Log Management · head to head
Fluentd vs Stackdriver
Stackdriver
Log Management
Google Cloud Operations - Monitoring and Logging
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Fluentd fluentd needs more than 60 MB of memory at runtime, against roughly 450 KB for Fluent Bit; Stackdriver stackdriver is now branded Google Cloud Observability and cloud.google.com/stackdriver redirects to the Observability product page
- They diverge on capability: Fluentd covers Log collection, Stackdriver covers Log management.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Fluentd and Stackdriver actually diverge.
| Attribute | Fluentd | Stackdriver |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | open-source | usage-based |
| Founded | 2011 | 2006 |
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 Fluentd
- Log collection
- Data parsing
- Filtering and buffering
- Event routing
Only in Stackdriver
- Log management
- Metrics collection
- Real-time monitoring
- Error reporting
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.
Fluentd
- Unified log collection and routing from many sources to many destinationsnot Stackdriver
- Parsing and transforming log records before forwardingnot Stackdriver
- Aggregating logs from containers into Elasticsearch, S3 or a SIEMnot Stackdriver
Stackdriver
- Centralised logging, metrics and traces for workloads running on Google Cloudnot Fluentd
- Alerting and uptime checks on cloud servicesnot Fluentd
- Running managed Prometheus-compatible monitoring at scalenot Fluentd
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Fluentd
- Fluentd needs more than 60 MB of memory at runtime, against roughly 450 KB for Fluent Bit
- Fluentd is built as a Ruby gem and depends on other gems, so a Ruby runtime is required
- Its capability comes from over 1,000 external plugins rather than built in functionality, so each added input or output is a separate dependency
- The Fluent Bit documentation states that cloud providers have switched from Fluentd to Fluent Bit for performance and compatibility and calls Fluent Bit the next generation solution
Stackdriver
- Stackdriver is now branded Google Cloud Observability and cloud.google.com/stackdriver redirects to the Observability product page
- Cloud Logging charges $0.50 per GiB ingested, with only the first 50 GiB per project per month free
- Logs kept beyond 30 days cost an extra $0.01 per GiB per month on top of the ingestion charge
- Monitoring metric ingestion starts at $0.2580 per MiB, with only the first 150 MiB per billing account free
- Alerting policies are billed at $0.35 per month for each metric reference in the policy
- Uptime checks cost $0.30 per 1,000 executions and synthetic monitors $1.20 per 1,000 executions, with only 100 synthetic executions per billing account free
- Monitoring read API calls cost $0.50 per million time series returned beyond the first million per billing account
- Log volume is measured before indexing on the actual size of log entries, so verbose logging directly drives cost
Pricing, plan by plan
Fluentd
Free- FreeFree
- Log collection
- Data parsing
- Filtering and buffering
Stackdriver
Free- FreeFree
- Log management
- Metrics collection
- Real-time monitoring
Which should you pick?
Choose Fluentd if
- You need log collection.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, Api.
- You also want data parsing.
Choose Stackdriver if
- You need log management.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, Api.
- You also want metrics collection.
Questions people ask
- Is Fluentd or Stackdriver better?
- Neither clearly leads. Fluentd starts at Free and Stackdriver at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Fluentd or Stackdriver?
- Fluentd starts at Free and Stackdriver at Free.
- Does Fluentd or Stackdriver run on more platforms?
- Both run on Web, Api, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
- Can I use Fluentd for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is Fluentd best used for?
- Fluentd is most often used for unified log collection and routing from many sources to many destinations, parsing and transforming log records before forwarding, aggregating logs from containers into elasticsearch, s3 or a siem. Of those, unified log collection and routing from many sources to many destinations and parsing and transforming log records before forwarding are not what Stackdriver is typically brought in for.
- What can Fluentd do that Stackdriver cannot?
- Fluentd covers Log collection, Data parsing, Filtering and buffering, Event routing. Stackdriver covers Log management, Metrics collection, Real-time monitoring, Error reporting. Both handle API, Webhooks, REST, Web support.