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Software · head to head

ELK Stack vs Grafana

ELK Stack logo

ELK Stack

Software

Open Source Search and Log Analytics

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Grafana logo

Grafana

Software

Observability and Data Visualization

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

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; Grafana the free tier retains metrics, logs and traces for 14 days only
  • They diverge on capability: ELK Stack covers Full-text search, Grafana covers Dashboard creation.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which ELK Stack and Grafana actually diverge.

Attributes where ELK Stack and Grafana differ
AttributeELK StackGrafana
Founded20112014

Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (open-source), 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 Grafana

  • Dashboard creation
  • Alerting
  • Data source integration
  • Visualization plugins

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 Grafana
  • Dashboards and visualisation of machine data in Kibananot Grafana
  • Self managing a search and observability cluster on your own hardwarenot Grafana

Grafana

  • Dashboards and visualisation over metrics, logs and tracesnot ELK Stack
  • Running observability across infrastructure and applicationsnot 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

Grafana

  • The free tier retains metrics, logs and traces for 14 days only
  • Free is capped at 10,000 active metric series and 50 GB each of logs and traces a month
  • The Pro plan carries a $19 a month platform fee before any usage charges
  • Logs and traces are billed on three separate meters, at $0.050 per GB processed, $0.400 per GB written and $0.100 per GB retained
  • Retaining data is an ongoing charge rather than a one off, so historical data costs every month it exists

Pricing, plan by plan

ELK Stack

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

Grafana

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Dashboard creation
    • Alerting
    • Data source 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.
ELK Stack review

Choose Grafana if

  • You need dashboard creation.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Api.
  • You also want alerting.
Grafana review

Questions people ask

Is ELK Stack or Grafana better?
Neither clearly leads. ELK Stack starts at Free and Grafana at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, ELK Stack or Grafana?
ELK Stack starts at Free and Grafana at Free.
Does ELK Stack or Grafana 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 Grafana is typically brought in for.
What can ELK Stack do that Grafana cannot?
ELK Stack covers Full-text search, Data visualization, Log aggregation, Time-series analytics. Grafana covers Dashboard creation, Alerting, Data source integration, Visualization plugins. Both handle API, Webhooks, REST, Web support.
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