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Software · head to head

Bugsnag vs ELK Stack

Bugsnag logo

Bugsnag

Software

Application Stability Monitoring

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
ELK Stack logo

ELK Stack

Software

Open Source Search and Log Analytics

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Bugsnag owned by SmartBear rather than being independent; ELK Stack the free Basic self managed subscription excludes machine learning, alerting, single sign on via SAML or OpenID Connect, LDAP and Active Directory authentication, field and document level security, searchable snapshots and cross cluster replication
  • They diverge on capability: Bugsnag covers Error tracking, ELK Stack covers Full-text search.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Bugsnag and ELK Stack actually diverge.

Attributes where Bugsnag and ELK Stack differ
AttributeBugsnagELK Stack
Pricing modelusage-basedopen-source
Founded20122011

Identical on both: starting price (Free), 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 Bugsnag

  • Error tracking
  • Crash reporting
  • Release tracking
  • Trend analysis

Only in ELK Stack

  • Full-text search
  • Data visualization
  • Log aggregation
  • Time-series analytics

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.

Bugsnag

  • Crash and error reporting for mobile and web applicationsnot ELK Stack
  • Stability scores per releasenot ELK Stack
  • Grouping errors by root cause across deploysnot ELK Stack
  • Alerting when a release regressesnot ELK Stack

ELK Stack

  • Centralised log search and analytics over Elasticsearchnot Bugsnag
  • Dashboards and visualisation of machine data in Kibananot Bugsnag
  • Self managing a search and observability cluster on your own hardwarenot Bugsnag

Where each one falls short

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

Bugsnag

  • Owned by SmartBear rather than being independent
  • The free tier covers 7,500 events a month
  • Paid tiers are usage-priced by event volume rather than by seat, so a noisy release raises the bill
  • Enterprise pricing is quote-only

ELK Stack

  • The free Basic self managed subscription excludes machine learning, alerting, single sign on via SAML or OpenID Connect, LDAP and Active Directory authentication, field and document level security, searchable snapshots and cross cluster replication
  • Cross cluster operations require the same subscription tier on every cluster involved
  • The 99.95 percent monthly uptime SLA applies only to the Platinum and Enterprise subscription tiers
  • Three deployment models are priced on three different bases: resource based for Cloud Hosted, usage based for Serverless and licence based on nodes and RAM for self managed
  • Elastic Cloud Serverless does not yet support traffic filtering, cross project search or bring your own key
  • The pricing page publishes no rate for any tier

Pricing, plan by plan

Bugsnag

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Error tracking
    • Crash reporting
    • Release tracking

ELK Stack

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Full-text search
    • Data visualization
    • Log aggregation

Which should you pick?

Choose Bugsnag if

  • You need error tracking.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Api.
  • You also want crash reporting.
Bugsnag review

Choose ELK Stack if

  • You need full-text search.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Api.
  • You also want data visualization.
ELK Stack review

Questions people ask

Is Bugsnag or ELK Stack better?
Neither clearly leads. Bugsnag starts at Free and ELK Stack at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Bugsnag or ELK Stack?
Bugsnag starts at Free and ELK Stack at Free.
Does Bugsnag or ELK Stack run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, Api, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
Can I use Bugsnag for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Bugsnag best used for?
Bugsnag is most often used for crash and error reporting for mobile and web applications, stability scores per release, grouping errors by root cause across deploys, alerting when a release regresses. Of those, crash and error reporting for mobile and web applications and stability scores per release are not what ELK Stack is typically brought in for.
What can Bugsnag do that ELK Stack cannot?
Bugsnag covers Error tracking, Crash reporting, Release tracking, Trend analysis. ELK Stack covers Full-text search, Data visualization, Log aggregation, Time-series analytics. Both handle API, Webhooks, REST, Web support.
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