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Logging · head to head

Azure Monitor vs Redis

Azure Monitor logo

Azure Monitor

Logging

Azure's Monitoring and Diagnostics Service

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Redis logo

Redis

Technology

The real-time data platform

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; Redis licensing changed from BSD to AGPL in 2025, impacting open-source usage
  • They diverge on capability: Azure Monitor covers Log collection, Redis covers In-memory data store.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where Azure Monitor and Redis differ
AttributeAzure MonitorRedis
Pricing modelusage-basedUnknown
PlatformsWeb, ApiLinux, macOS, Windows
CategoryLoggingTechnology
Founded20102009

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

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

Only in Redis

  • In-memory data store
  • Data structures
  • Pub/Sub messaging
  • Lua scripting
  • Transactions
  • Persistence options
  • Replication
  • Clustering

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

Redis

  • Cachingnot Azure Monitor
  • Session managementnot Azure Monitor
  • Real-time analyticsnot Azure Monitor
  • Message queuingnot Azure Monitor
  • Leaderboardsnot 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

Redis

  • Licensing changed from BSD to AGPL in 2025, impacting open-source usage
  • All data must fit in memory, limiting scalability to available RAM
  • No built-in support for multi-tenancy
  • Limited transaction support compared to traditional databases

Pricing, plan by plan

Azure Monitor

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

Redis

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Redis 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 Redis if

  • You need in-memory data store.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, macOS, Windows.
  • You also want data structures.
Redis review

Questions people ask

Is Azure Monitor or Redis better?
Neither clearly leads. Azure Monitor starts at Free and Redis at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Azure Monitor or Redis?
Azure Monitor starts at Free and Redis at Free.
Does Azure Monitor or Redis run on more platforms?
Azure Monitor runs on Web, Api. Redis runs on Linux, macOS, Windows.
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 Redis is typically brought in for.
What can Azure Monitor do that Redis cannot?
Azure Monitor covers Log collection, Metrics collection, Alerts and notifications, Custom dashboards. Redis covers In-memory data store, Data structures, Pub/Sub messaging, Lua scripting.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Azure Monitor: How does Azure Monitor billing work?

Billing is based on data volume ingested into Azure Monitor. Additional charges apply separately for alerts, notifications, web tests, and data export. Activity log and platform metrics are automatically collected with an Azure subscription.

Source
Redis: Is Redis open source?

Redis was open source under the BSD license since its inception in 2009 and has remained open source. However, in 2024-2025, Redis Labs changed licensing to source-available and AGPL, prompting the creation of Valkey, a BSD-licensed open-source fork.

Source
Azure Monitor: What savings are available with Azure Monitor?

Capacity reservations offer up to 36% savings compared to standard pay-as-you-go pricing when you commit to reserved capacity upfront.

Source
Redis: What is Redis used for?

Redis is an in-memory data structure store used primarily as a cache, database, and message broker. It provides high-speed data access for real-time applications, sessions, leaderboards, real-time analytics, and other use cases requiring fast data retrieval.

Source
Azure Monitor: Is there a free tier for Azure Monitor?

No dedicated free tier exists. Activity log and platform metrics are automatically collected with an Azure subscription, but detailed monitoring requires additional configuration and associated costs.

Source
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