Software · head to head
ELK Stack vs Dynatrace Logs
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; Dynatrace Logs log ingest and processing is billed at $0.20 per GiB, separately from retention and from query
- They diverge on capability: ELK Stack covers Full-text search, Dynatrace Logs covers Log analysis.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which ELK Stack and Dynatrace Logs actually diverge.
| Attribute | ELK Stack | Dynatrace Logs |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | open-source | subscription |
| Founded | 2011 | 2005 |
Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), platforms (Web, Api), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).
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
- Log aggregation
- Time-series analytics
Only in Dynatrace Logs
- Log analysis
- AI-powered insights
- Metrics integration
- Automated root cause
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.
ELK Stack
- Centralised log search and analytics over Elasticsearchnot Dynatrace Logs
- Dashboards and visualisation of machine data in Kibananot Dynatrace Logs
- Self managing a search and observability cluster on your own hardwarenot Dynatrace Logs
Dynatrace Logs
- Ingesting and processing application and infrastructure logsnot ELK Stack
- Querying logs alongside traces and metrics in one platformnot ELK Stack
- Log driven alerting within an existing Dynatrace deploymentnot 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
Dynatrace Logs
- Log ingest and processing is billed at $0.20 per GiB, separately from retention and from query
- Querying logs is charged in addition to ingest, either pay per query or as bundled queries
- Log analytics requires the same annual platform commitment as the rest of the Dynatrace platform
Pricing, plan by plan
ELK Stack
Free- FreeFree
- Full-text search
- Data visualization
- Log aggregation
Dynatrace Logs
Free- FreeFree
- Log analysis
- AI-powered insights
- Metrics integration
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 Dynatrace Logs if
- You need log analysis.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, Api.
- You also want ai-powered insights.
Questions people ask
- Is ELK Stack or Dynatrace Logs better?
- Neither clearly leads. ELK Stack starts at Free and Dynatrace Logs at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, ELK Stack or Dynatrace Logs?
- ELK Stack starts at Free and Dynatrace Logs at Free.
- Does ELK Stack or Dynatrace Logs 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 Dynatrace Logs is typically brought in for.
- What can ELK Stack do that Dynatrace Logs cannot?
- ELK Stack covers Full-text search, Data visualization, Log aggregation, Time-series analytics. Dynatrace Logs covers Log analysis, AI-powered insights, Metrics integration, Automated root cause. Both handle API, Webhooks, REST, Web support.