Softwr

Logging · head to head

Filebeat vs Loggly

Filebeat logo

Filebeat

Logging

Lightweight Shipper for Logs

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Loggly logo

Loggly

Logging

Cloud-Based Log Management and Analytics

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.; Loggly the free Lite plan caps ingest at 200 MB per day with 7 day retention
  • They diverge on capability: Filebeat covers File tailing, Loggly covers Log aggregation.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Filebeat and Loggly actually diverge.

Attributes where Filebeat and Loggly differ
AttributeFilebeatLoggly
Pricing modelopen-sourceusage-based
Founded20112009

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

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 Loggly

  • Log aggregation
  • Real-time search
  • Custom dashboards
  • Alert management

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 Loggly
  • Application performancenot Loggly
  • Security analyticsnot Loggly
  • Troubleshootingnot Loggly

Loggly

  • Cloud-hosted log aggregation for small and mid-sized engineering teamsnot Filebeat
  • Alerting on log patterns via email, webhook, PagerDuty or Slacknot Filebeat
  • Log analysis alongside SolarWinds infrastructure and application monitoringnot 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.

Loggly

  • The free Lite plan caps ingest at 200 MB per day with 7 day retention
  • API access and archiving to Amazon S3 start on the Pro plan at $159 per month billed annually
  • Federated identity management is an Enterprise feature, starting at $279 per month billed annually
  • The Standard plan at $79 per month is limited to 1 GB per day and 3 source groups
  • Maximum retention is 90 days and only on Enterprise; Standard is fixed at 15 days

Pricing, plan by plan

Filebeat

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

Loggly

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Log aggregation
    • Real-time search
    • Custom dashboards

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 Loggly if

  • You need log aggregation.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Api.
  • You also want real-time search.
Loggly review

Questions people ask

Is Filebeat or Loggly better?
Neither clearly leads. Filebeat starts at Free and Loggly at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Filebeat or Loggly?
Filebeat starts at Free and Loggly at Free.
Does Filebeat or Loggly 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 Loggly is typically brought in for.
What can Filebeat do that Loggly cannot?
Filebeat covers File tailing, Log forwarding, Event parsing, Input harvesting. Loggly covers Log aggregation, Real-time search, Custom dashboards, Alert management. Both handle API, Webhooks, REST, Web support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Filebeat: What does Filebeat cost?

Filebeat is free and open source. There are no licensing fees for the software itself.

Source
Filebeat: Is Filebeat free for commercial use?

Yes. Filebeat is open and free to use for any purpose, including commercial applications.

Source
Filebeat: Do I need to pay for Elastic Cloud to use Filebeat?

No. Filebeat works independently without any Elastic Cloud subscription, though Elastic Cloud is offered as an optional paid deployment option.

Source
Share

Related pages

More on Filebeat

More on Loggly

Keep looking

Other head to heads