Kentik Free Plan 2026: What's Included & What's Not
Honest breakdown of the free tier limits and features
Kentik costs Free to $2K per month as of May 2026. Pricing depends on your chosen tier, contract length, and negotiated discounts.
Use the interactive pricing calculator to estimate your exact cost based on team size and requirements.
- Free tier: No free tier available
Yes, Kentik offers a free trial plan as of May 2026. The free tier includes 4 features with limits on duration and contract. Paid plans start at $2000/month (Kentik Pro). Pricing verified from 3 sources by CostBench.
Kentik's free offering is a time-limited trial to test the full product.
What's Included in the Free Plan
- 30-day free trial
- Full platform access during trial
- Try Kentik Network Intelligence Platform
- No contract during trial
What's NOT Included (Paid Only)
- Kentik Core (network, traffic, device, capacity, data exploration, dashboards, integration)
- Kentik NMS (up/down, interface statistics, hardware components, routing protocols, streaming telemetry)
- Kentik Synthetics (synthetic performance, digital experience, auto-configuration, continuous testing)
- Kentik Cloud (cloud and hybrid, migration, security validation, performance and cost optimization)
- Kentik Protect (DDoS detection and basic mitigation methods)
- Kentik Edge (edge, peering, traffic engineering, transit and interconnection, cost optimization)
- Kentik Map
- Encrypted Transport
- Single Sign On (SSO)
- Audit Log
- Kentik Professional Services
- Kentik Protect Advanced (Add-on)
- Kentik Service Provider Analytics (Add-on)
- Kentik Firehose (Add-on)
Free Plan Limits
| Limit | Free Plan | Paid Plans |
|---|---|---|
| Duration | 30 days only | Unlimited/Higher |
| Contract | No contract during trial | Unlimited/Higher |
You'll Need to Upgrade When...
- You exceed the user limit
- You need features like Kentik Core (network, traffic, device, capacity, data exploration, dashboards, integration) or Kentik NMS (up/down, interface statistics, hardware components, routing protocols, streaming telemetry)
- You require premium support or SLA guarantees
- You need to remove branding or watermarks
- You need advanced integrations or API access
Hidden Restrictions on Free Plan
- Limited to trial period duration
- May have restrictions on data retention or flow volume
Free vs Paid: Which Do You Need?
Free Plan is Enough If...
- You're an individual or very small team
- You need only basic features
- You don't mind usage limits
- Branding on output is acceptable
- Community support is sufficient
You Need Paid If...
- Your team is growing beyond limits
- You need advanced features
- Professional branding is required
- You need priority support
- Integrations/API access is critical
Free vs Kentik Pro Plan Comparison
| Free Trial $0 | Kentik Pro $2000/month | |
|---|---|---|
| Features | 4 included | 14+ included |
| Support | Community/Email | Priority Support |
| Branding | Kentik branding | Your branding |
| Best For | Teams evaluating network observability platforms before committing to annual contracts | Mid-size organizations (up to 50 users) needing comprehensive network intelligence with observability, NMS, synthetics, cloud, and DDoS protection |
Frequently Asked Questions
01 Is Kentik free?
Yes, Kentik offers a free trial plan with 4 core features included. However, there are limits on duration, contract that may require upgrading.
02 What's included in Kentik's free plan?
Kentik's free plan includes: 30-day free trial, Full platform access during trial, Try Kentik Network Intelligence Platform, No contract during trial. Key limits include Duration: 30 days only, Contract: No contract during trial.
03 What's NOT included in Kentik's free plan?
The free plan excludes: Kentik Core (network, traffic, device, capacity, data exploration, dashboards, integration), Kentik NMS (up/down, interface statistics, hardware components, routing protocols, streaming telemetry), Kentik Synthetics (synthetic performance, digital experience, auto-configuration, continuous testing), Kentik Cloud (cloud and hybrid, migration, security validation, performance and cost optimization), Kentik Protect (DDoS detection and basic mitigation methods). You'll also have Kentik branding and limited support options.
04 When should I upgrade from Kentik's free plan?
Consider upgrading when: you hit user or storage limits, need features like Kentik Core (network, traffic, device, capacity, data exploration, dashboards, integration) or Kentik NMS (up/down, interface statistics, hardware components, routing protocols, streaming telemetry), require premium support, or want to remove branding. The cheapest paid plan starts at $2000/month.
05 Is Kentik's free plan really free forever?
Kentik's free offering is actually a time-limited trial, not a forever-free plan. After the trial period, you'll need to subscribe to a paid plan to continue using the service.