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InfluxDB vs Loggly

InfluxDB logo

InfluxDB

Software

Purpose-built time series database for metrics and events

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Loggly logo

Loggly

Software

Cloud-Based Log Management and Analytics

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: InfluxDB high-cardinality data causes memory pressure and performance degradation; Loggly the free Lite plan caps ingest at 200 MB per day with 7 day retention
  • They diverge on capability: InfluxDB covers Time-series Storage, Loggly covers Log aggregation.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which InfluxDB and Loggly actually diverge.

Attributes where InfluxDB and Loggly differ
AttributeInfluxDBLoggly
Pricing modelUnknownusage-based
PlatformsCloud, Docker, Linux, macOS, Windows, AWS, Google Cloud, AzureWeb, Api
Founded20122009

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), 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 InfluxDB

  • Time-series Storage
  • Flux Query Language
  • High Write Throughput
  • Data Compression
  • Retention Policies
  • Continuous Queries
  • Built-in Dashboards
  • Telegraf

Only in Loggly

  • Log aggregation
  • Real-time search
  • Custom dashboards
  • Alert management
  • API
  • Webhooks
  • REST
  • Api support

Both cover

  • Web support

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

InfluxDB

  • Monitoringnot Loggly
  • IoT datanot Loggly
  • Financial datanot Loggly
  • Log analyticsnot Loggly
  • Observabilitynot Loggly

Loggly

  • Cloud-hosted log aggregation for small and mid-sized engineering teamsnot InfluxDB
  • Alerting on log patterns via email, webhook, PagerDuty or Slacknot InfluxDB
  • Log analysis alongside SolarWinds infrastructure and application monitoringnot InfluxDB

Where each one falls short

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

InfluxDB

  • High-cardinality data causes memory pressure and performance degradation
  • No support for joins or transactions like relational databases
  • Queries limited to 72-hour window in InfluxDB 3 OSS Core
  • Clustering and authentication features absent from community version

Loggly

  • The free Lite plan caps ingest at 200 MB per day with 7 day retention
  • API access and archiving to Amazon S3 start on the Pro plan at $159 per month billed annually
  • Federated identity management is an Enterprise feature, starting at $279 per month billed annually
  • The Standard plan at $79 per month is limited to 1 GB per day and 3 source groups
  • Maximum retention is 90 days and only on Enterprise; Standard is fixed at 15 days

Pricing, plan by plan

InfluxDB

Free
  • Cloud Serverless FreeFree
    • 5 MB writes per 5 minutes
    • 300 MB queries per 5 minutes
    • 30 day retention
  • Cloud Serverless Usage-Based$null/mo
    • 0.0025 USD per MB ingested
    • 0.012 USD per 100 queries
    • 0.002 USD per GB-hour storage

Loggly

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Log aggregation
    • Real-time search
    • Custom dashboards

Which should you pick?

Choose InfluxDB if

  • You need time-series storage.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Cloud, Docker, Linux, macOS, Windows, AWS, Google Cloud, Azure.
  • You also want flux query language.
InfluxDB review

Choose Loggly if

  • You need log aggregation.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Api.
  • You also want real-time search.
Loggly review

Questions people ask

Is InfluxDB or Loggly better?
Neither clearly leads. InfluxDB starts at Free and Loggly at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, InfluxDB or Loggly?
InfluxDB starts at Free and Loggly at Free.
Does InfluxDB or Loggly run on more platforms?
InfluxDB runs on Cloud, Docker, Linux, macOS, Windows, AWS, Google Cloud, Azure. Loggly runs on Web, Api.
Can I use InfluxDB for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is InfluxDB best used for?
InfluxDB is most often used for monitoring, iot data, financial data, log analytics. Of those, monitoring and iot data are not what Loggly is typically brought in for.
What can InfluxDB do that Loggly cannot?
InfluxDB covers Time-series Storage, Flux Query Language, High Write Throughput, Data Compression. Loggly covers Log aggregation, Real-time search, Custom dashboards, Alert management. Both handle Web support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

InfluxDB: Is there a free tier and what are the limits?

InfluxDB 3 Core OSS is free forever for local development and prototyping. Cloud Serverless free tier includes 5 MB writes per 5 minutes, 300 MB queries per 5 minutes, 30 day retention, and 2 databases.

Source
InfluxDB: Can I self-host InfluxDB?

Yes, InfluxDB 3 Core is fully open source and can be self-hosted with no license required. InfluxDB 3 Enterprise is self-managed and includes a 30-day free trial.

Source
InfluxDB: What are the series cardinality limitations?

InfluxDB is sensitive to high-cardinality data. High cardinality increases RAM usage and can trigger out-of-memory errors, making it unsuitable for some workloads with many unique tag combinations.

Source
InfluxDB: Does InfluxDB support SQL queries?

InfluxDB has limited SQL support. Full SQL is available in InfluxDB 3, but earlier versions support only specific SQL commands and use InfluxQL as the primary query language.

Source
InfluxDB: Can I export my data from InfluxDB?

Yes, data can be exported from InfluxDB using query results. However, the process and supported formats depend on the version and deployment type you are using.

Source
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Related pages

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