Redash vs Grafana: Which Dashboard Tool Should You Use in 2026?

A factual comparison of Redash and Grafana covering pricing, data sources, alerting, and which tool fits SQL-based reporting vs infrastructure monitoring.

Updated 2026-10 · 2026

Redash

Open-source SQL-based dashboards and visualization for databases

Free (self-hosted, open source)forever

Strengths

+SQL-first query editor makes ad-hoc reporting fast
+Supports 40+ data sources including most SQL/NoSQL databases
+Simple dashboard sharing and embedding

Weaknesses

-Databricks discontinued the hosted/cloud version in 2024 — self-hosting is now the only option
-Weaker real-time monitoring and alerting compared to purpose-built observability tools
-Fewer visualization types than Grafana (no native logs/traces support)

Best for

Teams who want quick SQL dashboards on top of databases or warehouses without infrastructure monitoring needs

Grafana

Open-source platform for monitoring, metrics, and observability dashboards

Free (self-hosted) / Grafana Cloud from $19/momonth (Cloud, usage-based)

Strengths

+Massive plugin and data source ecosystem (100+ integrations)
+Native real-time alerting engine built into the platform
+Purpose-built time-series visualizations and panels

Weaknesses

-Steeper learning curve than Redash's SQL-first workflow
-SQL querying requires data source plugins rather than being native
-Grafana Cloud costs scale with metrics/log volume as usage grows

Best for

Teams monitoring infrastructure, metrics, and logs across multiple systems who need real-time alerting

Feature Comparison

Feature	Redash	Grafana
Self-hosted free tier	Yes, unlimited	Yes, unlimited
Hosted cloud option	Discontinued by Databricks (2024)	Yes, Grafana Cloud with free tier
SQL query editor	Native, core feature	Via data source plugins (e.g., Postgres, MySQL)
Data source integrations	40+, mostly databases	100+, metrics, logs, traces, and databases
Real-time alerting	Basic scheduled refresh alerts	Advanced native alerting engine
Time-series visualization	Basic chart types	Rich, purpose-built time-series panels
Logs and traces support	No	Yes (via Loki, Tempo)
Dashboard sharing/embedding	Yes	Yes
User roles and permissions	Basic groups	RBAC, teams, org-level permissions
Active development	Slower since Databricks acquisition	Very active, frequent releases
Learning curve	Low (SQL-based)	Moderate to high
License	BSD-2-Clause	AGPLv3 (core, with some proprietary enterprise add-ons)

The Verdict

Redash is fine for quick SQL dashboards, but Databricks killed the hosted version, so self-hosting is now mandatory and the project's momentum has slowed. Grafana is the stronger long-term choice if you need real-time monitoring, alerting, and a broader data source ecosystem — it's just more overhead if all you want is a simple SQL chart.

How to switch from Redash to Grafana

1Export each Redash dashboard using the 'Export' button (or the `/api/dashboards/<id>` endpoint) to get a JSON file, and export underlying query results as CSV via the 'Download Dataset' option on each query page.
2Install Grafana — either self-hosted via Docker/Helm or by signing up for the Grafana Cloud free tier — and connect it to the same databases Redash used, through Grafana's data source configuration UI.
3Recreate each Redash query as a Grafana panel using the SQL query editor in the panel builder, referencing the exported JSON dashboards to match layout and groupings.
4Convert Redash's scheduled refresh alerts into Grafana alert rules under Alerting > Alert rules, setting equivalent thresholds and notification channels.
5Rebuild user groups and permissions in Grafana's team/RBAC settings to match who had access to which Redash dashboards.
6Run Redash and Grafana in parallel for a sprint so the team can verify dashboard parity, then decommission the Redash instance.

Redash vs Grafana: common questions

How do I export my dashboards and queries from Redash?+

Each Redash dashboard can be exported as JSON via the 'Export' option in the dashboard menu or by calling the `/api/dashboards/<id>` API endpoint. Individual query results can be downloaded as CSV or Excel from the query page's 'Download Dataset' button, which you'll need separately since dashboard exports don't include raw data.

What do I lose moving from Redash to Grafana?+

You lose Redash's SQL-first ad-hoc query workflow — in Grafana, queries live inside panel configs rather than as standalone reusable query objects. You also lose Redash's simple query result caching, and you'll need to manually recreate every saved query as a Grafana panel since there's no automated converter.

Is Grafana's free tier enough for a small team?+

If you self-host Grafana, it's fully free with no user or dashboard limits. If you use Grafana Cloud instead, the free tier includes 3 users, 10k metric series, and 50GB each of logs and traces, which is typically enough for a small team monitoring a handful of services.

Does Grafana support the same data sources as Redash?+

Grafana supports most SQL databases Redash connects to (Postgres, MySQL, BigQuery, etc.) plus adds Prometheus, Loki, and Elasticsearch for metrics and logs. A few niche Redash connectors may not have a direct Grafana equivalent and could require a community plugin.

Will switching to Grafana cost more over time?+

Self-hosted Grafana stays free regardless of scale, same as self-hosted Redash. If you move to Grafana Cloud, costs grow with metrics/log volume, but since Redash's hosted option no longer exists, you're comparing Grafana Cloud's usage pricing against the ongoing cost of maintaining your own Redash server.