Thanos
Thanos is an open-source collection of components for building highly available Prometheus setups and keeping metrics for long periods.
What Thanos is
Thanos is an open-source collection of components for building highly available Prometheus setups and keeping metrics for long periods. It can query metrics across multiple Prometheus servers and clusters, and object storage can retain metrics for unlimited time. Listed storage options include GCP, S3, Azure, Swift, and Tencent COS. Thanos can downsample historical data to speed queries over large time ranges and apply retention policies. It works with tools such as Grafana when they support the Prometheus Query API, and it runs in environments including Kubernetes and bare metal. The documented dependency is one or more Prometheus v2.2.1+ installations with persistent disk; object storage is optional. Thanos uses TLS by default for object-storage communication, but local metrics are not encrypted by Thanos and its HTTP APIs lack authorization or TLS support. It is licensed under Apache License 2.0 and directs users to Slack and GitHub issues for support. The project does not recommend a single-node production deployment because it is designed as a distributed system.
Good
- Queries metrics across multiple Prometheus servers and clusters.
- Object storage can retain metrics indefinitely.
- Supports GCP, S3, Azure, Swift, and Tencent COS.
- Downsampling can speed queries over large time ranges.
- Runs on Kubernetes and bare metal.
Watch out
- Requires Prometheus v2.2.1+ with persistent disk.
- Local metrics are not encrypted by Thanos.
- HTTP APIs lack authorization and TLS support.
- Single-node production use is not recommended.
Who it suits
Thanos suits teams operating Prometheus across multiple servers or clusters that need long-term metric storage. It is also relevant to teams able to deploy and manage a distributed system in their chosen environment.
Verdict
Thanos offers multi-cluster queries and long-term metric retention for Prometheus environments, with object storage as an option. Its distributed design and stated security limitations are important considerations for deployment.
Plans and prices
From Thanos's own pricing page, checked 4 Oct 2026.
| Plan | Price | What it gives you |
|---|---|---|
| Open source | Free | Apache License 2.0 · no paid plans or usage limits stated |
The facts
Each one read from Thanos's own pages, with the date it was checked.
What it does
- Dependencies
- The documented dependency is one or more Prometheus v2.2.1+ installations with persistent disk; object storage is optional.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Deployment
- Thanos runs in cloud-native and traditional environments, including Kubernetes and bare metal.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Downsampling
- Thanos can downsample historical data to speed queries over large time ranges and configure retention policies.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Global queries
- Thanos lets users query metrics across multiple Prometheus servers and clusters.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Integrations
- The integrations documentation describes StoreAPI connections, including Geras for OpenTSDB and a proxy for Prometheus remote read.checked 4 Oct 2026
- License and origin
- Thanos is licensed under Apache License 2.0 and was founded by Improbable.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Production guidance
- The documentation does not recommend running Thanos on a single node in production because it is designed as a distributed system.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Prometheus compatibility
- Thanos is compatible with tools such as Grafana that support the Prometheus Query API.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Purpose
- Thanos is an open-source set of components for building highly available Prometheus setups with long-term storage.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Retention
- Thanos can use object storage to retain metrics for unlimited time.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Security
- Thanos uses TLS by default for object storage communication, but its security policy says local metrics are not encrypted by Thanos and its HTTP APIs lack authorization or TLS support.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Storage providers
- The homepage lists GCP, S3, Azure, Swift, and Tencent COS as supported object storage options.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Support channels
- The project points users to its Slack community and GitHub issue tracker for contact and support.checked 4 Oct 2026
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