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Log Management · head to head

Elastic Stack vs Graylog Plus

Elastic Stack logo

Elastic Stack

Log Management

Search, Observability, and Security Solutions

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Graylog Plus logo

Graylog Plus

Log Management

Enterprise Log Aggregation and SIEM

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Elastic Stack self-managed deployment requires licensing based on node count and RAM usage; Graylog Plus pricing is not published on the product pages
  • They diverge on capability: Elastic Stack covers Full-text search, Graylog Plus covers Log aggregation.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Elastic Stack and Graylog Plus actually diverge.

Attributes where Elastic Stack and Graylog Plus differ
AttributeElastic StackGraylog Plus
PlatformsCloud-hosted, Self-managed, Docker, Kubernetes (ECK)Web, Api

Identical on both: starting price (On request), pricing model (subscription), free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Log Management), founded (2011).

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 Elastic Stack

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

Only in Graylog Plus

  • Log aggregation
  • SIEM capabilities
  • Advanced parsing
  • Compliance

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.

Elastic Stack

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

Graylog Plus

  • Centralised log collection, search and analysisnot Elastic Stack
  • SIEM and threat detection through Graylog Securitynot Elastic Stack
  • Self-hosting log management on your own infrastructurenot Elastic Stack
  • API security monitoringnot Elastic Stack
  • Compliance reporting from retained log datanot Elastic Stack

Where each one falls short

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

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

Graylog Plus

  • Pricing is not published on the product pages
  • Split across several editions, Graylog Open, Enterprise, Security and API Security, so log management and SIEM are separate purchases
  • The open edition is source-available rather than fully open source, and the guided setup, prebuilt content and AI assistance are Enterprise features

Pricing, plan by plan

Elastic Stack

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the Elastic Stack review.

Graylog Plus

On request
  • Starter$undefined/month
    • Log aggregation
    • SIEM capabilities
    • Advanced parsing

Which should you pick?

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

Choose Graylog Plus if

  • You need log aggregation.
  • You work on Web, Api.
  • You also want siem capabilities.
Graylog Plus review

Questions people ask

Is Elastic Stack or Graylog Plus better?
Neither clearly leads. Elastic Stack starts at On request and Graylog Plus at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Elastic Stack or Graylog Plus?
Elastic Stack starts at On request and Graylog Plus at On request.
Does Elastic Stack or Graylog Plus run on more platforms?
Elastic Stack runs on Cloud-hosted, Self-managed, Docker, Kubernetes (ECK). Graylog Plus runs on Web, Api.
What is Elastic Stack best used for?
Elastic Stack is most often used for distributed search and analytics engine for production-scale workloads, full-text search and vector search with approximate nearest neighbour support, security event tracking with field-level and document-level access control, machine learning capabilities including anomaly detection and forecasting. Of those, distributed search and analytics engine for production-scale workloads and full-text search and vector search with approximate nearest neighbour support are not what Graylog Plus is typically brought in for.
What can Elastic Stack do that Graylog Plus cannot?
Elastic Stack covers Full-text search, Log analytics, Security monitoring, Alerting. Graylog Plus covers Log aggregation, SIEM capabilities, Advanced parsing, Compliance. Both handle API, Webhooks, REST, Web support.
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