Elastic
Large (~4,000)
Grafana Labs
Large (~1,700)
Best For
Elastic
Best for: Professionals interested in Elastic
Grafana Labs
Best for: Engineers who want open-source impact with fully remote flexibility and strong WLB
Ratings
ElasticGrafana Labs
4.0
4.1
Overall
4.1
4.3
Work-Life Balance
4.1
4.1
Culture & Values
4.0
4.0
Comp & Benefits
3.8
3.6
Senior Mgmt
3.8
3.8
Career Opps
👍 80% Recommend
👤 84% CEO Approval (CEO)
👍 78% Recommend
👤 71% CEO Approval (Raj Dutt)
Culture Values
Elastic only
📡 Async-First💎 Strong Comp & Equity
Grafana Labs only
⚙️ Engineering-Driven🪟 Transparent🌱 Learning & Growth
Shared
🌐 Remote-Friendly🔓 Open Source⚖️ Work-Life Balance
Pros & Cons
Elastic
- Fully distributed from day one — genuine remote-first culture across 40+ countries
- Open-source DNA means engineers contribute to community, not just internal products
- Cross-timezone coordination means occasional early/late meetings
- Recent leadership shifts have introduced more process and oversight
Grafana Labs
- 100% remote-first across 40+ countries with generous PTO (~30 days) and mandatory shutdown days
- Engineers rate it 4.9/5 — absurdly talented colleagues with strong open-source culture
- Career progression above staff level can be challenging with limited upward mobility
- Product management is sometimes marginalized with engineers holding disproportionate power
Bottom Line
Elastic
Elastic — check Glassdoor for detailed reviews.
Grafana Labs
Choose Grafana Labs if you want deep open-source impact, fully remote flexibility, and excellent WLB — but expect limited career progression above staff level.
Open Roles
Elastic — 198 jobs
💻 Engineering
87
💼 Sales / GTM
67
📣 Marketing
8
📋 Product
7
👤 HR / People
4
🎨 Design
3
🧠 ML / AI
3
📊 Data
2
Grafana Labs — 149 jobs
💻 Engineering
92
💼 Sales / GTM
32
📣 Marketing
6
👤 HR / People
1
⚖️ Legal
1
⚙️ Operations
1
Summary
Elastic scores 4.0/5.0 on Glassdoor with a 4.1 work-life balance rating. Grafana Labs scores 4.1/5.0 overall with a 4.3 WLB. That’s a 0.1-point gap on overall satisfaction.
Both companies share these culture values: Remote-Friendly, Open Source, Work-Life Balance. Elastic also emphasizes Async-First, Strong Comp & Equity. Grafana Labs also emphasizes Engineering-Driven, Transparent, Learning & Growth.
On the hiring front, Elastic has 198 open roles and Grafana Labs has 149 open roles.