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Logging · head to head

Cronitor vs Graylog

Cronitor logo

Cronitor

Logging

Monitoring for cron jobs, websites, and background tasks

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Graylog logo

Graylog

Logging

Log Aggregation and Analysis Platform

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Cronitor free tier limited to 5 monitors, limiting viability for small teams; Graylog graylog Enterprise starts at $15,000 per year and Graylog Security at $18,000 per year, priced by daily volume or annual consumption
  • They diverge on capability: Cronitor covers Cron job monitoring, Graylog covers Log aggregation.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Cronitor and Graylog actually diverge.

Attributes where Cronitor and Graylog differ
AttributeCronitorGraylog
Pricing modelPay-per-monitor plus user seatsopen-source
Founded20142011

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 Cronitor

  • Cron job monitoring
  • Uptime and performance checks
  • Heartbeat monitoring
  • Status pages
  • Real-user monitoring
  • Alert integrations
  • Email reports

Only in Graylog

  • Log aggregation
  • Full-text search
  • Parsing and extraction
  • Real-time analytics
  • API
  • Webhooks
  • REST
  • Web support

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Cronitor

  • Monitoring scheduled cron jobs and background tasksnot Graylog
  • Tracking website and API uptime with global checksnot Graylog
  • Alerting teams when critical jobs fail to executenot Graylog
  • Communicating service status to customersnot Graylog

Graylog

  • Log aggregation and analysis for SecOps teamsnot Cronitor
  • IT and DevOps monitoring and troubleshootingnot Cronitor
  • Enterprise security event monitoringnot Cronitor

Where each one falls short

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

Cronitor

  • Free tier limited to 5 monitors, limiting viability for small teams
  • Pay-per-monitor pricing scales quickly with infrastructure size
  • Requires integrating ping calls into existing jobs
  • Limited to monitoring jobs that can send pings
  • No built-in workflow orchestration or task scheduling

Graylog

  • Graylog Enterprise starts at $15,000 per year and Graylog Security at $18,000 per year, priced by daily volume or annual consumption
  • Correlation engine, scheduled and custom reports, compliance reports and teams management are Enterprise-only
  • Data tiering across hot, warm and archive storage is an Enterprise feature, not available in Graylog Open
  • Graylog Open carries community support only; professional support requires a paid edition
  • UEBA anomaly detection, Sigma rules, MITRE ATT&CK alignment and SOAR automation are limited to Graylog Security

Pricing, plan by plan

Cronitor

Free
  • HackerFree
    • 5 monitors
    • Email and Slack alerts
    • Basic status page
  • Business$2/monitor/month
    • Unlimited monitors
    • 30-second check frequency
    • 10 alert integrations
  • Enterprise$6000/year
    • Custom features and integrations
    • 5-second check frequency
    • Dedicated engineer

Graylog

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Log aggregation
    • Full-text search
    • Parsing and extraction

Which should you pick?

Choose Cronitor if

  • You need cron job monitoring.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, API.
  • You also want uptime and performance checks.
Cronitor review

Choose Graylog if

  • You need log aggregation.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Api.
  • You also want full-text search.
Graylog review

Questions people ask

Is Cronitor or Graylog better?
Neither clearly leads. Cronitor starts at Free and Graylog at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Cronitor or Graylog?
Cronitor starts at Free and Graylog at Free.
Does Cronitor or Graylog run on more platforms?
Cronitor runs on Web, API. Graylog runs on Web, Api.
Can I use Cronitor for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Cronitor best used for?
Cronitor is most often used for monitoring scheduled cron jobs and background tasks, tracking website and api uptime with global checks, alerting teams when critical jobs fail to execute, communicating service status to customers. Of those, monitoring scheduled cron jobs and background tasks and tracking website and api uptime with global checks are not what Graylog is typically brought in for.
What can Cronitor do that Graylog cannot?
Cronitor covers Cron job monitoring, Uptime and performance checks, Heartbeat monitoring, Status pages. Graylog covers Log aggregation, Full-text search, Parsing and extraction, Real-time analytics.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Cronitor: How does Cronitor billing work for the Business plan?

Business plan costs $2 per monitor per month plus $5 per user per month, billed monthly based on actual usage.

Source
Graylog: Does Graylog have a free version?

Yes. Graylog Open is a free, open-source option for collecting, storing, searching, and analyzing log data. However, it includes only community support.

Source
Cronitor: What is the difference between Hacker and Business plans?

Hacker plan ($0/month) includes 5 monitors and basic Slack/email alerts. Business plan ($2/monitor/month) offers unlimited monitors, 30-second checks, 10 integrations, 12-month retention, and email reports.

Source
Graylog: How much does Graylog Enterprise cost?

Graylog Enterprise pricing starts at $15,000/year based on daily log volume or annual data consumption. Exact pricing requires contacting sales.

Source
Cronitor: Does Cronitor offer a free trial?

Yes, Cronitor provides a 14-day free trial on the Business plan without requiring a credit card.

Source
Graylog: What is the difference between Graylog Enterprise and Security editions?

Graylog Security starts at $18,000/year and includes advanced threat detection capabilities beyond the Enterprise edition. Both include technical support.

Source
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