Is Graylog or Telegraf better?

Neither clearly leads. Graylog starts at Free and Telegraf at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.

Which is cheaper, Graylog or Telegraf?

Graylog starts at Free and Telegraf at Free.

Does Graylog or Telegraf run on more platforms?

Both run on Web, Api, so platform support will not decide this one for you.

Can I use Graylog for free?

Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.

What is Graylog best used for?

Graylog is most often used for log aggregation and analysis for secops teams, it and devops monitoring and troubleshooting, enterprise security event monitoring. Of those, log aggregation and analysis for secops teams and it and devops monitoring and troubleshooting are not what Telegraf is typically brought in for.

What can Graylog do that Telegraf cannot?

Graylog covers Log aggregation, Full-text search, Parsing and extraction, Real-time analytics. Telegraf covers Metrics collection, System monitoring, Application monitoring, Plugin architecture. Both handle API, Webhooks, REST, Web support.

Logging · head to head

Graylog vs Telegraf

Graylog

Logging

Log Aggregation and Analysis Platform

From: Free
Rated: -

Full review Website

Telegraf

Logging

The Plugin-Driven Server Agent for Collecting and Reporting Metrics

From: Free
Rated: -

Full review Website

The short version

Each has a real cost: Graylog graylog Enterprise starts at $15,000 per year and Graylog Security at $18,000 per year, priced by daily volume or annual consumption; Telegraf telegraf's core is open source and free, and InfluxData names a separate Telegraf Enterprise tier for teams running it at scale with no price published
They diverge on capability: Graylog covers Log aggregation, Telegraf covers Metrics collection.
Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Graylog and Telegraf actually diverge.

Attributes where Graylog and Telegraf differ
Attribute	Graylog	Telegraf
Founded	2011	2013

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

Log aggregation
Full-text search
Parsing and extraction
Real-time analytics

Only in Telegraf

Metrics collection
System monitoring
Application monitoring
Plugin architecture

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.

Graylog

Log aggregation and analysis for SecOps teamsnot Telegraf
IT and DevOps monitoring and troubleshootingnot Telegraf
Enterprise security event monitoringnot Telegraf

Telegraf

Log monitoringnot Graylog
Application performancenot Graylog
Security analyticsnot Graylog
Troubleshootingnot Graylog

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Graylog

Graylog Enterprise starts at $15,000 per year and Graylog Security at $18,000 per year, priced by daily volume or annual consumption
Correlation engine, scheduled and custom reports, compliance reports and teams management are Enterprise-only
Data tiering across hot, warm and archive storage is an Enterprise feature, not available in Graylog Open
Graylog Open carries community support only; professional support requires a paid edition
UEBA anomaly detection, Sigma rules, MITRE ATT&CK alignment and SOAR automation are limited to Graylog Security

Telegraf

Telegraf's core is open source and free, and InfluxData names a separate Telegraf Enterprise tier for teams running it at scale with no price published

Pricing, plan by plan

Graylog

Free

FreeFree
- Log aggregation
- Full-text search
- Parsing and extraction

Telegraf

Free

FreeFree
- Metrics collection
- System monitoring
- Application monitoring

Which should you pick?

Choose Graylog if

You need log aggregation.
You want to start without paying.
You work on Web, Api.
You also want full-text search.

Graylog review

Choose Telegraf if

You need metrics collection.
You want to start without paying.
You work on Web, Api.
You also want system monitoring.

Telegraf review

Questions people ask

Is Graylog or Telegraf better?: Neither clearly leads. Graylog starts at Free and Telegraf at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Graylog or Telegraf?: Graylog starts at Free and Telegraf at Free.
Does Graylog or Telegraf run on more platforms?: Both run on Web, Api, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
Can I use Graylog for free?: Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Graylog best used for?: Graylog is most often used for log aggregation and analysis for secops teams, it and devops monitoring and troubleshooting, enterprise security event monitoring. Of those, log aggregation and analysis for secops teams and it and devops monitoring and troubleshooting are not what Telegraf is typically brought in for.
What can Graylog do that Telegraf cannot?: Graylog covers Log aggregation, Full-text search, Parsing and extraction, Real-time analytics. Telegraf covers Metrics collection, System monitoring, Application monitoring, Plugin architecture. Both handle API, Webhooks, REST, Web support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Graylog: Does Graylog have a free version?

Yes. Graylog Open is a free, open-source option for collecting, storing, searching, and analyzing log data. However, it includes only community support.

Source

Telegraf: Is Telegraf free to use?

Yes, Telegraf OSS is free and open source. It can be downloaded and used at no cost for collecting metrics from infrastructure, applications, and devices using over 400 community-tested plugins.

Source

Graylog: How much does Graylog Enterprise cost?

Graylog Enterprise pricing starts at $15,000/year based on daily log volume or annual data consumption. Exact pricing requires contacting sales.

Source

Telegraf: What is Telegraf Enterprise and how much does it cost?

Telegraf Enterprise is a commercial offering for managing Telegraf at scale. It is licensed annually with entry-level packages starting at $18,000 per year, and pricing scales based on the total number of Telegraf agents under management.

Source

Graylog: What is the difference between Graylog Enterprise and Security editions?

Graylog Security starts at $18,000/year and includes advanced threat detection capabilities beyond the Enterprise edition. Both include technical support.

Source

Telegraf: Can I try Telegraf Enterprise before purchasing?

Yes, a free tier of Telegraf Controller is available for evaluation. It allows you to store up to 20 configurations and manage up to 100 reporting agents.

Source

Telegraf: Can Telegraf OSS be used for commercial purposes?

Telegraf OSS is free and available as open source software, suitable for commercial deployments without licensing fees. For large-scale enterprise needs, Telegraf Enterprise is the commercial offering.

Source

Telegraf: How many plugins does Telegraf support?

Telegraf includes over 400 community-tested plugins that can connect to various data sources and destinations including Kubernetes, Docker, AWS, Google Cloud, Azure, Kafka, and many databases.

Source

Graylog vs Telegraf

Graylog

Telegraf

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in Graylog

Only in Telegraf

Both cover

What people use each for

Graylog

Telegraf

Where each one falls short

Graylog

Telegraf

Pricing, plan by plan

Graylog

Telegraf

Which should you pick?

Choose Graylog if

Choose Telegraf if

Questions people ask

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Related pages

More on Graylog

More on Telegraf

Keep looking

Other head to heads