Software · head to head
ELK Stack vs Elasticsearch Service
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; Elasticsearch Service the 99.95 percent monthly uptime SLA applies only to the Platinum and Enterprise subscription tiers
- They diverge on capability: ELK Stack covers Data visualization, Elasticsearch Service covers Scalability.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which ELK Stack and Elasticsearch Service actually diverge.
| Attribute | ELK Stack | Elasticsearch Service |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | open-source | usage-based |
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 ELK Stack
- Data visualization
- Log aggregation
- Time-series analytics
Only in Elasticsearch Service
- Scalability
- High availability
- Security
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 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
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
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
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
ELK Stack
Free- FreeFree
- Full-text search
- Data visualization
- Log aggregation
Elasticsearch Service
Free- FreeFree
- Full-text search
- Scalability
- High availability
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 Elasticsearch Service if
- You need scalability.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, Api.
- You also want high availability.
Questions people ask
- Is ELK Stack or Elasticsearch Service better?
- Neither clearly leads. ELK Stack 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, ELK Stack or Elasticsearch Service?
- ELK Stack starts at Free and Elasticsearch Service at Free.
- Does ELK Stack 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 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 Elasticsearch Service is typically brought in for.
- What can ELK Stack do that Elasticsearch Service cannot?
- ELK Stack covers Data visualization, Log aggregation, Time-series analytics. Elasticsearch Service covers Scalability, High availability, Security. Both handle Full-text search, API, Webhooks, REST.