Grafana vs Instana:Which is more popular?
In September 2026, Instana had more branded searches than Grafana among application performance monitoring worldwide. Instana had about 74,000 branded searches, while Grafana had 70. Instana made up 11.9% of all application performance monitoring searches we track, and Grafana accounted for 0.01%. When we asked ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews about application performance monitoring, Grafana appeared in four of the five answers and Instana in none.
Who do people search for more?
Instana, about 1057 searches for every 1 for Grafana
Who does AI mention more?
Grafana, mentioned in 4 of 5 answers, Instana in 0
Who does AI recommend more?
Grafana, the only one of the two named
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Top application performance monitoring in ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews
In three ChatGPT questions and two Google AI Overviews, Grafana was mentioned in four out of five: in all three ChatGPT answers and in one of the two Google AI Overviews. Instana did not appear in any of the five answers.
Most recommended by AI
Brands get a higher ranking if they are mentioned earlier in the answers.
Mentioned by AI
Each dot is one answer, filled in when that answer mentions the brand.
Dynatrace4 of 5Named in 3 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 1 of 2 Google answers
New Relic4 of 5Named in 3 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 1 of 2 Google answers- Grafana4 of 5Named in 3 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 1 of 2 Google answers
Datadog3 of 5Named in 3 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 0 of 2 Google answers
Sentry2 of 5Named in 2 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 0 of 2 Google answers
Elastic2 of 5Named in 1 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 1 of 2 Google answers
AppDynamics1 of 5Named in 0 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 1 of 2 Google answers
Splunk0 of 5Named in 0 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 0 of 2 Google answers- Instana0 of 5Named in 0 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 0 of 2 Google answers
See every answer about application performance monitoring
5 answers
Asked ChatGPT
“Which application performance monitoring platform should I use?”
Asked ChatGPT
“What are the best application performance monitoring platforms?”
Asked ChatGPT
“What's the best application performance monitoring platform for an engineering team?”
Searched Google, AI Overview
“application performance monitoring”
Searched Google, AI Overview
“apm tools”
Brands are shown in the order each answer named them. The survey took place in the United States on October 20, 2026.
Is Grafana or Instana more popular in search?
This chart shows how often people search Google for Grafana and Instana by name. Each line represents a brand's share of searches for all nine application performance monitoring we track, month by month, from English-language searches worldwide.
Share of searches by month for Instana, Grafana. The figures are in the table below the chart.
View monthly share of searches table
| Month | Datadog | Splunk | Dynatrace | Instana | New Relic | AppDynamics | Sentry | Elastic | Grafana |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 2025 | 34.3% | 28.1% | 15.4% | 5.7% | 12.6% | 2.5% | 0.52% | 0.92% | 0.02% |
| Nov 2025 | 39.5% | 26.5% | 14.5% | 1.3% | 14.5% | 1.9% | 0.55% | 1.1% | 0.02% |
| Dec 2025 | 37% | 30.4% | 13.6% | 1.5% | 13.6% | 2.2% | 0.62% | 0.99% | 0.01% |
| Jan 2026 | 40.6% | 27.2% | 14.9% | 1.3% | 12.2% | 2% | 0.58% | 1.1% | 0.02% |
| Feb 2026 | 41.8% | 28% | 15.4% | 1.4% | 10.3% | 1.7% | 0.55% | 0.92% | 0.02% |
| Mar 2026 | 40.1% | 26.9% | 17.9% | 1.3% | 9.9% | 2% | 0.77% | 1.1% | 0.01% |
| Apr 2026 | 41.7% | 27.9% | 15.3% | 1.4% | 10.2% | 1.7% | 0.86% | 0.91% | 0.02% |
| May 2026 | 43.9% | 24.1% | 16.1% | 1.2% | 10.8% | 2.2% | 0.8% | 0.96% | 0.02% |
| Jun 2026 | 40.8% | 27.4% | 15% | 1.3% | 12.3% | 1.6% | 0.73% | 0.73% | 0.02% |
| Jul 2026 | 44.3% | 24.3% | 16.3% | 1.2% | 10.9% | 1.5% | 0.75% | 0.79% | 0.02% |
| Aug 2026 | 44% | 24.1% | 16.2% | 1.8% | 10.8% | 1.4% | 0.82% | 0.79% | 0.02% |
| Sep 2026 | 39.5% | 21.7% | 14.5% | 11.9% | 9.7% | 1.3% | 0.8% | 0.58% | 0.01% |
How has the Grafana and Instana comparison changed over the last 12 months?
3 findings
- Instana was ahead of Grafana in every measured month of the 12 months ending September 2026.
- Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Grafana’s share of searches among application performance monitoring worldwide moved from 0.02% to 0.01%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 140 to 70.
- Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Instana’s share of searches among application performance monitoring worldwide moved from 5.7% to 11.9%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 40.5K to 74K.
How did search popularity change for application performance monitoring worldwide in September 2026?
2 changes
In September 2026, Instana overtook New Relic to rank 4th among application performance monitoring worldwide, with 11.9% of the searches.
Estimated monthly branded searches for Grafana worldwide fell 50% over 12 measured months, from 140 to 70 in September 2026.
How are branded searches counted?
2 search terms
Brandwave collects information about searches that people make online using Grafana’s and Instana’s names. When viewed over time, estimated search volumes for these branded terms can be used to understand whether interest in the brands is growing, holding steady, or fading.
Other head-to-heads among application performance monitoring
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