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Software · head to head

Azure Monitor vs ClickHouse

Azure Monitor logo

Azure Monitor

Software

Azure's Monitoring and Diagnostics Service

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
ClickHouse logo

ClickHouse

Software

Fast open-source column-oriented database for real-time analytics

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Azure Monitor billed per GB ingested across three separate log plans, Auxiliary, Basic and Analytics, so the plan chosen changes the rate as much as the volume does; ClickHouse limited multi-row atomic transactions and expensive UPDATE/DELETE operations unsuitable for transactional systems
  • They diverge on capability: Azure Monitor covers Log collection, ClickHouse covers Column-oriented Storage.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Azure Monitor and ClickHouse actually diverge.

Attributes where Azure Monitor and ClickHouse differ
AttributeAzure MonitorClickHouse
Pricing modelusage-basedUnknown
PlatformsWeb, ApiLinux, macOS, Windows (via Docker)
Founded20102021

Identical on both: starting price (Free), 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 Azure Monitor

  • Log collection
  • Metrics collection
  • Alerts and notifications
  • Custom dashboards
  • API
  • Webhooks
  • REST
  • Api support

Only in ClickHouse

  • Column-oriented Storage
  • Real-time Analytics
  • SQL Support
  • Linear Scalability
  • Data Compression
  • Vectorized Query Execution
  • Approximate Calculations
  • Kafka

Both cover

  • Web support

What people use each for

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

Azure Monitor

  • Collecting logs and metrics from Azure resourcesnot ClickHouse
  • Alerting on metric thresholds and log queriesnot ClickHouse
  • Application performance monitoring through Application Insightsnot ClickHouse
  • Long-term log retention for compliancenot ClickHouse
  • Querying operational data with KQLnot ClickHouse

ClickHouse

  • Business intelligencenot Azure Monitor
  • Data warehousingnot Azure Monitor
  • Real-time analyticsnot Azure Monitor
  • Reportingnot Azure Monitor
  • Machine learningnot Azure Monitor

Where each one falls short

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

Azure Monitor

  • Billed per GB ingested across three separate log plans, Auxiliary, Basic and Analytics, so the plan chosen changes the rate as much as the volume does
  • Only the first 5 GB a month of Analytics logs is free per billing account
  • Retention beyond the base period is charged per GB per month, up to 2 years interactive and 12 years long term
  • Log queries and search jobs are billed per GB scanned, so investigating an incident costs money
  • Alert rules are billed per time series for metrics and by execution frequency for logs
  • The pricing page shows placeholders rather than rates until a region and currency are chosen

ClickHouse

  • Limited multi-row atomic transactions and expensive UPDATE/DELETE operations unsuitable for transactional systems
  • Requires upfront schema design discipline with MergeTree engine choices and sort/partition keys
  • Experimental vector search support, not production-ready for vector operations
  • Different query syntax from standard SQL requiring migration planning
  • Limited JOIN capabilities compared to traditional relational databases
  • Migration complexity with 2-4 weeks estimated for data type mapping and query translation

Pricing, plan by plan

Azure Monitor

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Log collection
    • Metrics collection
    • Alerts and notifications

ClickHouse

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the ClickHouse review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Azure Monitor if

  • You need log collection.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Api.
  • You also want metrics collection.
Azure Monitor review

Choose ClickHouse if

  • You need column-oriented storage.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, macOS, Windows (via Docker).
  • You also want real-time analytics.
ClickHouse review

Questions people ask

Is Azure Monitor or ClickHouse better?
Neither clearly leads. Azure Monitor starts at Free and ClickHouse at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Azure Monitor or ClickHouse?
Azure Monitor starts at Free and ClickHouse at Free.
Does Azure Monitor or ClickHouse run on more platforms?
Azure Monitor runs on Web, Api. ClickHouse runs on Linux, macOS, Windows (via Docker).
Can I use Azure Monitor for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Azure Monitor best used for?
Azure Monitor is most often used for collecting logs and metrics from azure resources, alerting on metric thresholds and log queries, application performance monitoring through application insights, long-term log retention for compliance. Of those, collecting logs and metrics from azure resources and alerting on metric thresholds and log queries are not what ClickHouse is typically brought in for.
What can Azure Monitor do that ClickHouse cannot?
Azure Monitor covers Log collection, Metrics collection, Alerts and notifications, Custom dashboards. ClickHouse covers Column-oriented Storage, Real-time Analytics, SQL Support, Linear Scalability. Both handle Web support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

ClickHouse: What is ClickHouse best used for?

ClickHouse is optimized for analytical workloads on large datasets. It excels at fast aggregations and queries, being 10-100x faster than PostgreSQL on large aggregations.

Source
ClickHouse: Does ClickHouse support transactions?

ClickHouse has limited transaction support and expensive UPDATE/DELETE operations. It is not suitable for transactional workloads requiring strict ACID guarantees.

Source
ClickHouse: How does ClickHouse compare to PostgreSQL?

ClickHouse is 10-100x faster for analytics but PostgreSQL is better for transactional workloads. Many teams use both: PostgreSQL for writes via MaterializedPostgreSQL replication to ClickHouse for analytics.

Source
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Related pages

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