OpenObserve vs Sentry
SEPT 2026 auditA comparison of OpenObserve and Sentry built from values read directly from each provider's own documentation, with the source recorded against every figure.
The short answer
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
Choose Sentry if…
Teams that want tracing, logs, replays and uptime in one place and will pay per meter for it. The tooling is the deepest in the category and the SDK coverage is the widest.
Editorial · Palash Bagchi · approved
Consider something else if…
- OpenObserve: Ingest is $0.50 per GB against Grafana Cloud's $0.050, so the simplicity costs an order of magnitude at volume.
- Sentry: Five meters bill independently, so 50,000 errors is not 50,000 units of observability. A team watching cost needs to watch spans and logs too, not just the error count.
3 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.
OpenObserve 0
Sentry 0
At a glance.
| Criterion | OpenObserve | Sentry |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | ||
| Pricing model | 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. | A plan fee plus five independent meters — errors, logs, application metrics, tracing spans and session replays — each with its own included amount and its own overage. Logs and metrics overflow at $0.50/GB; extra uptime alerts at $1.00 each. |
| Observability | ||
| Retention window | 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. | 30-day lookback on Developer, the free plan. Up to 90 days on Team, and up to 90 days plus additional sampled retention on Business. Enterprise is custom. "Up to" is Sentry's own wording — the 90 days is a ceiling, not a guarantee. |
| Session replay | Supported | Supported |
| Self-hostable | Supported | Limited |
Where they differ.
Pricing model
- 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.
- Sentry
- A plan fee plus five independent meters — errors, logs, application metrics, tracing spans and session replays — each with its own included amount and its own overage. Logs and metrics overflow at $0.50/GB; extra uptime alerts at $1.00 each.
Sources (2) →Sources ↓
- 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
- Pricing — Sentry ↗
“Error Monitoring 5k errors 50k errors [...] Logs 5GB 5GB +$0.50/GB additional [...] Application Metrics 5GB 5GB +$0.50/GB additional [...] Tracing 5M spans [...] Session Replay 50 replays [...] Uptime Monitoring 1 uptime monitor +$1.00/uptime alert additional”
Read 2026-09-06 · official pricing
Retention window
- 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.
- Sentry
- 30-day lookback on Developer, the free plan. Up to 90 days on Team, and up to 90 days plus additional sampled retention on Business. Enterprise is custom. "Up to" is Sentry's own wording — the 90 days is a ceiling, not a guarantee.
Sources (2) →Sources ↓
- 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
- Pricing — Sentry ↗
“Data retention [...] 30-day lookback [...] Up to 90-day lookback [...] Up to 90-day lookback & additional sampled retention [...] Custom”
Read 2026-09-06 · official pricing
Self-hostable
- OpenObserve
- Supported
- Sentry
- Limited
Sources (2) →Sources ↓
- Pricing — OpenObserve ↗
“Cloud Self Hosted Most Popular Cloud [...] Pay-as-you-go from $0.50/GB ingested and $0.01/GB queried, with retention included.”
Read 2026-09-06 · official pricing
- Self-Hosted Sentry — Sentry Developer Documentation ↗
“In addition to making its source code available publicly, Sentry offers and maintains a minimal setup that works out-of-the-box for simple use cases. This version comes with no guarantees or dedicated support. Sentry engineers will do their best to answer questions and are dedicated to making sure self-hosted is running, but that's where our involvement ends.”
Read 2026-09-06 · official docs
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 OpenObserve or Sentry?
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.
Pick Sentry if Teams that want tracing, logs, replays and uptime in one place and will pay per meter for it. The tooling is the deepest in the category and the SDK coverage is the widest.