Log Management · head to head
ELK Stack vs CloudWatch
The short version
- Each has a real cost: 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; CloudWatch the free tier covers 5 GB of log ingestion and 10 custom metrics a month, after which log ingestion is $0.50 per GB from 5 to 30 GB
- They diverge on capability: ELK Stack covers Full-text search, CloudWatch covers Metrics collection.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which ELK Stack and CloudWatch actually diverge.
| Attribute | ELK Stack | CloudWatch |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | open-source | usage-based |
| Founded | 2011 | 2006 |
Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), platforms (Web, Api), 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 ELK Stack
- Full-text search
- Data visualization
- Time-series analytics
Only in CloudWatch
- Metrics collection
- Dashboards
- Alarms and notifications
Both cover
- Log aggregation
- API
- Webhooks
- REST
- Web support
- Api support
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
ELK Stack
- Centralised log search and analytics over Elasticsearchnot CloudWatch
- Dashboards and visualisation of machine data in Kibananot CloudWatch
- Self managing a search and observability cluster on your own hardwarenot CloudWatch
CloudWatch
- Metrics and log collection for AWS workloadsnot ELK Stack
- Alarming on thresholds across AWS servicesnot ELK Stack
- Querying logs with Logs Insightsnot ELK Stack
- Live tailing logs during an incidentnot ELK Stack
- Distributed tracing alongside X-Raynot ELK Stack
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
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
CloudWatch
- The free tier covers 5 GB of log ingestion and 10 custom metrics a month, after which log ingestion is $0.50 per GB from 5 to 30 GB
- Custom metrics are $0.30 each for the first 10,000, so instrumenting broadly gets expensive before volume discounts apply
- Each custom dashboard beyond the free three is $3 a month
- Alarms are billed at $0.10 per alarm metric a month, with high-resolution alarms costing more
- Log storage beyond the free 5 GB is $0.03 per GB per month on top of the ingestion charge
Pricing, plan by plan
ELK Stack
Free- FreeFree
- Full-text search
- Data visualization
- Log aggregation
CloudWatch
Free- FreeFree
- Metrics collection
- Log aggregation
- Dashboards
Which should you pick?
Choose ELK Stack if
- You need full-text search.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, Api.
- You also want data visualization.
Choose CloudWatch if
- You need metrics collection.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, Api.
- You also want dashboards.
Questions people ask
- Is ELK Stack or CloudWatch better?
- Neither clearly leads. ELK Stack starts at Free and CloudWatch at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, ELK Stack or CloudWatch?
- ELK Stack starts at Free and CloudWatch at Free.
- Does ELK Stack or CloudWatch run on more platforms?
- Both run on Web, Api, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
- Can I use ELK Stack for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is ELK Stack best used for?
- ELK Stack is most often used for centralised log search and analytics over elasticsearch, dashboards and visualisation of machine data in kibana, self managing a search and observability cluster on your own hardware. Of those, centralised log search and analytics over elasticsearch and dashboards and visualisation of machine data in kibana are not what CloudWatch is typically brought in for.
- What can ELK Stack do that CloudWatch cannot?
- ELK Stack covers Full-text search, Data visualization, Time-series analytics. CloudWatch covers Metrics collection, Dashboards, Alarms and notifications. Both handle Log aggregation, API, Webhooks, REST.