Software · head to head
Fluent Bit vs Elasticsearch Service
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Fluent Bit fluent Bit ships over 100 built in plugins against more than 1,000 external plugins available for Fluentd, so fewer integrations exist out of the box; Elasticsearch Service the 99.95 percent monthly uptime SLA applies only to the Platinum and Enterprise subscription tiers
- They diverge on capability: Fluent Bit covers Log collection, Elasticsearch Service covers Full-text search.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Fluent Bit and Elasticsearch Service actually diverge.
| Attribute | Fluent Bit | Elasticsearch Service |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | open-source | usage-based |
| Founded | 2015 | 2011 |
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 Fluent Bit
- Log collection
- Lightweight processing
- Data parsing
- Event filtering
Only in Elasticsearch Service
- Full-text search
- Scalability
- High availability
- Security
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.
Fluent Bit
- Lightweight log and metric forwarding from containers and edge devicesnot Elasticsearch Service
- Kubernetes node level log collection with a small memory footprintnot Elasticsearch Service
- Filtering and enriching telemetry before shipping it to a backendnot Elasticsearch Service
Elasticsearch Service
- Managed Elasticsearch without running the clusternot Fluent Bit
- Log and observability data storage and searchnot Fluent Bit
- Full-text search behind an applicationnot Fluent Bit
- Deployments needing a specific cloud region across AWS, Azure or GCPnot Fluent Bit
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Fluent Bit
- Fluent Bit ships over 100 built in plugins against more than 1,000 external plugins available for Fluentd, so fewer integrations exist out of the box
- It is written in C, so extending it beyond the built in plugins means writing C rather than Ruby
- Dependencies are zero only until a plugin requires one
Elasticsearch Service
- The 99.95 percent monthly uptime SLA applies only to the Platinum and Enterprise subscription tiers
- Serverless does not yet support traffic filtering, cross-project search or bring-your-own-key encryption
- Serverless runs on AWS, GCP and Azure only, against 60 regions for the hosted option
- Per-unit prices are not published; hosted is resource-based and serverless usage-based
Pricing, plan by plan
Fluent Bit
Free- FreeFree
- Log collection
- Lightweight processing
- Data parsing
Elasticsearch Service
Free- FreeFree
- Full-text search
- Scalability
- High availability
Which should you pick?
Choose Fluent Bit if
- You need log collection.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, Api.
- You also want lightweight processing.
Choose Elasticsearch Service if
- You need full-text search.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, Api.
- You also want scalability.
Questions people ask
- Is Fluent Bit or Elasticsearch Service better?
- Neither clearly leads. Fluent Bit starts at Free and Elasticsearch Service at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Fluent Bit or Elasticsearch Service?
- Fluent Bit starts at Free and Elasticsearch Service at Free.
- Does Fluent Bit or Elasticsearch Service run on more platforms?
- Both run on Web, Api, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
- Can I use Fluent Bit for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is Fluent Bit best used for?
- Fluent Bit is most often used for lightweight log and metric forwarding from containers and edge devices, kubernetes node level log collection with a small memory footprint, filtering and enriching telemetry before shipping it to a backend. Of those, lightweight log and metric forwarding from containers and edge devices and kubernetes node level log collection with a small memory footprint are not what Elasticsearch Service is typically brought in for.
- What can Fluent Bit do that Elasticsearch Service cannot?
- Fluent Bit covers Log collection, Lightweight processing, Data parsing, Event filtering. Elasticsearch Service covers Full-text search, Scalability, High availability, Security. Both handle API, Webhooks, REST, Web support.