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Technology · head to head

Amplitude vs Elastic Stack

Amplitude logo

Amplitude

Technology

The digital analytics platform to understand your users

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Elastic Stack logo

Elastic Stack

Log Management

Search, Observability, and Security Solutions

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Amplitude has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Amplitude metered on event volume, so instrumenting more of a product raises the bill even if the audience does not grow; Elastic Stack self-managed deployment requires licensing based on node count and RAM usage
  • They diverge on capability: Amplitude covers Event tracking, Elastic Stack covers Full-text search.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Amplitude and Elastic Stack actually diverge.

Attributes where Amplitude and Elastic Stack differ
AttributeAmplitudeElastic Stack
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelUnknownsubscription
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, Ios, Android, ApiCloud-hosted, Self-managed, Docker, Kubernetes (ECK)
CategoryTechnologyLog Management
Founded20122011

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated).

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 Amplitude

  • Event tracking
  • User segmentation
  • Funnel analysis
  • Retention analysis
  • Cohort analysis
  • A/B testing
  • Revenue analytics
  • Predictive analytics

Only in Elastic Stack

  • Full-text search
  • Log analytics
  • Security monitoring
  • Alerting
  • API
  • Webhooks
  • REST
  • Web support

What people use each for

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

Amplitude

  • User behavior analysisnot Elastic Stack
  • Feature adoption trackingnot Elastic Stack
  • Conversion rate optimizationnot Elastic Stack
  • Customer journey mappingnot Elastic Stack
  • Retention improvementnot Elastic Stack

Elastic Stack

  • Distributed search and analytics engine for production-scale workloadsnot Amplitude
  • Full-text search and vector search with approximate nearest neighbour supportnot Amplitude
  • Security event tracking with field-level and document-level access controlnot Amplitude
  • Machine learning capabilities including anomaly detection and forecastingnot Amplitude

Where each one falls short

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

Amplitude

  • Metered on event volume, so instrumenting more of a product raises the bill even if the audience does not grow
  • The free plan covers 2M events a month
  • The Plus plan scales to 70M events, above which pricing is custom
  • Growth and Enterprise pricing is not published

Elastic Stack

  • Self-managed deployment requires licensing based on node count and RAM usage
  • Serverless option has pending features including traffic filtering and bring-your-own-key encryption
  • Hosted deployment requires custom resource configuration for cluster management
  • Pricing models differ significantly across Hosted, Serverless, and Self-managed options

Pricing, plan by plan

Amplitude

Free
  • StarterFree
    • 2 million events per month
  • Plus$49/month
    • $0.049 per MTU
    • Up to 300k MTUs
    • Advanced analytics
  • GrowthFree
    • Causal insights
    • Feature experimentation
    • Real-time streaming
  • EnterpriseFree
    • Cross-product analysis
    • Advanced permissions
    • Dedicated account manager

Elastic Stack

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the Elastic Stack review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Amplitude if

  • You need event tracking.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android, Api.
  • You also want user segmentation.
Amplitude review

Choose Elastic Stack if

  • You need full-text search.
  • You work on Cloud-hosted, Self-managed, Docker, Kubernetes (ECK).
  • You also want log analytics.
Elastic Stack review

Questions people ask

Is Amplitude or Elastic Stack better?
Neither clearly leads. Amplitude starts at Free and Elastic Stack at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Amplitude or Elastic Stack?
Amplitude has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Amplitude and On request for Elastic Stack.
Does Amplitude or Elastic Stack run on more platforms?
Amplitude runs on Web, Ios, Android, Api. Elastic Stack runs on Cloud-hosted, Self-managed, Docker, Kubernetes (ECK).
Can I use Amplitude for free?
Yes. Amplitude has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Elastic Stack starts at On request.
What is Amplitude best used for?
Amplitude is most often used for user behavior analysis, feature adoption tracking, conversion rate optimization, customer journey mapping. Of those, user behavior analysis and feature adoption tracking are not what Elastic Stack is typically brought in for.
What can Amplitude do that Elastic Stack cannot?
Amplitude covers Event tracking, User segmentation, Funnel analysis, Retention analysis. Elastic Stack covers Full-text search, Log analytics, Security monitoring, Alerting.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Amplitude: Does Amplitude have a free plan?

Yes, Amplitude offers a free Starter plan with 2 million events per month and access to the entire platform including analytics, session replay, and experimentation features.

Source
Amplitude: What is Amplitude's pricing based on?

Amplitude's pricing is based on the number of monthly tracked users (MTUs), data volume, and advanced features selected. The Plus plan starts at $49 per month with a rate of $0.049 per MTU.

Source
Amplitude: What analytics features does every Amplitude plan include?

Every plan includes access to the full platform: analytics, session replay, feature experimentation, web experimentation, guides and surveys, activation, and AI tools like AI Feedback and AI Assistant.

Source
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