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Comparison · DevOps

Grafana vs Manticore Search

A side-by-side editorial comparison of Grafana and Manticore Search — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.

Grafana vs Manticore Search: at a glance

FeatureGrafanaManticore Search
SectorDevOps, Infra & APIsDevOps
Velocity score5.05.0
Sparks · 30d00
Top themessecurity-patches, cve-disclosure, lts-backports, dashboardssearch-engine, open-source, sql, performance
Last editorial update5mo ago18h ago
WebsiteVisit →Visit →

What is Grafana?

Grafana ships a coordinated multi-branch security wave on top of the v13 release.

The recent timeline is dominated by security work: a synchronized May 12 release of patched builds across five supported lines (11.6, 12.2, 12.3, 12.4, 13.0) covering the same ten CVEs, plus a June 2 follow-on patch for 13.0.2 addressing a fresh batch including a Loki path-traversal and a Geomap URL sanitization fix. Underneath that, v13.0 itself shipped in April with bundled-datasource dashboards, the redesigned logs panel from v12.3, and the dynamic-dashboard automation from v12.4.

Read the full Grafana trajectory →

What is Manticore Search?

Manticore keeps patching 31.x, now fixing a FREEZE crash and a DocID ordering bug.

Manticore Search's 31.x tags remain fixes rather than features. 31.0.7 restored string COUNT(DISTINCT) speed after a collation fix had doubled it to 2.4 s, and 31.0.18 bumped the Buddy sidecar for PHP 8.5. 31.0.19 fixes deferred real-time kills that sorted document IDs as signed numbers, and 31.0.21 stops FREEZE from crashing when it includes a distributed table.

Read the full Manticore Search trajectory →

Grafana vs Manticore Search: editorial side-by-side

Grafana logo
Grafana
DEVOPSINFRA · APIS
5.0

Grafana ships a coordinated multi-branch security wave on top of the v13 release.

◆ Current state

The recent timeline is dominated by security work: a synchronized May 12 release of patched builds across five supported lines (11.6, 12.2, 12.3, 12.4, 13.0) covering the same ten CVEs, plus a June 2 follow-on patch for 13.0.2 addressing a fresh batch including a Loki path-traversal and a Geomap URL sanitization fix. Underneath that, v13.0 itself shipped in April with bundled-datasource dashboards, the redesigned logs panel from v12.3, and the dynamic-dashboard automation from v12.4.

◆ Where it's heading

Grafana is operating a mature CNA-style disclosure pipeline — vendor-acknowledgement timestamps in patch notes suggest a private partner channel and synchronized backports. The product direction itself is consolidating around dashboard automation, logs UX, and easier onboarding. The two streams (feature shipping and security cadence) run in parallel without slowing each other.

◆ Prediction

Expect 13.0.x patch releases at roughly monthly cadence as more partner-acknowledged vulns land, alongside continued investment in dashboard templating and the logs/traces explorers that v12.3 and v12.4 set up.

M5.0

Manticore keeps patching 31.x, now fixing a FREEZE crash and a DocID ordering bug.

◆ Current state

Manticore Search's 31.x tags remain fixes rather than features. 31.0.7 restored string COUNT(DISTINCT) speed after a collation fix had doubled it to 2.4 s, and 31.0.18 bumped the Buddy sidecar for PHP 8.5. 31.0.19 fixes deferred real-time kills that sorted document IDs as signed numbers, and 31.0.21 stops FREEZE from crashing when it includes a distributed table.

◆ Where it's heading

The 31.x line is in steady correctness work, with several tags a week and each fixing one edge case in real-time tables, backups or query paths. No feature work has shown up in the feed since 31.0 began.

◆ Prediction

Expect more single-fix 31.0.x tags; the entries give no sign of when the next feature release lands.

Alternatives to Grafana and Manticore Search

Other DevOps products tracked by Sparkpulse, ranked by recent ship velocity. Each card links to a full editorial trajectory and lets you pivot into a head-to-head comparison with either Grafana or Manticore Search.

See all Grafana alternatives → · See all Manticore Search alternatives →

Recent activity from Grafana and Manticore Search

Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.

  1. 1d agoManticore Search31.0.21: FREEZE no longer crashes on distributed tables
  2. 2d agoManticore Search31.0.19: fixes DocID ordering for deferred real-time deletes
  3. 3d agoManticore Search31.0.18: Buddy sidecar 4.4.10 for PHP 8.5
  4. 18d agoManticore Search31.0.7: string COUNT(DISTINCT) 2x slowdown fixed
  5. 21d agoManticore Search31.0.4: CI fix for bundled Debian dependencies
  6. 21d agoManticore Search31.0.3: Test Kit pinned to Executor 1.4.6
  7. 5mo agoGrafana13.0.2 security patch: Geomap URL, body-size cap, Loki path traversal
  8. 6mo agoGrafana12.3.6 security patch (10 CVEs + Alertmanager fix)
  9. 6mo agoGrafana12.4.3 security patch (10 CVE backports)
  10. 6mo agoGrafana12.2.8 security patch (10 CVE backports to 12.2 LTS)
  11. 6mo agoGrafana11.6.14 security patch (10 CVE backports to 11.6 LTS)
  12. 6mo agoGrafana13.0.1 security patch (10 CVEs on current major)

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between Grafana and Manticore Search?

They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. Grafana and Manticore Search are shipping at a similar cadence (velocity 5.0 vs 5.0, both within Sparkpulse's "active" band). See the at-a-glance table above for a side-by-side breakdown of velocity, recent sparks, and editorial themes.

Is Grafana better than Manticore Search?

Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. Grafana and Manticore Search are shipping at a similar cadence (velocity 5.0 vs 5.0, both within Sparkpulse's "active" band). For your specific use case, the alternatives sections above list other DevOps products to evaluate alongside.

What are the best alternatives to Grafana?

Top Grafana alternatives in DevOps are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Grafana alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/grafana for the full list with editorial commentary on each.

What are the best alternatives to Manticore Search?

Top Manticore Search alternatives in DevOps are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Manticore Search alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/manticoresearch for the full list with editorial commentary on each.