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Datadog → Grafana Stack

hard

Grafana + Loki + Tempo + Mimir replaces Datadog's logs, traces, and metrics. Self-hosted or Grafana Cloud. Dramatically cheaper at scale.

Estimated: 8-16h · 6 steps
Progress0%
Step 1: Deploy Grafana stack

Use Docker Compose or Helm. Grafana for dashboards, Loki for logs, Tempo for traces, Mimir for metrics.

docker compose -f docker-compose-grafana-stack.yml up -d
Step 2: Replace log shipper

Replace Datadog Agent with Grafana Alloy (or Promtail) for log collection.

npm uninstall dd-trace
Step 3: Configure metrics

Expose Prometheus metrics from your app. Mimir scrapes and stores them. Replace Datadog StatsD with Prometheus client.

Step 4: Set up tracing

Replace dd-trace with OpenTelemetry SDK. Send traces to Tempo.

npm install @opentelemetry/sdk-node @opentelemetry/exporter-trace-otlp-http
Step 5: Recreate dashboards

Rebuild Datadog dashboards in Grafana. Import community dashboards for common services.

Step 6: Set up alerts

Configure Grafana alerting rules to replace Datadog monitors.

✓ Logs, metrics, and traces visible in Grafana dashboards

What this migration involves

Moving from Datadog to Grafana Stack is rated hard and takes about 8-16h on a typical project. The guide breaks it into 6 steps, 3 of which ship with runnable commands and 1 with a verification check.

FAQ

How long does migrating from Datadog to Grafana Stack take?

Around 8-16h for a typical project — 6 steps, difficulty rated hard, 3 of them with copy-paste commands.

Is moving from Datadog to Grafana Stack reversible?

No reverse guide is tracked yet, so treat this as a one-way move and keep a full export of your Datadog data before you start.

What does Grafana Stack cost compared to Datadog?

Datadog: freemium from $15/mo, free plan available.