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Alibaba Cloud vs Splunk

Alibaba Cloud logo

Alibaba Cloud

Software

Asia's leading cloud computing provider

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Splunk logo

Splunk

Software

Turn Data Into Doing

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Alibaba Cloud technical support is a separate subscription, from $19.99 a month for Developer up to $8,000 a month for Enterprise, with only Basic included; Splunk no prices are published on any plan; every model requires contacting sales for an estimate
  • They diverge on capability: Alibaba Cloud covers Elastic Compute Service, Splunk covers Log aggregation.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Alibaba Cloud and Splunk actually diverge.

Attributes where Alibaba Cloud and Splunk differ
AttributeAlibaba CloudSplunk
PlatformsLinux, Windows, Api, CliWeb, Api
Founded20092003

Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (usage-based), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Alibaba Cloud

  • Elastic Compute Service
  • Object Storage Service
  • RDS Database
  • MaxCompute
  • Function Compute
  • CDN
  • Load Balancer
  • API Gateway

Only in Splunk

  • Log aggregation
  • Real-time monitoring
  • Data visualization
  • Full-text search
  • Custom dashboards
  • Alert management
  • Anomaly detection
  • Log parsing

Both cover

  • Api support

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Alibaba Cloud

  • Cloud compute and storage with a strong footprint in China and Asia Pacificnot Splunk
  • Pay-as-you-go infrastructure without upfront commitmentnot Splunk
  • Committed-use discounts through savings plans for steady workloadsnot Splunk
  • CDN and data transfer packages for content deliverynot Splunk

Splunk

  • Log search and analysis across infrastructurenot Alibaba Cloud
  • SIEM, SOAR and UEBA for a security operations teamnot Alibaba Cloud
  • Application performance and infrastructure monitoringnot Alibaba Cloud
  • Cloud, private cloud or on-premises deploymentnot Alibaba Cloud

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Alibaba Cloud

  • Technical support is a separate subscription, from $19.99 a month for Developer up to $8,000 a month for Enterprise, with only Basic included
  • Service prices are not shown as a rate card and route through a calculator or sales
  • Committed discounts require savings plans, reserved instances or capacity packages rather than being automatic

Splunk

  • No prices are published on any plan; every model requires contacting sales for an estimate
  • Three separate pricing models, workload, ingest and entity, so the same deployment costs different amounts depending on which was signed
  • Ingest pricing bills on data volume, so cost tracks how much you log rather than how much value you get from it
  • Security, observability and platform are priced separately

Pricing, plan by plan

Alibaba Cloud

Free
  • Free TrialFree
    • Free tier credits
    • ECS instances
    • Cloud storage
  • Pay-as-You-GoFree
    • Flexible billing
    • No commitments
    • Global reach

Splunk

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Log aggregation
    • Real-time monitoring
    • Data visualization

Which should you pick?

Choose Alibaba Cloud if

  • You need elastic compute service.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Windows, Api, Cli.
  • You also want object storage service.
Alibaba Cloud review

Choose Splunk if

  • You need log aggregation.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Api.
  • You also want real-time monitoring.
Splunk review

Questions people ask

Is Alibaba Cloud or Splunk better?
Neither clearly leads. Alibaba Cloud starts at Free and Splunk at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Alibaba Cloud or Splunk?
Alibaba Cloud starts at Free and Splunk at Free.
Does Alibaba Cloud or Splunk run on more platforms?
Alibaba Cloud runs on Linux, Windows, Api, Cli. Splunk runs on Web, Api.
Can I use Alibaba Cloud for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Alibaba Cloud best used for?
Alibaba Cloud is most often used for cloud compute and storage with a strong footprint in china and asia pacific, pay-as-you-go infrastructure without upfront commitment, committed-use discounts through savings plans for steady workloads, cdn and data transfer packages for content delivery. Of those, cloud compute and storage with a strong footprint in china and asia pacific and pay-as-you-go infrastructure without upfront commitment are not what Splunk is typically brought in for.
What can Alibaba Cloud do that Splunk cannot?
Alibaba Cloud covers Elastic Compute Service, Object Storage Service, RDS Database, MaxCompute. Splunk covers Log aggregation, Real-time monitoring, Data visualization, Full-text search. Both handle Api support.
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