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Logging · head to head

Kibana vs Loggly

Kibana logo

Kibana

Logging

Visualize Your Elasticsearch Data

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Loggly logo

Loggly

Logging

Cloud-Based Log Management and Analytics

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; Loggly the free Lite plan caps ingest at 200 MB per day with 7 day retention
  • They diverge on capability: Kibana covers Data visualization, Loggly covers Log aggregation.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Kibana and Loggly actually diverge.

Attributes where Kibana and Loggly differ
AttributeKibanaLoggly
Pricing modelopen-sourceusage-based
Founded20112009

Identical on both: starting price (Free), 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 Kibana

  • Data visualization
  • Dashboard creation
  • Log discovery
  • Alerting

Only in Loggly

  • Log aggregation
  • Real-time search
  • Custom dashboards
  • Alert management

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 Loggly
  • Dashboards over log and metric datanot Loggly
  • Anomaly detection with machine learning jobsnot Loggly
  • Geospatial analysis on indexed location datanot Loggly
  • Alerting on query thresholdsnot Loggly

Loggly

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

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

Kibana

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

Loggly

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

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 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 Kibana or Loggly better?
Neither clearly leads. Kibana 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, Kibana or Loggly?
Kibana starts at Free and Loggly at Free.
Does Kibana or Loggly 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 Loggly is typically brought in for.
What can Kibana do that Loggly cannot?
Kibana covers Data visualization, Dashboard creation, Log discovery, Alerting. Loggly covers Log aggregation, Real-time search, Custom dashboards, Alert management. Both handle API, Webhooks, REST, Web support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Kibana: Is Kibana available for free?

Kibana is offered with a free trial across all deployment models (Elastic Cloud Serverless, Hosted, and self-managed). Kibana is a component of the Elastic product suite and is not priced separately.

Source
Kibana: How is Kibana priced?

Kibana pricing is bundled with Elasticsearch or other Elastic products. Pricing varies by deployment model: Elastic Cloud Serverless uses usage-based pricing, Hosted uses resource-based pricing, and self-managed is free to download.

Source
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