Log Management · head to head
ELK Stack vs Elastic Stack
Elastic Stack
Log Management
Search, Observability, and Security Solutions
- From
- On request
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Only ELK Stack has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
- 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; Elastic Stack self-managed deployment requires licensing based on node count and RAM usage
- They diverge on capability: ELK Stack covers Data visualization, Elastic Stack covers Log analytics.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which ELK Stack and Elastic Stack actually diverge.
| Attribute | ELK Stack | Elastic Stack |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | Free | On request |
| Pricing model | open-source | subscription |
| Free tier | Yes | No |
| Platforms | Web, Api | Cloud-hosted, Self-managed, Docker, Kubernetes (ECK) |
Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Log Management), 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 ELK Stack
- Data visualization
- Log aggregation
- Time-series analytics
Only in Elastic Stack
- Log analytics
- Security monitoring
- Alerting
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.
ELK Stack
- Centralised log search and analytics over Elasticsearchnot Elastic Stack
- Dashboards and visualisation of machine data in Kibananot Elastic Stack
- Self managing a search and observability cluster on your own hardwarenot Elastic Stack
Elastic Stack
- Distributed search and analytics engine for production-scale workloadsnot ELK Stack
- Full-text search and vector search with approximate nearest neighbour supportnot ELK Stack
- Security event tracking with field-level and document-level access controlnot ELK Stack
- Machine learning capabilities including anomaly detection and forecastingnot 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
Elastic Stack
- Self-managed deployment requires licensing based on node count and RAM usage
- Serverless option has pending features including traffic filtering and bring-your-own-key encryption
- Hosted deployment requires custom resource configuration for cluster management
- Pricing models differ significantly across Hosted, Serverless, and Self-managed options
Pricing, plan by plan
ELK Stack
Free- FreeFree
- Full-text search
- Data visualization
- Log aggregation
Elastic Stack
On requestNo published plan breakdown. See the Elastic Stack review.
Which should you pick?
Choose ELK Stack if
- You need data visualization.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, Api.
- You also want log aggregation.
Choose Elastic Stack if
- You need log analytics.
- You work on Cloud-hosted, Self-managed, Docker, Kubernetes (ECK).
- You also want security monitoring.
Questions people ask
- Is ELK Stack or Elastic Stack better?
- Neither clearly leads. ELK Stack starts at Free and Elastic Stack at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, ELK Stack or Elastic Stack?
- ELK Stack has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for ELK Stack and On request for Elastic Stack.
- Does ELK Stack or Elastic Stack run on more platforms?
- ELK Stack runs on Web, Api. Elastic Stack runs on Cloud-hosted, Self-managed, Docker, Kubernetes (ECK).
- Can I use ELK Stack for free?
- Yes. ELK Stack has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Elastic Stack starts at On request.
- 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 Elastic Stack is typically brought in for.
- What can ELK Stack do that Elastic Stack cannot?
- ELK Stack covers Data visualization, Log aggregation, Time-series analytics. Elastic Stack covers Log analytics, Security monitoring, Alerting. Both handle Full-text search, API, Webhooks, REST.