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Software · head to head

ELK Stack vs Loki

ELK Stack logo

ELK Stack

Software

Open Source Search and Log Analytics

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Loki logo

Loki

Software

Like Prometheus but for Logs

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; Loki the Grafana Cloud free tier caps log ingestion at 50 GB a month with 14 day retention
  • They diverge on capability: ELK Stack covers Full-text search, Loki covers Label-based indexing.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where ELK Stack and Loki differ
AttributeELK StackLoki
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
  • Time-series analytics

Only in Loki

  • Label-based indexing
  • Real-time log streaming
  • LogQL query language

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

Loki

  • Aggregating application and infrastructure logs with label based indexingnot ELK Stack
  • Querying logs alongside metrics in Grafananot 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

Loki

  • The Grafana Cloud free tier caps log ingestion at 50 GB a month with 14 day retention
  • Paid log pricing is split across three separate meters, at $0.050 per GB processed, $0.400 per GB written and $0.100 per GB retained
  • Retaining logs is billed separately from ingesting them, so keeping data costs on an ongoing basis rather than once
  • The Pro plan carries a $19 a month platform fee before any usage charges

Pricing, plan by plan

ELK Stack

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

Loki

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Log aggregation
    • Label-based indexing
    • Real-time log streaming

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 Loki if

  • You need label-based indexing.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Api.
  • You also want real-time log streaming.
Loki review

Questions people ask

Is ELK Stack or Loki better?
Neither clearly leads. ELK Stack starts at Free and Loki at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, ELK Stack or Loki?
ELK Stack starts at Free and Loki at Free.
Does ELK Stack or Loki 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 Loki is typically brought in for.
What can ELK Stack do that Loki cannot?
ELK Stack covers Full-text search, Data visualization, Time-series analytics. Loki covers Label-based indexing, Real-time log streaming, LogQL query language. Both handle Log aggregation, API, Webhooks, REST.
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