Log Management · head to head
Azure Monitor vs Stackdriver
Azure Monitor
Log Management
Azure's Monitoring and Diagnostics Service
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
Stackdriver
Log Management
Google Cloud Operations - Monitoring and Logging
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
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; Stackdriver stackdriver is now branded Google Cloud Observability and cloud.google.com/stackdriver redirects to the Observability product page
- They diverge on capability: Azure Monitor covers Log collection, Stackdriver covers Log management.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Azure Monitor and Stackdriver actually diverge.
| Attribute | Azure Monitor | Stackdriver |
|---|---|---|
| Founded | 2010 | 2006 |
Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (usage-based), free tier (Yes), platforms (Web, Api), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Log Management).
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
- Alerts and notifications
- Custom dashboards
Only in Stackdriver
- Log management
- Real-time monitoring
- Error reporting
Both cover
- Metrics collection
- 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 Stackdriver
- Alerting on metric thresholds and log queriesnot Stackdriver
- Application performance monitoring through Application Insightsnot Stackdriver
- Long-term log retention for compliancenot Stackdriver
- Querying operational data with KQLnot Stackdriver
Stackdriver
- Centralised logging, metrics and traces for workloads running on Google Cloudnot Azure Monitor
- Alerting and uptime checks on cloud servicesnot Azure Monitor
- Running managed Prometheus-compatible monitoring at scalenot 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
Stackdriver
- Stackdriver is now branded Google Cloud Observability and cloud.google.com/stackdriver redirects to the Observability product page
- Cloud Logging charges $0.50 per GiB ingested, with only the first 50 GiB per project per month free
- Logs kept beyond 30 days cost an extra $0.01 per GiB per month on top of the ingestion charge
- Monitoring metric ingestion starts at $0.2580 per MiB, with only the first 150 MiB per billing account free
- Alerting policies are billed at $0.35 per month for each metric reference in the policy
- Uptime checks cost $0.30 per 1,000 executions and synthetic monitors $1.20 per 1,000 executions, with only 100 synthetic executions per billing account free
- Monitoring read API calls cost $0.50 per million time series returned beyond the first million per billing account
- Log volume is measured before indexing on the actual size of log entries, so verbose logging directly drives cost
Pricing, plan by plan
Azure Monitor
Free- FreeFree
- Log collection
- Metrics collection
- Alerts and notifications
Stackdriver
Free- FreeFree
- Log management
- Metrics collection
- Real-time monitoring
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 alerts and notifications.
Choose Stackdriver if
- You need log management.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, Api.
- You also want real-time monitoring.
Questions people ask
- Is Azure Monitor or Stackdriver better?
- Neither clearly leads. Azure Monitor starts at Free and Stackdriver at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Azure Monitor or Stackdriver?
- Azure Monitor starts at Free and Stackdriver at Free.
- Does Azure Monitor or Stackdriver 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 Stackdriver is typically brought in for.
- What can Azure Monitor do that Stackdriver cannot?
- Azure Monitor covers Log collection, Alerts and notifications, Custom dashboards. Stackdriver covers Log management, Real-time monitoring, Error reporting. Both handle Metrics collection, API, Webhooks, REST.