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Head-to-head · Real User Monitoring

Akamai mPulse vs Grafana Faro

  • Updated Nov 2026
  • Both researched from official sources
  • 6 checks side by side
Higher score Akamai mPulse #4 in Real User Monitoring 8.8/10 Pricing on request · 30-day trial Free trial✓ 5 of 5 features Visit Akamai mPulse
Grafana Faro #6 in Real User Monitoring 8.6/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 4 of 5 features Visit Grafana Faro

Akamai mPulse leads on 0 checks, Grafana Faro on 1, and 5 are even. Who comes out ahead on the 6 yes/no, price and count checks where we have data for both products. The editor score weighs everything else too.

Our verdict

  • Highest scoreAkamai mPulse · 8.8/10
  • Free planonly Grafana Faro
  • Free trialonly Akamai mPulse
  • Most featuresAkamai mPulse · 5 of 5

Akamai mPulse scores higher on our rubric for real user monitoring: 8.8 against 8.6 out of 10; our editors rank them #4 and #6.

Grafana Faro offers free plan; Akamai mPulse doesn't. On data retention, Akamai mPulse gives you 90+ days where Grafana Faro offers 30 days. On pricing metric, Akamai mPulse gives you Custom where Grafana Faro offers Sessions.

Akamai mPulse is the better fit for large enterprises optimizing digital experiences. Grafana Faro is the better fit for open-source-minded web RUM teams.

  • Akamai mPulse fits best

    Large enterprises optimizing digital experiences

  • Grafana Faro fits best

    Open-source-minded web RUM teams

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Side by side

Feature Akamai mPulse 8.8/10 Visit ↗ Grafana Faro 8.6/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score 8.8 8.6
Ranking #4 in Real User Monitoring #6 in Real User Monitoring
Best for Large enterprises optimizing digital experiences Open-source-minded web RUM teams
Pricing model Paid Free plan + paid
Starting price Pricing on request · 30-day trial $19/mo
Free plan — ✓ (best)
Free trial 30 days —
Deployment Cloud, Mobile Cloud, Self-hosted
Platforms Web, iOS Web
Support Docs · 24/7 Email, Community, Docs
Integrations 3 integrations 6 integrations
Built for Mid-market, Enterprise Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features Akamai mPulse 5/5 · Grafana Faro 4/5
Core Web Vitals ✓ ✓
Mobile app monitoring ✓ (best) Not checked yet
Interaction tracking ✓ ✓
Geographic breakdown ✓ ✓
Error correlation ✓ ✓
Specs
Data retention 90+ days 30 days
Pricing metric Custom Sessions
Our review
Pros
  • Tracks Core Web Vitals, errors, APIs, revenue, and custom KPIs
  • Segments results by geography, device, browser, network, and bots
  • Adds anomaly detection, alerts, and predictive what-if analysis
  • Free plan includes up to 50k sessions per month
  • Tracks Web Vitals, errors, interactions, geography, and sessions
  • Connects frontend telemetry with Grafana and OpenTelemetry tools
Cons
  • Paid plans require contacting sales
  • There is no free plan
  • The Lite trial is limited to 1 million beacons per month
  • Web-focused rather than native mobile monitoring
  • Free plan includes community support only
  • Published retention period is 30 days
Our verdict

Akamai mPulse is a real-user monitoring solution for organizations measuring website and application performance with live user data. It supports web, iOS, and API monitoring, combining performance, business, geographic, device, and…

Read the review →

Grafana Faro is an open-source JavaScript SDK for real user monitoring in browser-based applications. It is designed for developers, DevOps teams, and SREs that need frontend performance, error, interaction, session, and trace data. Faro…

Read the review →
  1. Akamai mPulseReal User Monitoring 8.8Pricing on request · 30-day trial
  2. Grafana FaroReal User Monitoring 8.6Free plan

Strengths and trade-offs

  • Akamai mPulse — where it wins

    • Tracks Core Web Vitals, errors, APIs, revenue, and custom KPIs
    • Segments results by geography, device, browser, network, and bots
    • Adds anomaly detection, alerts, and predictive what-if analysis

    Where it doesn't

    • Paid plans require contacting sales
    • There is no free plan
    • The Lite trial is limited to 1 million beacons per month

  • Grafana Faro — where it wins

    • Free plan includes up to 50k sessions per month
    • Tracks Web Vitals, errors, interactions, geography, and sessions
    • Connects frontend telemetry with Grafana and OpenTelemetry tools

    Where it doesn't

    • Web-focused rather than native mobile monitoring
    • Free plan includes community support only
    • Published retention period is 30 days

Akamai mPulse vs Grafana Faro: questions

Which is better for real user monitoring, Akamai mPulse or Grafana Faro?

Akamai mPulse scores higher on our rubric for real user monitoring: 8.8 against 8.6 out of 10; our editors rank them #4 and #6.

How do Akamai mPulse and Grafana Faro compare?

Of the 6 checks we put side by side, Akamai mPulse leads on none, Grafana Faro on 1, and 5 are level. Free plan only on Grafana Faro.

Do Akamai mPulse and Grafana Faro have a free plan?

Akamai mPulse: No. Grafana Faro: Yes.

More comparisons

All real user monitoring comparisons → · Full ranking →

Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Nov 2026

Last updated · How we research and update