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Splunk Enterprise vs Elastic Stack

Splunk Enterprise logo

Splunk Enterprise

Software

Enterprise Search, Monitoring, and Analytics

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Elastic Stack logo

Elastic Stack

Software

Search, Observability, and Security Solutions

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Splunk Enterprise splunk Platform and Enterprise Security offerings carry no published rate and require contacting sales for a quote; Elastic Stack self-managed deployment requires licensing based on node count and RAM usage
  • They diverge on capability: Splunk Enterprise covers Log aggregation, Elastic Stack covers Full-text search.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Splunk Enterprise and Elastic Stack actually diverge.

Attributes where Splunk Enterprise and Elastic Stack differ
AttributeSplunk EnterpriseElastic Stack
Pricing modelusage-basedsubscription
PlatformsWeb, ApiCloud-hosted, Self-managed, Docker, Kubernetes (ECK)
Founded20032011

Identical on both: starting price (On request), free tier (No), 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 Splunk Enterprise

  • Log aggregation
  • Real-time monitoring
  • Advanced analytics
  • Compliance

Only in Elastic Stack

  • Full-text search
  • Log analytics
  • Security monitoring
  • Alerting

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.

Splunk Enterprise

  • Indexing and searching machine data and logs at enterprise scalenot Elastic Stack
  • Security information and event management via Enterprise Securitynot Elastic Stack
  • IT service intelligence and infrastructure observabilitynot Elastic Stack

Elastic Stack

  • Distributed search and analytics engine for production-scale workloadsnot Splunk Enterprise
  • Full-text search and vector search with approximate nearest neighbour supportnot Splunk Enterprise
  • Security event tracking with field-level and document-level access controlnot Splunk Enterprise
  • Machine learning capabilities including anomaly detection and forecastingnot Splunk Enterprise

Where each one falls short

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

Splunk Enterprise

  • Splunk Platform and Enterprise Security offerings carry no published rate and require contacting sales for a quote
  • Four different pricing models are offered (activity, ingest, workload and entity based) and the applicable one depends on the product purchased
  • Published Observability Cloud rates start at $15 per host per month and are billed annually rather than monthly
  • Volume discounts are not published and require direct consultation with sales

Elastic Stack

  • Self-managed deployment requires licensing based on node count and RAM usage
  • Serverless option has pending features including traffic filtering and bring-your-own-key encryption
  • Hosted deployment requires custom resource configuration for cluster management
  • Pricing models differ significantly across Hosted, Serverless, and Self-managed options

Pricing, plan by plan

Splunk Enterprise

On request
  • Starter$undefined/month
    • Log aggregation
    • Real-time monitoring
    • Advanced analytics

Elastic Stack

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the Elastic Stack review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Splunk Enterprise if

  • You need log aggregation.
  • You work on Web, Api.
  • You also want real-time monitoring.
Splunk Enterprise review

Choose Elastic Stack if

  • You need full-text search.
  • You work on Cloud-hosted, Self-managed, Docker, Kubernetes (ECK).
  • You also want log analytics.
Elastic Stack review

Questions people ask

Is Splunk Enterprise or Elastic Stack better?
Neither clearly leads. Splunk Enterprise starts at On request and Elastic Stack at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Splunk Enterprise or Elastic Stack?
Splunk Enterprise starts at On request and Elastic Stack at On request.
Does Splunk Enterprise or Elastic Stack run on more platforms?
Splunk Enterprise runs on Web, Api. Elastic Stack runs on Cloud-hosted, Self-managed, Docker, Kubernetes (ECK).
What is Splunk Enterprise best used for?
Splunk Enterprise is most often used for indexing and searching machine data and logs at enterprise scale, security information and event management via enterprise security, it service intelligence and infrastructure observability. Of those, indexing and searching machine data and logs at enterprise scale and security information and event management via enterprise security are not what Elastic Stack is typically brought in for.
What can Splunk Enterprise do that Elastic Stack cannot?
Splunk Enterprise covers Log aggregation, Real-time monitoring, Advanced analytics, Compliance. Elastic Stack covers Full-text search, Log analytics, Security monitoring, Alerting. Both handle API, Webhooks, REST, Web support.
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