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Log Management · head to head

ELK Stack vs Sumo Logic

ELK Stack logo

ELK Stack

Log Management

Open Source Search and Log Analytics

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Sumo Logic logo

Sumo Logic

Log Management

Cloud Monitoring, Logging, and Security Analytics

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; Sumo Logic neither the Essentials nor the Enterprise Suite package lists a price on the pricing page; both link to Contact Sales
  • They diverge on capability: ELK Stack covers Full-text search, Sumo Logic covers Metrics collection.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which ELK Stack and Sumo Logic actually diverge.

Attributes where ELK Stack and Sumo Logic differ
AttributeELK StackSumo Logic
Pricing modelopen-sourceusage-based
Founded20112010

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), platforms (Web, Api), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Log Management).

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 Sumo Logic

  • Metrics collection
  • Real-time analytics
  • Custom dashboards

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

Sumo Logic

  • Cloud-native log analytics across applications and infrastructurenot ELK Stack
  • Running a SIEM with MITRE ATT&CK mapped detections and UEBAnot ELK Stack
  • Compliance and audit readiness reporting from log datanot 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

Sumo Logic

  • Neither the Essentials nor the Enterprise Suite package lists a price on the pricing page; both link to Contact Sales
  • Quoted per GB figures assume an annual commitment, an average of 1 GB of log ingest per day and a US deployment region
  • Pricing varies by the AWS deployment region chosen, so the same volume costs differently in Dublin, Frankfurt, Sydney or Tokyo
  • Flex pricing bills per TB scanned rather than per GB ingested, so query activity drives the bill
  • Feature activation is subject to minimum volume, minimum user counts and service requirements confirmed at the time of the transaction
  • The API is limited to four calls per section, ten concurrent in-flight requests, and query processing times out after two minutes
  • Self-serve credit card purchase is capped at $25,000; larger purchases must go through sales or a reseller

Pricing, plan by plan

ELK Stack

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

Sumo Logic

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Log aggregation
    • Metrics collection
    • Real-time analytics

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 Sumo Logic if

  • You need metrics collection.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Api.
  • You also want real-time analytics.
Sumo Logic review

Questions people ask

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