Softwr

Log Management · head to head

Filebeat vs Rollbar

Filebeat logo

Filebeat

Log Management

Lightweight Shipper for Logs

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Rollbar logo

Rollbar

Log Management

Real-Time Error Tracking and Debugging

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.; Rollbar the free plan allows 5,000 occurrences a month with 30 day retention
  • They diverge on capability: Filebeat covers File tailing, Rollbar covers Error tracking.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Filebeat and Rollbar actually diverge.

Attributes where Filebeat and Rollbar differ
AttributeFilebeatRollbar
Pricing modelopen-sourceusage-based
Founded20112012

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 Filebeat

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

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.

Filebeat

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

Rollbar

  • Tracking application errors and exceptions across deploymentsnot Filebeat
  • Grouping and alerting on production error occurrencesnot 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.

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

Filebeat

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

Rollbar

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

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 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 Filebeat or Rollbar better?
Neither clearly leads. Filebeat 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, Filebeat or Rollbar?
Filebeat starts at Free and Rollbar at Free.
Does Filebeat or Rollbar 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 Rollbar is typically brought in for.
What can Filebeat do that Rollbar cannot?
Filebeat covers File tailing, Log forwarding, Event parsing, Input harvesting. Rollbar covers Error tracking, Real-time alerts, Error grouping, Source maps. Both handle API, Webhooks, REST, Web support.
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