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Choose self-hosted Loki only if your team can operate it and its storage, security, and retention fit your needs. Choose hosted logging when reducing infrastructure work matters more and the provider’s current price, limits, and controls fit your workload. Work through four tests—operations, total cost, access and data location, and ingestion and retention—before deciding; there is no universal cost winner.
1. Who will operate the logging system?
Self-hosted Loki is open-source software, but running it is not operationally free. Grafana’s deployment guidance says a self-managed deployment makes your team responsible for the availability, scaling, and maintenance of its components. Name the people who will handle upgrades, monitoring, backups, incidents, and capacity before choosing this route.
A hosted logging service reduces the infrastructure your team must run. It does not remove the need to configure log collection, access, retention, and spending limits. Decide which work your team wants to own and which work it expects the provider to handle.
2. What will it cost at your actual volume and retention?
Loki indexes label metadata and stores compressed log chunks. Depending on the deployment, chunks can go to object storage such as Amazon S3 or Google Cloud Storage, or to a local filesystem. The Loki storage documentation describes these storage options.
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For self-hosting, account for storage, compute, backups, network use, and the staff time needed to operate the stack. For a hosted service, model charges based on how the provider bills for ingestion, processing, and retained data. Do not compare a hosted per-unit rate with only the self-hosted storage bill.
At the time of the reviewed Grafana pricing page in 2026, Grafana Cloud Logs listed these terms:
| Grafana Cloud Logs option | Listed price or allowance | Retention listed |
|---|---|---|
| Free | 50 GB ingested per month | 14 days |
| Pro usage rates | Starting rates of $0.050/GB processed, $0.400/GB written, and $0.100/GB retained | Not stated for these usage rates on the reviewed pricing page |
| Pro platform fee | $19/month, including 50 GB ingested per month; usage-based charges apply beyond the included terms | 30 days included |
These are vendor-listed terms, not a quote for a particular workload or a benchmark against self-hosting. Check the live Grafana pricing page and calculate using your expected ingest and retention before committing; prices and allowances can change. The available figures do not show that one approach is always cheaper.
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3. Do access controls and data location meet your requirements?
The Loki HTTP API reference states that authentication and authorization are not built into the API itself. In a single-tenant self-hosted deployment, Loki does not enforce authentication by default. If access must be restricted, place an authentication layer—such as a reverse proxy—in front of Loki and configure it appropriately.
Grafana Cloud queries use HTTP Basic Authentication with a Loki instance ID and an access-policy token. If your team has data-residency, compliance, or other strict security requirements, verify the exact deployment, region, and controls against those requirements rather than assuming that self-hosting or hosting automatically satisfies them.
4. Do ingestion limits and retention match your workload?
Estimate ordinary and peak daily and monthly log volume, the searches and dashboards your team needs, and how long logs must remain available. Compare those requirements with the hosted service’s current ingestion limits and retention terms. The Grafana pricing page reviewed in 2026 listed 14-day retention for the Logs free tier and 30 days included with the Pro platform fee.
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Self-managed Loki retention depends on configuration and the storage backend. The Loki retention documentation explains that the Compactor performs deletion when retention is configured. The operator remains responsible for the backend and the consequences of that configuration; filesystem storage does not automatically delete old data just because disk space is running low.
Check ingestion and query compatibility
Before selecting a destination, confirm that your application or collector can send logs in a format it accepts and that your team can run the searches it needs. Loki’s HTTP API documentation describes the POST /loki/api/v1/push and POST /otlp/v1/logs ingestion endpoints. Loki queries use LogQL. Do not assume that another hosted provider exposes the same API or query behavior.
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Use the results to make the choice
- Lean toward self-hosted Loki if your team can own availability, scaling, maintenance, storage, and access control, or keeping data on your own infrastructure is a requirement.
- Lean toward hosted logging if reducing infrastructure work is a priority and the service’s current price, retention, security controls, and ingestion limits fit your workload.
- If the decision is close, evaluate a small representative workload. Compare observed ingestion, query behavior, retention, and the operating effort required; treat this as an evaluation method, not as a claim that either option will perform better.
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
