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Log Management · head to head

InfluxDB vs Loki

InfluxDB logo

InfluxDB

Log Management

Purpose-built time series database for metrics and events

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Loki logo

Loki

Log Management

Like Prometheus but for Logs

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: InfluxDB high-cardinality data causes memory pressure and performance degradation; Loki the Grafana Cloud free tier caps log ingestion at 50 GB a month with 14 day retention
  • They diverge on capability: InfluxDB covers Time-series Storage, Loki covers Log aggregation.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which InfluxDB and Loki actually diverge.

Attributes where InfluxDB and Loki differ
AttributeInfluxDBLoki
Pricing modelUnknownopen-source
PlatformsCloud, Docker, Linux, macOS, Windows, AWS, Google Cloud, AzureWeb, Api
Founded20122014

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

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

Only in Loki

  • Log aggregation
  • Label-based indexing
  • Real-time log streaming
  • LogQL query language
  • 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 Loki
  • IoT datanot Loki
  • Financial datanot Loki
  • Log analyticsnot Loki
  • Observabilitynot Loki

Loki

  • Aggregating application and infrastructure logs with label based indexingnot InfluxDB
  • Querying logs alongside metrics in Grafananot 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

Loki

  • The Grafana Cloud free tier caps log ingestion at 50 GB a month with 14 day retention
  • Paid log pricing is split across three separate meters, at $0.050 per GB processed, $0.400 per GB written and $0.100 per GB retained
  • Retaining logs is billed separately from ingesting them, so keeping data costs on an ongoing basis rather than once
  • The Pro plan carries a $19 a month platform fee before any usage charges

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

Loki

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Log aggregation
    • Label-based indexing
    • Real-time log streaming

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 Loki if

  • You need log aggregation.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Api.
  • You also want label-based indexing.
Loki review

Questions people ask

Is InfluxDB or Loki better?
Neither clearly leads. InfluxDB starts at Free and Loki at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, InfluxDB or Loki?
InfluxDB starts at Free and Loki at Free.
Does InfluxDB or Loki run on more platforms?
InfluxDB runs on Cloud, Docker, Linux, macOS, Windows, AWS, Google Cloud, Azure. Loki 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 Loki is typically brought in for.
What can InfluxDB do that Loki cannot?
InfluxDB covers Time-series Storage, Flux Query Language, High Write Throughput, Data Compression. Loki covers Log aggregation, Label-based indexing, Real-time log streaming, LogQL query language. 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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