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Logging · head to head

Rootly vs ELK Stack

Rootly logo

Rootly

Logging

AI-native incident management with automation, on-call, and root cause analysis

From
$20/user-month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
ELK Stack logo

ELK Stack

Logging

Open Source Search and Log Analytics

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only ELK Stack has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Rootly pricing higher than some competitors for basic features; ELK Stack the free Basic self managed subscription excludes machine learning, alerting, single sign on via SAML or OpenID Connect, LDAP and Active Directory authentication, field and document level security, searchable snapshots and cross cluster replication
  • They diverge on capability: Rootly covers AI SRE automation, ELK Stack covers Full-text search.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Rootly and ELK Stack actually diverge.

Attributes where Rootly and ELK Stack differ
AttributeRootlyELK Stack
Starting price$20/user-monthFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionopen-source
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, Mobile, Slack, Microsoft TeamsWeb, Api
Founded20202011

Identical on both: 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 Rootly

  • AI SRE automation
  • Alert routing
  • On-call management
  • Incident response
  • Call routing
  • AI meeting bot
  • Status pages

Only in ELK Stack

  • Full-text search
  • Data visualization
  • Log aggregation
  • Time-series analytics
  • API
  • Webhooks
  • REST
  • Web support

What people use each for

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

Rootly

  • Automate on-call and incident response workflowsnot ELK Stack
  • Run root cause analysis with AI assistancenot ELK Stack
  • Track and improve Mean Time to Mitigation (MTTR)not ELK Stack
  • Coordinate response across distributed teamsnot ELK Stack
  • Learn from post-incident retrospectivesnot ELK Stack

ELK Stack

  • Centralised log search and analytics over Elasticsearchnot Rootly
  • Dashboards and visualisation of machine data in Kibananot Rootly
  • Self managing a search and observability cluster on your own hardwarenot Rootly

Where each one falls short

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

Rootly

  • Pricing higher than some competitors for basic features
  • AI SRE features require separate contact-sales engagement
  • Learning curve for advanced automation features
  • Per-user pricing increases costs as team grows

ELK Stack

  • The free Basic self managed subscription excludes machine learning, alerting, single sign on via SAML or OpenID Connect, LDAP and Active Directory authentication, field and document level security, searchable snapshots and cross cluster replication
  • Cross cluster operations require the same subscription tier on every cluster involved
  • The 99.95 percent monthly uptime SLA applies only to the Platinum and Enterprise subscription tiers
  • Three deployment models are priced on three different bases: resource based for Cloud Hosted, usage based for Serverless and licence based on nodes and RAM for self managed
  • Elastic Cloud Serverless does not yet support traffic filtering, cross project search or bring your own key
  • The pricing page publishes no rate for any tier

Pricing, plan by plan

Rootly

$20/user-month
  • Incident Response Essentials$20/user-month
    • Response with Slack integration
    • @Rootly AI Chat
    • AI Similar Incidents detection
  • Incident Response Enterprise$undefined/custom
    • All Essentials features
    • Custom forms and incident types
    • Private incidents
  • On-Call Essentials$20/user-month
    • Alert grouping and routing
    • Live call routing (1 phone number)
    • Schedules and escalation policies
  • On-Call Enterprise$undefined/custom
    • All Essentials features
    • 5 phone numbers for call routing
    • Unlimited schedules

ELK Stack

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Full-text search
    • Data visualization
    • Log aggregation

Which should you pick?

Choose Rootly if

  • You need ai sre automation.
  • You work on Web, Mobile, Slack, Microsoft Teams.
  • You also want alert routing.
Rootly review

Choose ELK Stack if

  • You need full-text search.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Api.
  • You also want data visualization.
ELK Stack review

Questions people ask

Is Rootly or ELK Stack better?
Neither clearly leads. Rootly starts at $20/user-month and ELK Stack at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Rootly or ELK Stack?
ELK Stack has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $20/user-month for Rootly and Free for ELK Stack.
Does Rootly or ELK Stack run on more platforms?
Rootly runs on Web, Mobile, Slack, Microsoft Teams. ELK Stack runs on Web, Api.
Can I use ELK Stack for free?
Yes. ELK Stack has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Rootly starts at $20/user-month.
What is Rootly best used for?
Rootly is most often used for automate on-call and incident response workflows, run root cause analysis with ai assistance, track and improve mean time to mitigation (mttr), coordinate response across distributed teams. Of those, automate on-call and incident response workflows and run root cause analysis with ai assistance are not what ELK Stack is typically brought in for.
What can Rootly do that ELK Stack cannot?
Rootly covers AI SRE automation, Alert routing, On-call management, Incident response. ELK Stack covers Full-text search, Data visualization, Log aggregation, Time-series analytics.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Rootly: How much does Rootly cost?

Rootly charges $20/user/month for both Incident Response and On-Call Essentials plans. Enterprise plans require contacting sales. Startups under 100 employees with less than $50M raised get up to 50% discount.

Source
ELK Stack: Does Elastic offer a free trial without requiring a credit card?

Yes, Elastic offers a 14-day free cloud trial with no credit card required that includes all solutions: Search, Observability, Security, and Agent Builder.

Source
Rootly: What is Rootly AI SRE?

AI SRE is an advanced feature that provides automated root cause analysis, alert correlation with system changes, impact analysis, and remediation suggestions. Pricing requires contact with sales.

Source
ELK Stack: Can I deploy Elastic locally for evaluation?

Yes, Elastic provides a local deployment option for Elasticsearch and Kibana with a one-command setup requiring no account or credit card. This allows self-managed evaluation.

Source
Rootly: Does Rootly integrate with Slack?

Yes, Rootly natively integrates with Slack for incident response workflows, allowing teams to manage incidents directly in Slack.

Source
ELK Stack: Does Elastic provide expert consultation for complex deployments?

Yes, Elastic offers expert consultation through their sales team for complex requirements and custom deployment scenarios.

Source
Rootly: Are there discounts for small companies?

Yes, startups under 100 employees or less than 25 employees can get special pricing up to 50% discount. Contact Rootly sales for details.

Source
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