Software · head to head
Azure Monitor vs Elasticsearch Service
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; Elasticsearch Service the 99.95 percent monthly uptime SLA applies only to the Platinum and Enterprise subscription tiers
- They diverge on capability: Azure Monitor covers Log collection, Elasticsearch Service covers Full-text search.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Azure Monitor and Elasticsearch Service actually diverge.
| Attribute | Azure Monitor | Elasticsearch Service |
|---|---|---|
| Founded | 2010 | 2011 |
Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (usage-based), free tier (Yes), platforms (Web, Api), 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
Only in Elasticsearch Service
- Full-text search
- Scalability
- High availability
- Security
Both cover
- API
- Webhooks
- REST
- Web support
- Api 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 Elasticsearch Service
- Alerting on metric thresholds and log queriesnot Elasticsearch Service
- Application performance monitoring through Application Insightsnot Elasticsearch Service
- Long-term log retention for compliancenot Elasticsearch Service
- Querying operational data with KQLnot Elasticsearch Service
Elasticsearch Service
- Managed Elasticsearch without running the clusternot Azure Monitor
- Log and observability data storage and searchnot Azure Monitor
- Full-text search behind an applicationnot Azure Monitor
- Deployments needing a specific cloud region across AWS, Azure or GCPnot 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
Elasticsearch Service
- The 99.95 percent monthly uptime SLA applies only to the Platinum and Enterprise subscription tiers
- Serverless does not yet support traffic filtering, cross-project search or bring-your-own-key encryption
- Serverless runs on AWS, GCP and Azure only, against 60 regions for the hosted option
- Per-unit prices are not published; hosted is resource-based and serverless usage-based
Pricing, plan by plan
Azure Monitor
Free- FreeFree
- Log collection
- Metrics collection
- Alerts and notifications
Elasticsearch Service
Free- FreeFree
- Full-text search
- Scalability
- High availability
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.
Choose Elasticsearch Service if
- You need full-text search.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, Api.
- You also want scalability.
Questions people ask
- Is Azure Monitor or Elasticsearch Service better?
- Neither clearly leads. Azure Monitor starts at Free and Elasticsearch Service at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Azure Monitor or Elasticsearch Service?
- Azure Monitor starts at Free and Elasticsearch Service at Free.
- Does Azure Monitor or Elasticsearch Service run on more platforms?
- Both run on Web, Api, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
- 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 Elasticsearch Service is typically brought in for.
- What can Azure Monitor do that Elasticsearch Service cannot?
- Azure Monitor covers Log collection, Metrics collection, Alerts and notifications, Custom dashboards. Elasticsearch Service covers Full-text search, Scalability, High availability, Security. Both handle API, Webhooks, REST, Web support.