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Logging · head to head

Elastic Stack vs Weaviate

Elastic Stack logo

Elastic Stack

Logging

Search, Observability, and Security Solutions

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Weaviate logo

Weaviate

Machine Learning

Open-source vector database

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Weaviate has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Elastic Stack self-managed deployment requires licensing based on node count and RAM usage; Weaviate the free tier caps at 100,000 objects, 1 GB of memory and a single collection
  • They diverge on capability: Elastic Stack covers Full-text search, Weaviate covers Vector and keyword search.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Elastic Stack and Weaviate actually diverge.

Attributes where Elastic Stack and Weaviate differ
AttributeElastic StackWeaviate
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionfreemium
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsCloud-hosted, Self-managed, Docker, Kubernetes (ECK)Linux, Mac, Windows, Web
CategoryLoggingMachine Learning
Founded20112019

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated).

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
  • API
  • Webhooks
  • REST
  • Api support

Only in Weaviate

  • Vector and keyword search
  • Built-in vectorizers
  • GraphQL API
  • Multi-tenancy
  • Hybrid search
  • OpenAI
  • Hugging Face
  • Cohere

Both cover

  • Web 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 Weaviate
  • Full-text search and vector search with approximate nearest neighbour supportnot Weaviate
  • Security event tracking with field-level and document-level access controlnot Weaviate
  • Machine learning capabilities including anomaly detection and forecastingnot Weaviate

Weaviate

  • Running a vector database for semantic and hybrid searchnot Elastic Stack
  • Generating and storing embeddings alongside the objects they describenot 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

Weaviate

  • The free tier caps at 100,000 objects, 1 GB of memory and a single collection
  • Billing is per million vector dimensions rather than per record, so wider embeddings cost proportionally more for the same object count
  • Premium is a prepaid contract starting at $400 a month rather than pay as you go
  • Storage rates do not fall consistently with tier, and Premium Dedicated is $0.1505 per GiB against $0.12 on the cheaper Flex plan
  • The Query Agent is metered separately, free to 1,000 requests a month and $30 a month plus overage beyond

Pricing, plan by plan

Elastic Stack

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the Elastic Stack review.

Weaviate

Free
  • Open SourceFree
    • Full features
    • Self-hosted
  • ServerlessFree
    • Managed service
    • Auto-scaling

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 Weaviate if

  • You need vector and keyword search.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Mac, Windows, Web.
  • You also want built-in vectorizers.
Weaviate review

Questions people ask

Is Elastic Stack or Weaviate better?
Neither clearly leads. Elastic Stack starts at On request and Weaviate at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Elastic Stack or Weaviate?
Weaviate has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Elastic Stack and Free for Weaviate.
Does Elastic Stack or Weaviate run on more platforms?
Elastic Stack runs on Cloud-hosted, Self-managed, Docker, Kubernetes (ECK). Weaviate runs on Linux, Mac, Windows, Web.
Can I use Weaviate for free?
Yes. Weaviate has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Elastic Stack starts at On request.
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 Weaviate is typically brought in for.
What can Elastic Stack do that Weaviate cannot?
Elastic Stack covers Full-text search, Log analytics, Security monitoring, Alerting. Weaviate covers Vector and keyword search, Built-in vectorizers, GraphQL API, Multi-tenancy. Both handle Web support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Elastic Stack: How much does Elastic Stack cost?

Elastic does not publish specific pricing on the Elastic Stack product page. Users can start a 14-day free trial with no credit card required, but ongoing subscription pricing requires contacting their sales team.

Source
Weaviate: What pricing options does Weaviate offer?

Weaviate provides a free tier with usage-based pricing, plus enterprise options. Visit the pricing page for detailed information on plans.

Source
Elastic Stack: What deployment options are available for Elastic Stack?

Users can deploy Elastic Stack on Elastic Cloud (hosted on AWS, Google Cloud, or Azure) or download it for self-managed deployment. Pricing for managed cloud hosting must be obtained by starting a trial or contacting sales.

Source
Weaviate: Does Weaviate offer customer support?

Yes, support is included with Weaviate's cloud offerings. Enterprise customers receive first-class support from their global team of experts.

Source
Weaviate: Can I deploy Weaviate on my own infrastructure?

Yes. Weaviate is open source and deployment-agnostic. You can run it in your own cloud environment or use their managed cloud service.

Source
Weaviate: What data security features does Weaviate provide?

Weaviate includes security & governance, RBAC, SOC 2 and HIPAA compliance, along with multi-tenancy and high availability for enterprise requirements.

Source
Weaviate: How do I get started with Weaviate?

Sign up for their cloud tier, create your first dataset, connect an LLM, and build your AI app. Documentation and quickstart guides are available for Python, Go, TypeScript, and JavaScript.

Source
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