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Azure Monitor vs Consul

Azure Monitor logo

Azure Monitor

Software

Azure's Monitoring and Diagnostics Service

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Consul logo

Consul

Software

Service discovery, networking, and security

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; Consul namespaces, admin partitions and other multi tenancy controls are Consul Enterprise only
  • They diverge on capability: Azure Monitor covers Log collection, Consul covers Service discovery.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where Azure Monitor and Consul differ
AttributeAzure MonitorConsul
Pricing modelusage-basedopen-source
PlatformsWeb, ApiLinux, Windows, Mac, Cloud
Founded20102014

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
  • Web support

Only in Consul

  • Service discovery
  • Health checking
  • Key/value store
  • Multi-datacenter
  • DNS interface
  • Service mesh
  • Load balancing
  • Configuration management

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 Consul
  • Alerting on metric thresholds and log queriesnot Consul
  • Application performance monitoring through Application Insightsnot Consul
  • Long-term log retention for compliancenot Consul
  • Querying operational data with KQLnot Consul

Consul

  • Service discovery and health checking across dynamic infrastructurenot Azure Monitor
  • Running a service mesh with mutual TLS between servicesnot Azure Monitor
  • Distributed key value configuration storage for applicationsnot 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

Consul

  • Namespaces, admin partitions and other multi tenancy controls are Consul Enterprise only
  • Audit logging, OIDC authentication and FIPS 140-2 builds require Consul Enterprise, so compliance driven deployments cannot use the free edition
  • Automated backups, redundancy zones, read replicas and automated server upgrades are Enterprise only
  • Long Term Support releases are Enterprise only, so community users must upgrade to stay supported
  • Service mesh and advanced traffic management sit in the Premium Enterprise tier above Standard Enterprise
  • HashiCorp does not publish a Consul rate on its pricing page, which lists per resource prices for Terraform instead

Pricing, plan by plan

Azure Monitor

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

Consul

Free
  • Open SourceFree
    • Service discovery
    • Health checking
    • KV store

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 Consul if

  • You need service discovery.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Windows, Mac, Cloud.
  • You also want health checking.
Consul review

Questions people ask

Is Azure Monitor or Consul better?
Neither clearly leads. Azure Monitor starts at Free and Consul at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Azure Monitor or Consul?
Azure Monitor starts at Free and Consul at Free.
Does Azure Monitor or Consul run on more platforms?
Azure Monitor runs on Web, Api. Consul runs on Linux, Windows, Mac, Cloud.
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 Consul is typically brought in for.
What can Azure Monitor do that Consul cannot?
Azure Monitor covers Log collection, Metrics collection, Alerts and notifications, Custom dashboards. Consul covers Service discovery, Health checking, Key/value store, Multi-datacenter.
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