Faro
Grafana Faro is an open-source frontend observability SDK introduced by Grafana Labs in 2022, designed for developers and SREs who need to monitor web application performance, errors, logs, and user behavior in production.
Publisher review
Grafana Faro is an open-source frontend observability SDK introduced by Grafana Labs in 2022, designed for developers and SREs who need to monitor web application performance, errors, logs, and user behavior in production. It targets teams already using Grafana Cloud or OpenTelemetry infrastructure who want a unified view from browser to backend. Unlike standalone error trackers, Faro is built to integrate directly with Grafana’s observability stack—Loki for logs, Tempo for traces, and Grafana Agent for data collection—making it a natural choice for organizations invested in the Grafana ecosystem. It is particularly suited for engineering teams that need both automated instrumentation (e.g., web vitals, navigation timing) and manual control via a configurable web SDK, all under an open-source license with no vendor lock-in for the core library.
Faro captures a wide range of frontend telemetry: application performance metrics, JavaScript errors, console logs, and detailed user activity including sessions, custom events, feature usage, and full user journeys. The Web SDK automatically instruments web vitals such as Time to First Byte (TTFB), First Contentful Paint (FCP), Largest Contentful Paint (LCP), Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS), First Input Delay (FID), and Interaction to Next Paint (INP). It also monitors navigation and resource performance to identify bottlenecks. Data can be sent to Grafana Cloud or any OpenTelemetry collector, enabling full-stack correlation with backend traces and metrics. Faro supports multiple automatic and manual instrumentation methods, and all package versions are synchronized and released together under Semantic Versioning (MAJOR.MINOR.PATCH) to ensure compatibility across the ecosystem.
Faro competes directly with Sentry, which dominates frontend error monitoring with a broader feature set and longer market presence. While Sentry offers a more mature, all-in-one platform with built-in alerting and issue tracking, Faro differentiates by being open-source and deeply integrated with Grafana’s observability stack. For teams already using Grafana Cloud, Faro eliminates the need for a separate vendor and allows frontend data to be correlated with backend logs and traces in a single pane of glass. However, Sentry provides richer error grouping, source map support, and a larger community of third-party integrations. Faro is newer (2022) and has a smaller ecosystem, but its open-source nature and alignment with OpenTelemetry make it a compelling alternative for organizations prioritizing open standards and cost control.
The honest trade-offs: Faro’s free tier is limited to 50,000 user sessions, which may be restrictive for high-traffic applications without upgrading to a paid Grafana Cloud plan. The SDK does not guarantee compatibility between different package versions, requiring teams to upgrade all packages simultaneously to avoid conflicts. As a younger project, Faro has fewer community resources, tutorials, and third-party plugins compared to Sentry. Additionally, while Faro integrates seamlessly with Grafana Cloud, organizations not using Grafana must set up their own OpenTelemetry collector and backend storage, adding operational overhead. The project follows Node.js LTS releases and drops support for end-of-life Node versions, which may require infrastructure updates for teams on older runtimes.
How it works
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Application performance monitoring
Automatically captures web vitals (TTFB, FCP, LCP, CLS, FID, INP) and resource/navigation timing to identify frontend bottlenecks.
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Error and log capture
Captures JavaScript errors and console logs from the browser, sending them to Grafana Cloud or an OpenTelemetry collector for analysis.
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User activity tracking
Tracks user sessions, custom events, feature usage, and full user journeys to understand behavior and engagement patterns.
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Full-stack observability integration
Integrates with OpenTelemetry infrastructure and backend systems, enabling correlation of frontend data with backend traces and metrics.
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Automated and manual instrumentation
Supports both automatic instrumentation (e.g., web vitals, navigation) and manual instrumentation via a highly configurable web SDK.
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Grafana Cloud and OTel collector support
Data can be sent to Grafana Cloud or any OpenTelemetry collector, with Grafana Agent receiving and forwarding data to Loki and Tempo.
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Semantic versioning and synchronized releases
All Faro packages are versioned together under MAJOR.MINOR.PATCH and released simultaneously to ensure cross-package compatibility.
Strengths and trade-offs
Strengths
- Faro is fully open-source under an Apache 2.0 license, allowing teams to self-host and customize without vendor lock-in.
- The Web SDK automatically captures six core web vitals (TTFB, FCP, LCP, CLS, FID, INP) out of the box, reducing manual instrumentation effort.
- It integrates natively with Grafana Cloud’s Loki, Tempo, and Grafana Agent, enabling unified frontend and backend observability in a single platform.
- All Faro packages follow Semantic Versioning and are released together, ensuring consistent compatibility across the ecosystem when upgraded simultaneously.
Trade-offs
- The free tier is limited to 50,000 user sessions, which may be insufficient for high-traffic production applications without upgrading to a paid plan.
- Faro does not guarantee compatibility between different package versions, requiring teams to upgrade all packages at once to avoid conflicts.
- As a relatively new project (2022), Faro has a smaller community, fewer tutorials, and fewer third-party integrations compared to established competitors like Sentry.
