not available in the open-source edition, where all users have unrestricted access.
Sources (2) →

Private networking / VPC

Axiom
AWS PrivateLink supported, so AWS workloads can reach Axiom without an internet gateway or NAT.
OpenObserve
Named for BYOC, where the customer manages VPC peering, Transit Gateway or PrivateLink; for Cloud the SLA names only the customer's own internet egress. Read from the shared-responsibility tables: Cloud in section 4.2, BYOC in 4.3.
Sources (2) →

Dedicated infrastructure

Axiom
Multi-tenant by design: workspaces are logically isolated on a managed multi-tenant event store; pricing lists dedicated only as a support add-on.
OpenObserve
Single-Tenant Hosted and OpenObserve-managed BYOC deployments are offered alongside multi-tenant Cloud, all under the 99.8% SLA.
Sources (2) →

When these numbers change, hear about it. Sources are re-checked monthly; a repricing goes out as a short note.

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03.

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 — except where we say we read the other provider's own page on a given date and it does not state it. Those rows lean, and the provider can correct them with a link.

What the free plan includesAxiom: 500 GB of data loading a month, 10 GB-hours of query compute, 25 GB of storage and 30-day retention, with no credit card.
When the free offer endsOpenObserve: 14 days.
When you exceed a capAxiom: Billed, then paused per meter. Charges accrue past the Always Free allowance until they reach the spending limit you set, at which point Axiom stops the actions that cost money — and it stops them meter by meter: exhausting query compute halts queries and the monitors that depend on them while ingestion keeps running on an unspent data-loading allowance. Axiom says plainly that this can interrupt service.
Events includedAxiom: Not counted in events: 500 GB/month data loading, 10 GB-hours query compute and 25 GB storage on free Personal; 1 TB, 100 GB-hours and 100 GB included in the Cloud platform fee.
Audit logsAxiom: Every access and configuration change is recorded to an immutable audit trail you can query in APL like any other dataset.
PCI DSSOpenObserve: Enterprise-tier Cipher Keys are documented as giving encryption and compliance support for PCI. A feature-level statement in the Enterprise Features docs, not a PCI DSS attestation or AOC.
Customer-managed keysOpenObserve: Cipher Keys (Enterprise Edition and Cloud): you supply the key and may hold it in your own Akeyless external key management system. Keys decrypt encrypted log fields at query time; not storage-layer key management.
04.

Questions this comparison answers.

Entry paid plan: Axiom or OpenObserve?

Axiom: $25/month platform fee for Cloud, plus usage, with no minimum commitment. The plan carries an always-free allowance of 1 TB loaded, 100 GB-hours of query compute and 100 GB stored.

OpenObserve: No minimum: Cloud Professional is pay-as-you-go from $0.50 per GB ingested plus $0.01 per GB queried, billed monthly with no upfront commitment.

Free tier: Axiom or OpenObserve?

Axiom: Yes

OpenObserve: No — Cloud offers a 14-day trial only; the self-hosted Enterprise build is free up to 50 GB/day

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.

Provider pages

AxiomEvent platform for logs and traces with a permanent free allowance on every plan and separate compute billing for queries.OpenObserveOpen-source observability covering logs, metrics, traces, RUM and session replay, priced per GB with retention included.

Related comparisons

Axiom vs Better StackAxiom vs DatadogAxiom vs Elastic CloudAxiom vs GlitchTipAxiom vs Grafana CloudAxiom vs SentryAxiom vs SigNozBetter Stack vs OpenObserve

Comments

Every page here is sourced and dated.