Softwr

Logging · head to head

CloudWatch vs Vector

CloudWatch logo

CloudWatch

Logging

AWS Monitoring and Observability

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Vector logo

Vector

Logging

A Lightweight and Ultra-Fast Tool for Building Observability Pipelines

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; Vector free and open source under the MPL-2.0 license, backed by an open source community with a public GitHub repo
  • They diverge on capability: CloudWatch covers Log aggregation, Vector covers Log collection.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which CloudWatch and Vector actually diverge.

Attributes where CloudWatch and Vector differ
AttributeCloudWatchVector
Pricing modelusage-basedopen-source
Founded20062019

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), platforms (Web, Api), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Logging).

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

  • Log aggregation
  • Dashboards
  • Alarms and notifications

Only in Vector

  • Log collection
  • Trace collection
  • Event transformation

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.

CloudWatch

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

Vector

  • Log monitoringnot CloudWatch
  • Application performancenot CloudWatch
  • Security analyticsnot CloudWatch
  • Troubleshootingnot 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

Vector

  • Free and open source under the MPL-2.0 license, backed by an open source community with a public GitHub repo

Pricing, plan by plan

CloudWatch

Free
  • Pay-as-you-goFree
    • Logs ingestion: $0.50/GB (first 5GB free), down to $0.05/GB at scale
    • Logs storage: $0.03/GB/month
    • Live Tail: $0.01/minute after 1,800 free minutes
  • Free tierFree
    • 5GB logs ingestion per month
    • 10 custom metrics
    • 3 custom dashboards

Vector

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Log collection
    • Metrics collection
    • Trace collection

Which should you pick?

Choose CloudWatch if

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

Choose Vector if

  • You need log collection.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Api.
  • You also want trace collection.
Vector review

Questions people ask

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

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

CloudWatch: How much does Amazon CloudWatch cost?

CloudWatch uses pay-as-you-go pricing with no upfront commitment. Logs ingestion costs $0.50/GB (first 5GB free), logs storage is $0.03/GB/month, custom metrics cost $0.30/metric/month (first 10,000), custom dashboards are $3/month, and standard alarms are $0.10/metric/month.

Source
Vector: Is Vector free to download and use?

Yes, Vector is free and open source. The software is available across multiple platforms including Linux (various distributions), macOS, and Windows through direct downloads, package managers, containers, and source code.

Source
CloudWatch: Does CloudWatch offer a free tier?

Yes, CloudWatch free tier includes 5GB logs ingestion, 10 custom metrics, 3 custom dashboards, and 10 alarm metrics per month at no charge. Usage beyond these limits incurs pay-as-you-go fees.

Source
Vector: What license does Vector use?

Vector is distributed under the Mozilla Public License (MPL 2.0). This license applies uniformly across all Vector releases.

Source
CloudWatch: What are CloudWatch's pricing tiers for high-volume usage?

CloudWatch offers tiered pricing with volume discounts: logs ingestion starts at $0.50/GB and decreases to $0.05/GB at higher volumes; custom metrics start at $0.30/metric/month and decline to $0.05 at higher volumes; Application Signals cost $1.50 per million traces initially, declining to $0.30.

Source
Vector: Can I use Vector for commercial purposes without paying?

Vector appears to have no built-in paid tier distinction and is offered as unified open-source software. However, commercial support options or enterprise services may exist beyond the open-source distribution.

Source
Vector: Is there paid support or enterprise licensing available for Vector?

The Vector documentation and download pages do not specify commercial support tiers or enterprise licensing options. Such information would require contacting the Vector/Datadog team directly.

Source
Share

Related pages

More on CloudWatch

More on Vector

Keep looking

Other head to heads