Executive Snapshot
Grafana IRM is powerful if you already manage Grafana, Prometheus, and Alertmanager. Everyone else faces setup, integration, and usage-based costs. Upstat delivers a ready-to-run incident platform.
Keep Grafana for observability if you like, but let Upstat handle response, automations, and communications in one place.
Not a one-to-one swap
Upstat replaces Grafana IRM plus the extra services around it: monitoring linked to response, runbooks, dashboards, status pages, and predictable pricing. You get incident operations without managing a monitoring stack.
| Capability | Upstat | Grafana IRM |
|---|---|---|
| Deployment | SaaS platform ready to use—no infrastructure or plugin management required. | Requires Grafana Cloud or self-hosted Grafana; IRM features depend on broader Grafana stack. |
| Monitoring | Native uptime/API checks integrated with incidents and automations. | Leverages Grafana metrics and alerts; setup requires Prometheus/metrics expertise. |
| Incident Response | Kanban/list views, timelines, assignments, automations, and runbooks. | Basic incident timelines; deeper coordination often handled in external tools. |
| Entity Intelligence | Dashboards show ownership, dependencies, impact, and response history. | Service catalog available, but operational context lives across dashboards and data sources. |
| Status Communication | Customer/internal status pages updated in sync with incidents and monitors. | No dedicated status page product—requires integrating Grafana dashboards or external tools. |
| Automations & Runbooks | No-code workflows and runbooks included. | Automation relies on Grafana Alerting or external systems; runbooks live outside the product. |
| Pricing Model | Per-user ($29/$49) with all modules included. | Usage-based (metrics, logs, traces) plus IRM modules—costs vary with data volume. |
Deployment
Upstat
SaaS platform ready to use—no infrastructure or plugin management required.
Grafana IRM
Requires Grafana Cloud or self-hosted Grafana; IRM features depend on broader Grafana stack.
Monitoring
Upstat
Native uptime/API checks integrated with incidents and automations.
Grafana IRM
Leverages Grafana metrics and alerts; setup requires Prometheus/metrics expertise.
Incident Response
Upstat
Kanban/list views, timelines, assignments, automations, and runbooks.
Grafana IRM
Basic incident timelines; deeper coordination often handled in external tools.
Entity Intelligence
Upstat
Dashboards show ownership, dependencies, impact, and response history.
Grafana IRM
Service catalog available, but operational context lives across dashboards and data sources.
Status Communication
Upstat
Customer/internal status pages updated in sync with incidents and monitors.
Grafana IRM
No dedicated status page product—requires integrating Grafana dashboards or external tools.
Automations & Runbooks
Upstat
No-code workflows and runbooks included.
Grafana IRM
Automation relies on Grafana Alerting or external systems; runbooks live outside the product.
Pricing Model
Upstat
Per-user ($29/$49) with all modules included.
Grafana IRM
Usage-based (metrics, logs, traces) plus IRM modules—costs vary with data volume.
Upstat requires no Prometheus, Loki, or Grafana setup. Monitoring, incidents, automations, and status pages work immediately.
Feed key alerts from Grafana into Upstat while maintaining a single incident workspace for responders.
Upstat bills per user. Grafana IRM pricing fluctuates with metrics and log ingestion, making budgets harder to forecast.
If you're not using Grafana IRM, you need a path off it before data volume and EOL risk catch up. This checklist keeps observability intact while consolidating incident operations.
Migration checklist
Map alerts, configure Upstat monitors, rehearse incidents, then gradually transition responders off Grafana IRM.
Running Grafana IRM without a full Grafana investment means maintaining infrastructure and paying usage bills. Upstat delivers the incident layer without the overhead.
The scenario below outlines the cost of DIY incident tooling versus a managed operations platform.
DIY incident tooling scenario
Consider a team ingesting moderate metrics/log volume. They pay for Grafana Cloud tiers, invest engineer time in setup, and still need tools for incidents and communications.
~$18,000/year in Grafana/Grafana Cloud usage + ~$8,000/year in engineer time to maintain alerts/dashboards.
Consolidating incident tooling eliminates ~$18,000 in Grafana costs while reducing maintenance overhead by ~$8,000/year.
Tool costs
$18,000 → $0
Grafana IRM subscription + add-on tools vs. Upstat all-in-one platform.
Tool savings: $18,000/year
Downtime/maintenance impact
$8,000 → $0
40% faster MTTR from unified monitoring and incident workflows.
Maintenance saved: $8,000/year
Total annual savings
$26,000
Tool consolidation ($18,000) + reduced maintenance overhead ($8,000).
* Estimates assume moderate Grafana Cloud usage, two engineer-weeks/year for maintenance, and $6k in supplementary tools. Update assumptions to match your environment before sharing internally.
Teams evaluating Grafana IRM typically ask about observability integration and pricing predictability.
Yes. Many teams keep Grafana dashboards for metrics while using Upstat for incident coordination, automations, and communications. Upstat provides its own monitoring capabilities, so you can gradually consolidate as needed.
Upstat charges per user, including monitoring, incidents, automations, runbooks, and status pages. Grafana IRM pricing depends on metrics/log volume plus additional modules, making costs harder to forecast.
Launch Upstat, wire in your critical alerts, and give responders a platform built for coordination.