Software · head to head
Splunk Enterprise vs ELK Stack
Splunk Enterprise
Software
Enterprise Search, Monitoring, and Analytics
- From
- On request
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Only ELK Stack has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
- Each has a real cost: Splunk Enterprise splunk Platform and Enterprise Security offerings carry no published rate and require contacting sales for a quote; 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: Splunk Enterprise covers Real-time monitoring, ELK Stack covers Full-text search.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Splunk Enterprise and ELK Stack actually diverge.
| Attribute | Splunk Enterprise | ELK Stack |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | On request | Free |
| Pricing model | usage-based | open-source |
| Free tier | No | Yes |
| Founded | 2003 | 2011 |
Identical on both: 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 Splunk Enterprise
- Real-time monitoring
- Advanced analytics
- Compliance
Only in ELK Stack
- Full-text search
- Data visualization
- Time-series analytics
Both cover
- Log aggregation
- 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 ELK Stack
- Security information and event management via Enterprise Securitynot ELK Stack
- IT service intelligence and infrastructure observabilitynot ELK Stack
ELK Stack
- Centralised log search and analytics over Elasticsearchnot Splunk Enterprise
- Dashboards and visualisation of machine data in Kibananot Splunk Enterprise
- Self managing a search and observability cluster on your own hardwarenot 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 $15 per host per month and are billed annually rather than monthly
- Volume discounts are not published and require direct consultation with sales
ELK Stack
- The free Basic self managed subscription excludes machine learning, alerting, single sign on via SAML or OpenID Connect, LDAP and Active Directory authentication, field and document level security, searchable snapshots and cross cluster replication
- Cross cluster operations require the same subscription tier on every cluster involved
- The 99.95 percent monthly uptime SLA applies only to the Platinum and Enterprise subscription tiers
- Three deployment models are priced on three different bases: resource based for Cloud Hosted, usage based for Serverless and licence based on nodes and RAM for self managed
- Elastic Cloud Serverless does not yet support traffic filtering, cross project search or bring your own key
- The pricing page publishes no rate for any tier
Pricing, plan by plan
Splunk Enterprise
On request- Starter$undefined/month
- Log aggregation
- Real-time monitoring
- Advanced analytics
ELK Stack
Free- FreeFree
- Full-text search
- Data visualization
- Log aggregation
Which should you pick?
Choose Splunk Enterprise if
- You need real-time monitoring.
- You work on Web, Api.
- You also want advanced analytics.
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.
Questions people ask
- Is Splunk Enterprise or ELK Stack better?
- Neither clearly leads. Splunk Enterprise starts at On request and ELK Stack at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Splunk Enterprise or ELK Stack?
- ELK Stack has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Splunk Enterprise and Free for ELK Stack.
- Does Splunk Enterprise or ELK Stack run on more platforms?
- Both run on Web, Api, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
- Can I use ELK Stack for free?
- Yes. ELK Stack has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Splunk Enterprise starts at On request.
- 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 ELK Stack is typically brought in for.
- What can Splunk Enterprise do that ELK Stack cannot?
- Splunk Enterprise covers Real-time monitoring, Advanced analytics, Compliance. ELK Stack covers Full-text search, Data visualization, Time-series analytics. Both handle Log aggregation, API, Webhooks, REST.
Related pages
More on Splunk Enterprise
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