Softwr

Software · head to head

Filebeat vs Airbrake

Filebeat logo

Filebeat

Software

Lightweight Shipper for Logs

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Airbrake logo

Airbrake

Software

Error Tracking and Performance Monitoring

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Filebeat filebeat ships only as part of the Elastic Stack and has no standalone commercial license; using it in production requires deploying Elasticsearch and typically Kibana alongside it.; Airbrake data retention is 30 days on every plan, including the $799 a month Business tier
  • They diverge on capability: Filebeat covers File tailing, Airbrake covers Error tracking.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Filebeat and Airbrake actually diverge.

Attributes where Filebeat and Airbrake differ
AttributeFilebeatAirbrake
Pricing modelopen-sourceusage-based
Founded20112008

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 Filebeat

  • File tailing
  • Log forwarding
  • Event parsing
  • Input harvesting

Only in Airbrake

  • Error tracking
  • Performance monitoring
  • Deploy tracking
  • Custom notifications

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.

Filebeat

  • Log monitoringnot Airbrake
  • Application performancenot Airbrake
  • Security analyticsnot Airbrake
  • Troubleshootingnot Airbrake

Airbrake

  • Error and exception monitoring for web applicationsnot Filebeat
  • Performance monitoring alongside error trackingnot Filebeat
  • Alerting a team when a deploy introduces a spike in errorsnot Filebeat
  • Tracking errors across multiple projects in one accountnot Filebeat

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Filebeat

  • Filebeat ships only as part of the Elastic Stack and has no standalone commercial license; using it in production requires deploying Elasticsearch and typically Kibana alongside it.

Airbrake

  • Data retention is 30 days on every plan, including the $799 a month Business tier
  • The entry plan at $19 a month covers 25,000 errors and 7,500 events
  • Errors beyond the plan quota are billed on demand
  • Audit logs and spike forgiveness require the Pro tier
  • The lowest tier is limited to 1 user and 1 team

Pricing, plan by plan

Filebeat

Free
  • FreeFree
    • File tailing
    • Log forwarding
    • Event parsing

Airbrake

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Error tracking
    • Performance monitoring
    • Deploy tracking

Which should you pick?

Choose Filebeat if

  • You need file tailing.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Api.
  • You also want log forwarding.
Filebeat review

Choose Airbrake if

  • You need error tracking.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Api.
  • You also want performance monitoring.
Airbrake review

Questions people ask

Is Filebeat or Airbrake better?
Neither clearly leads. Filebeat starts at Free and Airbrake at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Filebeat or Airbrake?
Filebeat starts at Free and Airbrake at Free.
Does Filebeat or Airbrake run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, Api, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
Can I use Filebeat for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Filebeat best used for?
Filebeat is most often used for log monitoring, application performance, security analytics, troubleshooting. Of those, log monitoring and application performance are not what Airbrake is typically brought in for.
What can Filebeat do that Airbrake cannot?
Filebeat covers File tailing, Log forwarding, Event parsing, Input harvesting. Airbrake covers Error tracking, Performance monitoring, Deploy tracking, Custom notifications. Both handle API, Webhooks, REST, Web support.
ShareXLinkedInRedditWhatsAppEmail

Related pages

More on Filebeat

More on Airbrake

Keep looking

Other head to heads