TOOL SIGNAL / ACTIVE

Grafana k6

Grafana Labs

Load Testing Open Source Self-hosted ♥ pick ✓ pick

Frequently asked

Is it open source?

Yes. Grafana k6 is listed as open source.

What protocols does it support?

Grafana k6 supports HTTP, HTTPS, WebSocket, gRPC.

Is it cloud or self-hosted?

Grafana k6 is listed as self-hosted.

Is it still maintained?

Grafana k6 is listed as active.

Grafana k6 executes performance tests from concise JavaScript or TypeScript scenarios. It supports thresholds, checks, extensions, and integration with Grafana observability products.

About

Grafana k6 is an open-source, developer-friendly, and extensible performance testing tool designed to help engineering teams (developers, QA engineers, SDETs, and SREs) catch performance issues early, simulate realistic user behavior, and improve the reliability, performance, and scalability of applications and infrastructure.

Features

  • Test scripts written in JavaScript or TypeScript
  • Support for multiple execution modes: local, distributed (e.g., in a Kubernetes cluster), and cloud
  • Optimized for minimal resource consumption for high-load tests like spike, stress, or soak tests
  • Configurable options such as thresholds, metrics, and lifecycle hooks
  • Ability to ramp virtual users (VUs) up and down during tests

Pricing

Grafana k6 is open-source (free). Grafana Cloud k6 offers a free tier (limited to 500 virtual user hours per month), a pay-as-you-go model ($0.15 per virtual user hour), and enterprise options with volume discounts and annual commits.

Author / Company

Grafana Labs

AI features

  • Integration with CI/CD and automation tools for automated performance testing
  • Support for browser-based performance testing via the k6 browser API to collect browser metrics
  • Capability to simulate traffic for chaos and resilience testing, including integration with xk6-disruptor for Kubernetes fault injection
  • Support for custom extensions to add protocols or test specific infrastructure components

Latest release

v2.1.0 · 2026-06-30

The v2.1.0 release includes an opt-in feature-flag system (via --features, K6_FEATURES, and k6 features command), a new k6 cloud test list subcommand, and a context-level proxy option for browser contexts.

GROUNDED VIA EXA · 2026-08-11

Signal notes