Softwr

Log Management · head to head

Elastic vs Logstash

E

Elastic

Log Management

Search AI powered by Elasticsearch

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Logstash logo

Logstash

Log Management

Data Processing Pipeline for Ingestion

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Logstash has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Elastic the 99.95% monthly uptime SLA is only offered on the Platinum and Enterprise subscription tiers of Hosted deployments, not on lower tiers, per elastic.co, August 2026; Logstash logstash's source is dual licensed: code outside the x-pack directory is Apache License 2.0, but code inside x-pack (which carries several of Logstash's monitoring and management features) is licensed under the Elastic License, not a fully open source license

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Elastic and Logstash actually diverge.

Attributes where Elastic and Logstash differ
AttributeElasticLogstash
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelUnknownopen-source
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWebWeb, Api
FoundedUnknown2011

Identical on both: 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 Elastic

Nothing recorded that Logstash does not also cover.

Only in Logstash

  • Data ingestion
  • Event parsing
  • Data transformation
  • Multiple input sources
  • API
  • Webhooks
  • REST
  • Web support

What people use each for

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

Elastic

No use cases recorded yet. See the Elastic review.

Logstash

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

Where each one falls short

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

Elastic

  • The 99.95% monthly uptime SLA is only offered on the Platinum and Enterprise subscription tiers of Hosted deployments, not on lower tiers, per elastic.co, August 2026

Logstash

  • Logstash's source is dual licensed: code outside the x-pack directory is Apache License 2.0, but code inside x-pack (which carries several of Logstash's monitoring and management features) is licensed under the Elastic License, not a fully open source license

Pricing, plan by plan

Elastic

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the Elastic review.

Logstash

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Data ingestion
    • Event parsing
    • Data transformation

Which should you pick?

Choose Elastic if

Nothing in the data separates Elastic from Logstash on the points above - pick on price and on how each one feels to use.

Elastic review

Choose Logstash if

  • You need data ingestion.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Api.
  • You also want event parsing.
Logstash review

Questions people ask

Is Elastic or Logstash better?
Neither clearly leads. Elastic starts at On request and Logstash at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Elastic or Logstash?
Logstash has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Elastic and Free for Logstash.
Does Elastic or Logstash run on more platforms?
Elastic runs on Web. Logstash runs on Web, Api.
Can I use Logstash for free?
Yes. Logstash has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Elastic starts at On request.
What can Elastic do that Logstash cannot?
Logstash covers Data ingestion, Event parsing, Data transformation, Multiple input sources.
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