- Organizations not using Grafana Cloud must set up and maintain their own OpenTelemetry collector and backend storage, adding operational complexity.
Pricing context
Free tier with limited usage (50k user sessions, 14-day retention); Pro at $19/month + pay-as-you-go usage; Enterprise starts at $25,000/year spend commit with custom retention and premium support.
Getting started with Faro
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Sign up for Grafana Cloud
Go to grafana.com and create a free Grafana Cloud account. This gives you access to Loki, Tempo, and the Grafana Agent needed to receive and store Faro telemetry data. The free tier includes 50,000 user sessions and 14-day retention.
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Install the Faro Web SDK
Run `npm install @grafana/faro-web-sdk` in your frontend project. This installs the core SDK that automatically captures web vitals, errors, and console logs. Ensure you also install any additional packages like `@grafana/faro-react` if using React.
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Configure the SDK with your endpoint
In your application code, initialize the Faro SDK with your Grafana Cloud endpoint and app key. Use the `initializeFaro` function, passing the URL and key from your Grafana Cloud stack. This directs all telemetry data to your backend.
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Verify data in Grafana Cloud
Open your Grafana Cloud dashboard and navigate to Explore. Query Loki for logs or Tempo for traces to confirm that frontend events, errors, and web vitals are arriving. Check for a session ID to validate user activity tracking.
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Set up alerts for frontend errors
In Grafana Cloud, create an alert rule that triggers when error logs from Faro exceed a threshold. Use Loki as the data source, define a query for error-level logs, and configure notification channels like email or Slack to get real-time alerts.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Grafana Faro and what does it do?
Grafana Faro is an open-source frontend observability SDK from Grafana Labs that captures web vitals, JavaScript errors, console logs, and user activity. It integrates with Grafana Cloud or OpenTelemetry collectors to provide a unified view of frontend and backend performance.
How does Faro compare to Sentry for frontend monitoring?
Faro is open-source and deeply integrated with Grafana's stack, while Sentry offers a more mature platform with richer error grouping and third-party integrations. Faro suits teams already using Grafana Cloud, but Sentry has a larger community and more features for standalone error tracking.
What web vitals does Faro automatically capture?
Faro automatically captures six core web vitals: Time to First Byte (TTFB), First Contentful Paint (FCP), Largest Contentful Paint (LCP), Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS), First Input Delay (FID), and Interaction to Next Paint (INP). It also monitors navigation and resource timing.
What are the limitations of Faro's free tier?
Faro's free tier is limited to 50,000 user sessions with 14-day data retention. High-traffic applications may need to upgrade to a paid Grafana Cloud plan. The Pro plan starts at $19 per month with pay-as-you-go usage.
Can Faro be used without Grafana Cloud?
Yes, Faro can send data to any OpenTelemetry collector, but organizations not using Grafana Cloud must set up and maintain their own collector and backend storage. This adds operational complexity compared to using Grafana Cloud's integrated services.
Does Faro support both automatic and manual instrumentation?
Yes, Faro supports automatic instrumentation for web vitals and navigation timing, as well as manual instrumentation through a configurable web SDK. This allows teams to capture custom events and user journeys while reducing manual effort for standard metrics.
Alternatives
How Faro compares
Direct head-to-head against 3 competitors. Picked by 7wData.
Faro
- Pricing
- Free tier with limited usage (50k user sessions, 14-day retention); Pro at $19/month + pay-as-you-go usage; Enterprise starts at $25,000/year spend commit with custom retention and premium support.
- Target
- Grafana Faro is an open-source frontend observability SDK introduced by Grafana Labs in 2022, designed for developers and SREs who need to monitor web application
- Strength
- Faro is fully open-source under an Apache 2.0 license, allowing teams to self-host and customize without vendor lock-in.
- Watch for
- The free tier is limited to 50,000 user sessions, which may be insufficient for high-traffic production applications without upgrading to a paid plan.
NavVis VLX
- Pricing
- Custom/Contact sales
- Target
- Professionals needing fast mobile mapping with high accuracy
- Deployment
- On-premise hardware
- Strength
- Wearable mobile mapping at 10x speed of terrestrial scanners
- Watch for
- Higher cost than handheld alternatives; requires training for SLAM setup
Leica BLK360
- Pricing
- Custom/Contact sales
- Target
- Professionals prioritizing portability and ease of use
- Deployment
- On-premise hardware
- Strength
- Ultra-light 1 kg design with fast setup and iOS/Android app control
- Watch for
- Lower point accuracy (6 mm at 10m) compared to Faro Focus; limited range
GeoSLAM Zeb Revo RT
- Pricing
- Custom/Contact sales
- Target
- Users needing extreme portability for small to medium indoor/outdoor projects
- Deployment
- On-premise hardware
- Strength
- Handheld 1.05 kg design with 4-hour battery and 6 mm accuracy
- Watch for
- No built-in camera; requires accessories for imagery and GNSS
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