Google Cloud Monitoring vs Azure Monitor

Google Cloud Monitoring9.0Visit Azure Monitor8.3Visit

Higher score Google Cloud Monitoring #5 in Infrastructure Monitoring 9.0/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 2 of 3 features Visit Google Cloud

vs

Azure Monitor #12 in Infrastructure Monitoring 8.3/10 Paid ✓ 2 of 3 features Visit Azure Monitor

• Google Cloud Monitoring fits best

  Google Cloud environments

• Azure Monitor fits best

  Azure-centric infrastructure teams

Advertiser disclosure: iTechGuides is reader-supported. Vendors can pay for top positions in our rankings and for a place on other products' pages, and we may earn a commission when you click some links. Bought places stand at the number bought; this page and our disclosure say so. Paying vendors may get a fuller, more detailed review from our editors, and that review can change their score. How we rank.

Side by side

Feature	Google Cloud Monitoring 9.0/10 Visit ↗	Azure Monitor 8.3/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	9.0	8.3
Ranking	#5 in Infrastructure Monitoring	#12 in Infrastructure Monitoring
Best for	Google Cloud environments	Azure-centric infrastructure teams
Pricing model	Free plan + paid	Paid
Starting price	Free plan	Not checked yet
Free plan	✓ (best)	—
Free trial	—	—
Deployment	Cloud	Cloud
Platforms	Web	Web
Support	Community	Docs
Built for	Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise	Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features Google Cloud Monitoring 2/3 · Azure Monitor 2/3
VM monitoring	✓	✓
Service monitoring	✓ (best)	—
Agentless monitoring	Not checked yet	✓ (best)
Specs
Included hosts	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Metrics retention	Custom	Custom
Deployment model	Cloud	Cloud
OS coverage	Linux and windows	Linux and windows
Our review
Pros	Dashboards, alerts, uptime checks, synthetics, and SLO monitoring Native coverage for Google Cloud, Compute Engine, GKE, and Cloud Run Supports Prometheus, custom metrics, multicloud scopes, and logging integration	Covers metrics, logs, traces, events, VMs, Kubernetes, and Prometheus Combines Log Analytics, KQL, diagnostics, dashboards, and alerts Extends monitoring across hybrid and multicloud environments through Azure Arc
Cons	Usage-based pricing is less predictable than fixed-plan billing Its strongest ecosystem fit is centered on Google Cloud services No free plan is available	Consumption-based pricing can be harder to forecast than fixed plans Azure-focused integrations may be less suitable for non-Azure-first teams The broad feature set can require planning across multiple monitoring components
Our verdict	Google Cloud Monitoring is a managed observability service for tracking application and infrastructure performance, availability, and health. It is designed for teams running workloads across Google Cloud, hybrid environments, and selected… Read the review →	Azure Monitor is Microsoft's cloud observability service for applications, infrastructure, networks, and hybrid environments. It collects metrics, logs, traces, and events from Azure resources, virtual machines, guest operating systems,… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• Google Cloud Monitoring — where it wins

  • Dashboards, alerts, uptime checks, synthetics, and SLO monitoring
  • Native coverage for Google Cloud, Compute Engine, GKE, and Cloud Run
  • Supports Prometheus, custom metrics, multicloud scopes, and logging integration

  Where it doesn't

  • Usage-based pricing is less predictable than fixed-plan billing
  • Its strongest ecosystem fit is centered on Google Cloud services
  • No free plan is available

• Azure Monitor — where it wins

  • Covers metrics, logs, traces, events, VMs, Kubernetes, and Prometheus
  • Combines Log Analytics, KQL, diagnostics, dashboards, and alerts
  • Extends monitoring across hybrid and multicloud environments through Azure Arc

  Where it doesn't

  • Consumption-based pricing can be harder to forecast than fixed plans
  • Azure-focused integrations may be less suitable for non-Azure-first teams
  • The broad feature set can require planning across multiple monitoring components

• Google Cloud Monitoring9.0/10 · Free plan

  A broad monitoring service for teams operating primarily in Google Cloud.

  Visit Google CloudFull verdict →
• Azure Monitor8.3/10 · Paid

  A broad Azure monitoring service for metrics, logs, traces, alerts, and hybrid environments.

  Visit Azure MonitorFull verdict →