How we measure usage
Honeycomb measures two types of usage: events and metrics data points. All Teams on Free and Pro pricing plans have specific monthly limits for both. For Teams on Enterprise pricing plans, Honeycomb calculates the associated events per month (EPM) limit based on the events per year (EPY) for their annual plan.How we define an event
An event is a collection of information about what it took to complete a unit of work. For example, accepting an HTTP request, doing the required work, and then passing back a response counts as one event. In traces, which are complex requests that comprise many spans, each span represents a unit of work, so Honeycomb counts each span in a trace (SpanEvent or Link in OpenTelemetry and OpenCensus) as an event.
For example, Honeycomb counts a trace that contains 150 spans as 150 events.
To learn more about the format and size of events that Honeycomb accepts, visit Honeycomb Event API and OpenTelemetry.
How we define a data point
Time series metrics data is defined with data points.
If you use events-based metrics, Honeycomb stores your metrics as events and calculates usage accordingly.
- Data points Honeycomb rejects due to operational rate limiting or excessive size
- Malformed data points that Honeycomb can’t ingest
- Data points you filter before they reach Honeycomb
What counts against Event Per Month (EPM) limits
All successful events Honeycomb ingests count against your EPM limit. Events that don’t count against the EPM limit include:- Events Honeycomb rejects due to operational rate limiting, excessive size, or malformation
- Events your application samples before sending to Honeycomb, such as via Refinery, Beelines, or other sampling methods
What counts against Data Point Per Month (DPPM) limits
Each plan includes a data point allotment separate from your event allotment. Honeycomb tracks the two independently, so your Team can exceed one limit without affecting the other. To see the data point allotment for your plan, visit Honeycomb Pricing Plans.How we predict overages
Based on the EPM limit, Honeycomb calculates a daily event target (EPM divided by 30.4). Honeycomb calculates a daily data point target the same way, based on your DPPM limit. We base all event and data point counts on calendar month, regardless of when a team’s billing renewal date may fall. You can see your EPM limit, your DPPM limit, and both daily targets in the Honeycomb UI under Team Settings > Usage.How we handle overages
Honeycomb surfaces a usage state indicator in the UI for all teams. You can see your Team’s warning state in the left-hand navigation menu, next to the Usage menu item.Events
For Teams within their predicted limits, the usage state indicator is OK (green). For Teams on Free and Pro pricing plans in other states of overage, Honeycomb handles overages in the following ways:If your Team is on an Enterprise plan, you are exempt from throttling.
To learn about overage handling for your Team, refer to your Honeycomb Enterprise order form, or contact us with any questions.
| Status | Usage State | Response |
|---|---|---|
| A Team is trending toward a possible overage | Warning (Yellow) | Honeycomb notifies Team owners via email. |
| A Team exceeds its EPM limit for one month | Warning (Yellow) | Honeycomb notifies Team owners via email at the beginning of the following month. |
| A Team exceeds its EPM limit for a second consecutive month | Danger (Red) | Honeycomb notifies Team owners via email and warns them that Honeycomb will throttle incoming events unless they correct the overage within 10 days. Teams can correct the overage by upgrading to a higher capacity plan or by reducing the amount of data they send to Honeycomb. |
| After 10 days, a Team’s rate of incoming events remains above the daily target | Danger (Red) | Honeycomb begins throttling events. The Honeycomb Event API randomly accepts one of every ten events and rejects the remaining nine, which Honeycomb doesn’t ingest or store. Throttling continues until the Team’s rate of incoming events stays under the daily event target for at least 72 hours. |
Data points
Data point overages follow the same warning, danger, and throttling states as event overages, with the same timeline: a second consecutive month of overage triggers a 10-day warning before throttling begins.Events and data points together
Honeycomb tracks data point and event usage independently. Either limit can escalate your enforcement state on its own, but both event and data point usage need to stay within their limits for at least 72 hours before Honeycomb unthrottles your Team. When your Team has a metrics limit, throttling and overage emails show both your event and data point usage.How we handle bursts
Burst protection applies to both events and data points for all Teams. When an unexpected spike creates a flood of data, Honeycomb automatically triggers burst protection so your Team can observe incidents without burning through your monthly limits. For events, when your Team sends more than 2x the daily event target in a single day, Honeycomb doesn’t count the excess events against your EPM limit. For example, if your daily event target is 30 million events and your Team sends 90 million in one day, Honeycomb doesn’t count the excess 60 million against your EPM limit. Burst protection works the same way for data points: when data point ingestion exceeds 2x your daily data point target, Honeycomb doesn’t count the excess data points against your DPPM limit. Honeycomb tracks burst protection for events and data points separately. When Honeycomb triggers burst protection, it notifies Team owners via email. You can also see the effect of burst protection in the Honeycomb UI under Team Settings > Usage.While Honeycomb doesn’t count burst protection events or data points against your monthly limits, Honeycomb still ingests and stores them, and they appear in the Per-Environment and Per-Dataset Breakdown sections.
How we retain data
Retention periods in Honeycomb depend on the type of data:- Events and logs: 60-day fixed retention.
- Time-series metrics datasets: 13-month fixed retention by default. If your environment has a longer retention period configured, Honeycomb honors that longer period for your metrics dataset.
Usage mode
Normally, Honeycomb applies sample rate weighting to calculations, but you can also run queries without it. For example, you might want to know how many actual events are coming in for each category for a dynamic sampler. Usage mode provides a query builder that evaluates queries in an unweighted mode where sample rate does not figure into the calculations. To access Usage Mode:- Select Account from the navigation menu, then select Team Settings and Usage.
- Select the Usage Mode button on the appropriate row in the Per-environment Breakdown table.
Sample Rate field, which reflects what Honeycomb interprets as the sample rate, and COUNT (and all other calculation operations) are unweighted.
Use Usage mode to diagnose errors in your sampled data and understand how your sampling strategy affects relative changes over time.
For example, you may find it useful to monitor the rate at which a dynamic sampler sends data.