Softwr

Log Management · head to head

CloudWatch vs Fluent Bit

CloudWatch logo

CloudWatch

Log Management

AWS Monitoring and Observability

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Fluent Bit logo

Fluent Bit

Log Management

Fast and Lightweight Log Processor

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; Fluent Bit fluent Bit ships over 100 built in plugins against more than 1,000 external plugins available for Fluentd, so fewer integrations exist out of the box
  • They diverge on capability: CloudWatch covers Metrics collection, Fluent Bit covers Log collection.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which CloudWatch and Fluent Bit actually diverge.

Attributes where CloudWatch and Fluent Bit differ
AttributeCloudWatchFluent Bit
Pricing modelusage-basedopen-source
Founded20062015

Identical on both: starting price (Free), 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 CloudWatch

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

Only in Fluent Bit

  • Log collection
  • Lightweight processing
  • Data parsing
  • Event filtering

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 Fluent Bit
  • Alarming on thresholds across AWS servicesnot Fluent Bit
  • Querying logs with Logs Insightsnot Fluent Bit
  • Live tailing logs during an incidentnot Fluent Bit
  • Distributed tracing alongside X-Raynot Fluent Bit

Fluent Bit

  • Lightweight log and metric forwarding from containers and edge devicesnot CloudWatch
  • Kubernetes node level log collection with a small memory footprintnot CloudWatch
  • Filtering and enriching telemetry before shipping it to a backendnot 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

Fluent Bit

  • Fluent Bit ships over 100 built in plugins against more than 1,000 external plugins available for Fluentd, so fewer integrations exist out of the box
  • It is written in C, so extending it beyond the built in plugins means writing C rather than Ruby
  • Dependencies are zero only until a plugin requires one

Pricing, plan by plan

CloudWatch

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Metrics collection
    • Log aggregation
    • Dashboards

Fluent Bit

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Log collection
    • Lightweight processing
    • Data parsing

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 Fluent Bit if

  • You need log collection.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Api.
  • You also want lightweight processing.
Fluent Bit review

Questions people ask

Is CloudWatch or Fluent Bit better?
Neither clearly leads. CloudWatch starts at Free and Fluent Bit at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, CloudWatch or Fluent Bit?
CloudWatch starts at Free and Fluent Bit at Free.
Does CloudWatch or Fluent Bit 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 Fluent Bit is typically brought in for.
What can CloudWatch do that Fluent Bit cannot?
CloudWatch covers Metrics collection, Log aggregation, Dashboards, Alarms and notifications. Fluent Bit covers Log collection, Lightweight processing, Data parsing, Event filtering. Both handle API, Webhooks, REST, Web support.
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