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Elasticsearch Service vs ELK Stack

Elasticsearch Service logo

Elasticsearch Service

Software

Managed Elasticsearch Cloud Service

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
ELK Stack logo

ELK Stack

Software

Open Source Search and Log Analytics

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Elasticsearch Service the 99.95 percent monthly uptime SLA applies only to the Platinum and Enterprise subscription tiers; ELK Stack the free Basic self managed subscription excludes machine learning, alerting, single sign on via SAML or OpenID Connect, LDAP and Active Directory authentication, field and document level security, searchable snapshots and cross cluster replication
  • They diverge on capability: Elasticsearch Service covers Scalability, ELK Stack covers Data visualization.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Elasticsearch Service and ELK Stack actually diverge.

Attributes where Elasticsearch Service and ELK Stack differ
AttributeElasticsearch ServiceELK Stack
Pricing modelusage-basedopen-source

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), platforms (Web, Api), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown), 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 Elasticsearch Service

  • Scalability
  • High availability
  • Security

Only in ELK Stack

  • Data visualization
  • Log aggregation
  • Time-series analytics

Both cover

  • Full-text search
  • API
  • Webhooks
  • REST
  • Web support
  • Api support

What people use each for

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

Elasticsearch Service

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

ELK Stack

  • Centralised log search and analytics over Elasticsearchnot Elasticsearch Service
  • Dashboards and visualisation of machine data in Kibananot Elasticsearch Service
  • Self managing a search and observability cluster on your own hardwarenot Elasticsearch Service

Where each one falls short

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

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

ELK Stack

  • The free Basic self managed subscription excludes machine learning, alerting, single sign on via SAML or OpenID Connect, LDAP and Active Directory authentication, field and document level security, searchable snapshots and cross cluster replication
  • Cross cluster operations require the same subscription tier on every cluster involved
  • The 99.95 percent monthly uptime SLA applies only to the Platinum and Enterprise subscription tiers
  • Three deployment models are priced on three different bases: resource based for Cloud Hosted, usage based for Serverless and licence based on nodes and RAM for self managed
  • Elastic Cloud Serverless does not yet support traffic filtering, cross project search or bring your own key
  • The pricing page publishes no rate for any tier

Pricing, plan by plan

Elasticsearch Service

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

ELK Stack

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Full-text search
    • Data visualization
    • Log aggregation

Which should you pick?

Choose Elasticsearch Service if

  • You need scalability.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Api.
  • You also want high availability.
Elasticsearch Service review

Choose ELK Stack if

  • You need data visualization.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Api.
  • You also want log aggregation.
ELK Stack review

Questions people ask

Is Elasticsearch Service or ELK Stack better?
Neither clearly leads. Elasticsearch Service starts at Free and ELK Stack at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Elasticsearch Service or ELK Stack?
Elasticsearch Service starts at Free and ELK Stack at Free.
Does Elasticsearch Service or ELK Stack run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, Api, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
Can I use Elasticsearch Service for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Elasticsearch Service best used for?
Elasticsearch Service is most often used for managed elasticsearch without running the cluster, log and observability data storage and search, full-text search behind an application, deployments needing a specific cloud region across aws, azure or gcp. Of those, managed elasticsearch without running the cluster and log and observability data storage and search are not what ELK Stack is typically brought in for.
What can Elasticsearch Service do that ELK Stack cannot?
Elasticsearch Service covers Scalability, High availability, Security. ELK Stack covers Data visualization, Log aggregation, Time-series analytics. Both handle Full-text search, API, Webhooks, REST.
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