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CloudWatch vs Elastic Stack

CloudWatch logo

CloudWatch

Software

AWS Monitoring and Observability

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Elastic Stack logo

Elastic Stack

Software

Search, Observability, and Security Solutions

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only CloudWatch has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: CloudWatch the free tier covers 5 GB of log ingestion and 10 custom metrics a month, after which log ingestion is $0.50 per GB from 5 to 30 GB; Elastic Stack self-managed deployment requires licensing based on node count and RAM usage
  • They diverge on capability: CloudWatch covers Metrics collection, Elastic Stack covers Full-text search.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which CloudWatch and Elastic Stack actually diverge.

Attributes where CloudWatch and Elastic Stack differ
AttributeCloudWatchElastic Stack
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelusage-basedsubscription
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, ApiCloud-hosted, Self-managed, Docker, Kubernetes (ECK)
Founded20062011

Identical on both: 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 CloudWatch

  • Metrics collection
  • Log aggregation
  • Dashboards
  • Alarms and notifications

Only in Elastic Stack

  • Full-text search
  • Log analytics
  • Security monitoring
  • Alerting

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.

CloudWatch

  • Metrics and log collection for AWS workloadsnot Elastic Stack
  • Alarming on thresholds across AWS servicesnot Elastic Stack
  • Querying logs with Logs Insightsnot Elastic Stack
  • Live tailing logs during an incidentnot Elastic Stack
  • Distributed tracing alongside X-Raynot Elastic Stack

Elastic Stack

  • Distributed search and analytics engine for production-scale workloadsnot CloudWatch
  • Full-text search and vector search with approximate nearest neighbour supportnot CloudWatch
  • Security event tracking with field-level and document-level access controlnot CloudWatch
  • Machine learning capabilities including anomaly detection and forecastingnot CloudWatch

Where each one falls short

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

CloudWatch

  • The free tier covers 5 GB of log ingestion and 10 custom metrics a month, after which log ingestion is $0.50 per GB from 5 to 30 GB
  • Custom metrics are $0.30 each for the first 10,000, so instrumenting broadly gets expensive before volume discounts apply
  • Each custom dashboard beyond the free three is $3 a month
  • Alarms are billed at $0.10 per alarm metric a month, with high-resolution alarms costing more
  • Log storage beyond the free 5 GB is $0.03 per GB per month on top of the ingestion charge

Elastic Stack

  • Self-managed deployment requires licensing based on node count and RAM usage
  • Serverless option has pending features including traffic filtering and bring-your-own-key encryption
  • Hosted deployment requires custom resource configuration for cluster management
  • Pricing models differ significantly across Hosted, Serverless, and Self-managed options

Pricing, plan by plan

CloudWatch

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Metrics collection
    • Log aggregation
    • Dashboards

Elastic Stack

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the Elastic Stack review.

Which should you pick?

Choose CloudWatch if

  • You need metrics collection.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Api.
  • You also want log aggregation.
CloudWatch review

Choose Elastic Stack if

  • You need full-text search.
  • You work on Cloud-hosted, Self-managed, Docker, Kubernetes (ECK).
  • You also want log analytics.
Elastic Stack review

Questions people ask

Is CloudWatch or Elastic Stack better?
Neither clearly leads. CloudWatch starts at Free and Elastic Stack at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, CloudWatch or Elastic Stack?
CloudWatch has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for CloudWatch and On request for Elastic Stack.
Does CloudWatch or Elastic Stack run on more platforms?
CloudWatch runs on Web, Api. Elastic Stack runs on Cloud-hosted, Self-managed, Docker, Kubernetes (ECK).
Can I use CloudWatch for free?
Yes. CloudWatch has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Elastic Stack starts at On request.
What is CloudWatch best used for?
CloudWatch is most often used for metrics and log collection for aws workloads, alarming on thresholds across aws services, querying logs with logs insights, live tailing logs during an incident. Of those, metrics and log collection for aws workloads and alarming on thresholds across aws services are not what Elastic Stack is typically brought in for.
What can CloudWatch do that Elastic Stack cannot?
CloudWatch covers Metrics collection, Log aggregation, Dashboards, Alarms and notifications. Elastic Stack covers Full-text search, Log analytics, Security monitoring, Alerting. Both handle API, Webhooks, REST, Web support.
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