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Logging · head to head

Loggly vs Stackdriver

Loggly logo

Loggly

Logging

Cloud-Based Log Management and Analytics

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Stackdriver logo

Stackdriver

Logging

Google Cloud Operations - Monitoring and Logging

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Loggly the free Lite plan caps ingest at 200 MB per day with 7 day retention; Stackdriver stackdriver is now branded Google Cloud Observability and cloud.google.com/stackdriver redirects to the Observability product page
  • They diverge on capability: Loggly covers Log aggregation, Stackdriver covers Log management.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Loggly and Stackdriver actually diverge.

Attributes where Loggly and Stackdriver differ
AttributeLogglyStackdriver
Founded20092006

Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (usage-based), 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 Loggly

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

Only in Stackdriver

  • Log management
  • Metrics collection
  • Real-time monitoring
  • Error reporting

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.

Loggly

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

Stackdriver

  • Application performance monitoringnot Loggly
  • Log aggregation and analysisnot Loggly
  • Cloud infrastructure observabilitynot Loggly
  • Distributed trace analysisnot Loggly

Where each one falls short

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

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

Stackdriver

  • Stackdriver is now branded Google Cloud Observability and cloud.google.com/stackdriver redirects to the Observability product page
  • Cloud Logging charges $0.50 per GiB ingested, with only the first 50 GiB per project per month free
  • Logs kept beyond 30 days cost an extra $0.01 per GiB per month on top of the ingestion charge
  • Monitoring metric ingestion starts at $0.2580 per MiB, with only the first 150 MiB per billing account free
  • Alerting policies are billed at $0.35 per month for each metric reference in the policy
  • Uptime checks cost $0.30 per 1,000 executions and synthetic monitors $1.20 per 1,000 executions, with only 100 synthetic executions per billing account free
  • Monitoring read API calls cost $0.50 per million time series returned beyond the first million per billing account
  • Log volume is measured before indexing on the actual size of log entries, so verbose logging directly drives cost

Pricing, plan by plan

Loggly

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

Stackdriver

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Log management
    • Metrics collection
    • Real-time monitoring

Which should you pick?

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

Choose Stackdriver if

  • You need log management.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Api.
  • You also want metrics collection.
Stackdriver review

Questions people ask

Is Loggly or Stackdriver better?
Neither clearly leads. Loggly starts at Free and Stackdriver at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Loggly or Stackdriver?
Loggly starts at Free and Stackdriver at Free.
Does Loggly or Stackdriver run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, Api, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
Can I use Loggly for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Loggly best used for?
Loggly is most often used for cloud-hosted log aggregation for small and mid-sized engineering teams, alerting on log patterns via email, webhook, pagerduty or slack, log analysis alongside solarwinds infrastructure and application monitoring. Of those, cloud-hosted log aggregation for small and mid-sized engineering teams and alerting on log patterns via email, webhook, pagerduty or slack are not what Stackdriver is typically brought in for.
What can Loggly do that Stackdriver cannot?
Loggly covers Log aggregation, Real-time search, Custom dashboards, Alert management. Stackdriver covers Log management, Metrics collection, Real-time monitoring, Error reporting. Both handle API, Webhooks, REST, Web support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Stackdriver: How much does Google Cloud Observability (Stackdriver) cost?

Google Cloud Observability does not publish fixed subscription prices. The service uses a usage-based pricing model where you pay for actual consumption. Specific rates require visiting the individual pricing pages for Cloud Logging, Cloud Monitoring, Cloud Trace, and Cloud Profiler.

Source
Stackdriver: What is the pricing model for Cloud Logging?

Cloud Logging uses usage-based pricing charged per GB of logs ingested and per GB stored, with monthly free tiers included. Storage charges vary by retention period and location.

Source
Stackdriver: How is Cloud Monitoring billed?

Cloud Monitoring charges per custom metric time series per month, with a monthly free tier for metrics. Standard monitoring includes basic default metrics at no extra charge.

Source
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