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Azure Monitor vs Elasticsearch Service

Azure Monitor logo

Azure Monitor

Logging

Azure's Monitoring and Diagnostics Service

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Elasticsearch Service logo

Elasticsearch Service

Logging

Managed Elasticsearch Cloud Service

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Azure Monitor billed per GB ingested across three separate log plans, Auxiliary, Basic and Analytics, so the plan chosen changes the rate as much as the volume does; Elasticsearch Service the 99.95 percent monthly uptime SLA applies only to the Platinum and Enterprise subscription tiers
  • They diverge on capability: Azure Monitor covers Log collection, Elasticsearch Service covers Full-text search.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Azure Monitor and Elasticsearch Service actually diverge.

Attributes where Azure Monitor and Elasticsearch Service differ
AttributeAzure MonitorElasticsearch Service
Founded20102011

Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (usage-based), 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 Azure Monitor

  • Log collection
  • Metrics collection
  • Alerts and notifications
  • Custom dashboards

Only in Elasticsearch Service

  • Full-text search
  • Scalability
  • High availability
  • Security

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.

Azure Monitor

  • Collecting logs and metrics from Azure resourcesnot Elasticsearch Service
  • Alerting on metric thresholds and log queriesnot Elasticsearch Service
  • Application performance monitoring through Application Insightsnot Elasticsearch Service
  • Long-term log retention for compliancenot Elasticsearch Service
  • Querying operational data with KQLnot Elasticsearch Service

Elasticsearch Service

  • Managed Elasticsearch without running the clusternot Azure Monitor
  • Log and observability data storage and searchnot Azure Monitor
  • Full-text search behind an applicationnot Azure Monitor
  • Deployments needing a specific cloud region across AWS, Azure or GCPnot Azure Monitor

Where each one falls short

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

Azure Monitor

  • Billed per GB ingested across three separate log plans, Auxiliary, Basic and Analytics, so the plan chosen changes the rate as much as the volume does
  • Only the first 5 GB a month of Analytics logs is free per billing account
  • Retention beyond the base period is charged per GB per month, up to 2 years interactive and 12 years long term
  • Log queries and search jobs are billed per GB scanned, so investigating an incident costs money
  • Alert rules are billed per time series for metrics and by execution frequency for logs
  • The pricing page shows placeholders rather than rates until a region and currency are chosen

Elasticsearch Service

  • The 99.95 percent monthly uptime SLA applies only to the Platinum and Enterprise subscription tiers
  • Serverless does not yet support traffic filtering, cross-project search or bring-your-own-key encryption
  • Serverless runs on AWS, GCP and Azure only, against 60 regions for the hosted option
  • Per-unit prices are not published; hosted is resource-based and serverless usage-based

Pricing, plan by plan

Azure Monitor

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Log collection
    • Metrics collection
    • Alerts and notifications

Elasticsearch Service

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Full-text search
    • Scalability
    • High availability

Which should you pick?

Choose Azure Monitor if

  • You need log collection.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Api.
  • You also want metrics collection.
Azure Monitor review

Choose Elasticsearch Service if

  • You need full-text search.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Api.
  • You also want scalability.
Elasticsearch Service review

Questions people ask

Is Azure Monitor or Elasticsearch Service better?
Neither clearly leads. Azure Monitor starts at Free and Elasticsearch Service at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Azure Monitor or Elasticsearch Service?
Azure Monitor starts at Free and Elasticsearch Service at Free.
Does Azure Monitor or Elasticsearch Service run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, Api, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
Can I use Azure Monitor for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Azure Monitor best used for?
Azure Monitor is most often used for collecting logs and metrics from azure resources, alerting on metric thresholds and log queries, application performance monitoring through application insights, long-term log retention for compliance. Of those, collecting logs and metrics from azure resources and alerting on metric thresholds and log queries are not what Elasticsearch Service is typically brought in for.
What can Azure Monitor do that Elasticsearch Service cannot?
Azure Monitor covers Log collection, Metrics collection, Alerts and notifications, Custom dashboards. Elasticsearch Service covers Full-text search, Scalability, High availability, Security. Both handle API, Webhooks, REST, Web support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Azure Monitor: How does Azure Monitor billing work?

Billing is based on data volume ingested into Azure Monitor. Additional charges apply separately for alerts, notifications, web tests, and data export. Activity log and platform metrics are automatically collected with an Azure subscription.

Source
Elasticsearch Service: What pricing models does Elasticsearch Service offer?

Elasticsearch Service offers Hosted pricing based on resources (monthly or prepaid options) and Serverless pricing based on usage (monthly or prepaid options). Specific rates are not published on this page.

Source
Azure Monitor: What savings are available with Azure Monitor?

Capacity reservations offer up to 36% savings compared to standard pay-as-you-go pricing when you commit to reserved capacity upfront.

Source
Elasticsearch Service: Is a free trial available for Elasticsearch Service?

Yes, Elasticsearch Service offers a free trial. Users can start a trial by registering at cloud.elastic.co/registration, though the specific trial duration is not published on the landing page.

Source
Azure Monitor: Is there a free tier for Azure Monitor?

No dedicated free tier exists. Activity log and platform metrics are automatically collected with an Azure subscription, but detailed monitoring requires additional configuration and associated costs.

Source
Elasticsearch Service: Does Elasticsearch Service support automatic scaling and cost management?

Yes. Elasticsearch Service includes searchable snapshots to reduce cold data costs, data tiering to keep hot data fast while reducing storage costs, and autoscaling to optimize resource utilization.

Source
Elasticsearch Service: What encryption options does Elasticsearch Service provide?

Elasticsearch Service supports Bring Your Own Key (BYOK) encryption and PrivateLink for secure data routing, though explicit data ownership terms are not specified on this page.

Source
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