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Fluent Bit vs Filebeat

Fluent Bit logo

Fluent Bit

Software

Fast and Lightweight Log Processor

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Filebeat logo

Filebeat

Software

Lightweight Shipper for Logs

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

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; 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.
  • They diverge on capability: Fluent Bit covers Log collection, Filebeat covers File tailing.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Fluent Bit and Filebeat actually diverge.

Attributes where Fluent Bit and Filebeat differ
AttributeFluent BitFilebeat
Founded20152011

Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (open-source), 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 Filebeat

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

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 Filebeat
  • Kubernetes node level log collection with a small memory footprintnot Filebeat
  • Filtering and enriching telemetry before shipping it to a backendnot Filebeat

Filebeat

  • Log monitoringnot Fluent Bit
  • Application performancenot Fluent Bit
  • Security analyticsnot Fluent Bit
  • Troubleshootingnot 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

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.

Pricing, plan by plan

Fluent Bit

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Log collection
    • Lightweight processing
    • Data parsing

Filebeat

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

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.
Fluent Bit review

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

Questions people ask

Is Fluent Bit or Filebeat better?
Neither clearly leads. Fluent Bit starts at Free and Filebeat at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Fluent Bit or Filebeat?
Fluent Bit starts at Free and Filebeat at Free.
Does Fluent Bit or Filebeat 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 Filebeat is typically brought in for.
What can Fluent Bit do that Filebeat cannot?
Fluent Bit covers Log collection, Lightweight processing, Data parsing, Event filtering. Filebeat covers File tailing, Log forwarding, Event parsing, Input harvesting. Both handle API, Webhooks, REST, Web support.
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