Softwr

Software · head to head

CloudWatch vs ELK Stack

CloudWatch logo

CloudWatch

Software

AWS Monitoring and Observability

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: 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; 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: CloudWatch covers Metrics collection, ELK Stack covers Full-text search.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where CloudWatch and ELK Stack differ
AttributeCloudWatchELK Stack
Pricing modelusage-basedopen-source
Founded20062011

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 CloudWatch

  • Metrics collection
  • Dashboards
  • Alarms and notifications

Only in ELK Stack

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

Both cover

  • Log aggregation
  • 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 ELK Stack
  • Alarming on thresholds across AWS servicesnot ELK Stack
  • Querying logs with Logs Insightsnot ELK Stack
  • Live tailing logs during an incidentnot ELK Stack
  • Distributed tracing alongside X-Raynot ELK Stack

ELK Stack

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

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

CloudWatch

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Metrics collection
    • Log aggregation
    • Dashboards

ELK Stack

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

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 dashboards.
CloudWatch 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 CloudWatch or ELK Stack better?
Neither clearly leads. CloudWatch 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, CloudWatch or ELK Stack?
CloudWatch starts at Free and ELK Stack at Free.
Does CloudWatch 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 CloudWatch for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
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 ELK Stack is typically brought in for.
What can CloudWatch do that ELK Stack cannot?
CloudWatch covers Metrics collection, Dashboards, Alarms and notifications. ELK Stack covers Full-text search, Data visualization, Time-series analytics. Both handle Log aggregation, API, Webhooks, REST.
ShareXLinkedInRedditWhatsAppEmail

Related pages

More on CloudWatch

More on ELK Stack

Keep looking

Other head to heads