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Software · head to head

ELK Stack vs Rollbar

ELK Stack logo

ELK Stack

Software

Open Source Search and Log Analytics

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Rollbar logo

Rollbar

Software

Real-Time Error Tracking and Debugging

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; Rollbar the free plan allows 5,000 occurrences a month with 30 day retention
  • They diverge on capability: ELK Stack covers Full-text search, Rollbar covers Error tracking.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where ELK Stack and Rollbar differ
AttributeELK StackRollbar
Pricing modelopen-sourceusage-based
Founded20112012

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 Rollbar

  • Error tracking
  • Real-time alerts
  • Error grouping
  • Source maps

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

Rollbar

  • Tracking application errors and exceptions across deploymentsnot ELK Stack
  • Grouping and alerting on production error occurrencesnot 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

Rollbar

  • The free plan allows 5,000 occurrences a month with 30 day retention
  • Retention is a paid ladder rather than a setting, at up to 90 days on Essentials and up to 180 on Advanced
  • Advanced alerting, the RQL analytics query language and SCIM provisioning are excluded from the free plan
  • Enterprise requires a $4M annual plan minimum
  • No price is published for Essentials or Advanced, so only the free tier has a visible cost

Pricing, plan by plan

ELK Stack

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

Rollbar

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Error tracking
    • Real-time alerts
    • Error grouping

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 Rollbar if

  • You need error tracking.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Api.
  • You also want real-time alerts.
Rollbar review

Questions people ask

Is ELK Stack or Rollbar better?
Neither clearly leads. ELK Stack starts at Free and Rollbar at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, ELK Stack or Rollbar?
ELK Stack starts at Free and Rollbar at Free.
Does ELK Stack or Rollbar 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 Rollbar is typically brought in for.
What can ELK Stack do that Rollbar cannot?
ELK Stack covers Full-text search, Data visualization, Log aggregation, Time-series analytics. Rollbar covers Error tracking, Real-time alerts, Error grouping, Source maps. Both handle API, Webhooks, REST, Web support.
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