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Software · head to head

Kibana vs Fluent Bit

Kibana logo

Kibana

Software

Visualize Your Elasticsearch Data

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Fluent Bit logo

Fluent Bit

Software

Fast and Lightweight Log Processor

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Kibana requires Elasticsearch; it is a front end for data held there rather than a standalone analytics tool; 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
  • They diverge on capability: Kibana covers Data visualization, Fluent Bit covers Log collection.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where Kibana and Fluent Bit differ
AttributeKibanaFluent Bit
Founded20112015

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 Kibana

  • Data visualization
  • Dashboard creation
  • Log discovery
  • Alerting

Only in Fluent Bit

  • Log collection
  • Lightweight processing
  • Data parsing
  • Event filtering

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.

Kibana

  • Querying and visualising data held in Elasticsearchnot Fluent Bit
  • Dashboards over log and metric datanot Fluent Bit
  • Anomaly detection with machine learning jobsnot Fluent Bit
  • Geospatial analysis on indexed location datanot Fluent Bit
  • Alerting on query thresholdsnot Fluent Bit

Fluent Bit

  • Lightweight log and metric forwarding from containers and edge devicesnot Kibana
  • Kubernetes node level log collection with a small memory footprintnot Kibana
  • Filtering and enriching telemetry before shipping it to a backendnot Kibana

Where each one falls short

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

Kibana

  • Requires Elasticsearch; it is a front end for data held there rather than a standalone analytics tool
  • Self-managed means running and scaling the Elastic stack yourself
  • Cost is not Kibana's own; it follows whichever Elastic deployment sits underneath

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

Pricing, plan by plan

Kibana

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Data visualization
    • Dashboard creation
    • Log discovery

Fluent Bit

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

Which should you pick?

Choose Kibana if

  • You need data visualization.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Api.
  • You also want dashboard creation.
Kibana review

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

Questions people ask

Is Kibana or Fluent Bit better?
Neither clearly leads. Kibana starts at Free and Fluent Bit at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Kibana or Fluent Bit?
Kibana starts at Free and Fluent Bit at Free.
Does Kibana or Fluent Bit run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, Api, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
Can I use Kibana for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Kibana best used for?
Kibana is most often used for querying and visualising data held in elasticsearch, dashboards over log and metric data, anomaly detection with machine learning jobs, geospatial analysis on indexed location data. Of those, querying and visualising data held in elasticsearch and dashboards over log and metric data are not what Fluent Bit is typically brought in for.
What can Kibana do that Fluent Bit cannot?
Kibana covers Data visualization, Dashboard creation, Log discovery, Alerting. Fluent Bit covers Log collection, Lightweight processing, Data parsing, Event filtering. Both handle API, Webhooks, REST, Web support.
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