Log Management · head to head
Stackdriver vs Azure Monitor
Stackdriver
Log Management
Google Cloud Operations - Monitoring and Logging
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
Azure Monitor
Log Management
Azure's Monitoring and Diagnostics Service
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Stackdriver stackdriver is now branded Google Cloud Observability and cloud.google.com/stackdriver redirects to the Observability product page; Azure Monitor billed per GB ingested across three separate log plans, Auxiliary, Basic and Analytics, so the plan chosen changes the rate as much as the volume does
- They diverge on capability: Stackdriver covers Log management, Azure Monitor covers Log collection.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Stackdriver and Azure Monitor actually diverge.
| Attribute | Stackdriver | Azure Monitor |
|---|---|---|
| Founded | 2006 | 2010 |
Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (usage-based), free tier (Yes), platforms (Web, Api), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Log Management).
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 Stackdriver
- Log management
- Real-time monitoring
- Error reporting
Only in Azure Monitor
- Log collection
- Alerts and notifications
- Custom dashboards
Both cover
- Metrics collection
- API
- Webhooks
- REST
- Web support
- Api support
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Stackdriver
- Centralised logging, metrics and traces for workloads running on Google Cloudnot Azure Monitor
- Alerting and uptime checks on cloud servicesnot Azure Monitor
- Running managed Prometheus-compatible monitoring at scalenot Azure Monitor
Azure Monitor
- Collecting logs and metrics from Azure resourcesnot Stackdriver
- Alerting on metric thresholds and log queriesnot Stackdriver
- Application performance monitoring through Application Insightsnot Stackdriver
- Long-term log retention for compliancenot Stackdriver
- Querying operational data with KQLnot Stackdriver
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
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
Azure Monitor
- Billed per GB ingested across three separate log plans, Auxiliary, Basic and Analytics, so the plan chosen changes the rate as much as the volume does
- Only the first 5 GB a month of Analytics logs is free per billing account
- Retention beyond the base period is charged per GB per month, up to 2 years interactive and 12 years long term
- Log queries and search jobs are billed per GB scanned, so investigating an incident costs money
- Alert rules are billed per time series for metrics and by execution frequency for logs
- The pricing page shows placeholders rather than rates until a region and currency are chosen
Pricing, plan by plan
Stackdriver
Free- FreeFree
- Log management
- Metrics collection
- Real-time monitoring
Azure Monitor
Free- FreeFree
- Log collection
- Metrics collection
- Alerts and notifications
Which should you pick?
Choose Stackdriver if
- You need log management.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, Api.
- You also want real-time monitoring.
Choose Azure Monitor if
- You need log collection.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, Api.
- You also want alerts and notifications.
Questions people ask
- Is Stackdriver or Azure Monitor better?
- Neither clearly leads. Stackdriver starts at Free and Azure Monitor at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Stackdriver or Azure Monitor?
- Stackdriver starts at Free and Azure Monitor at Free.
- Does Stackdriver or Azure Monitor run on more platforms?
- Both run on Web, Api, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
- Can I use Stackdriver for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is Stackdriver best used for?
- Stackdriver is most often used for centralised logging, metrics and traces for workloads running on google cloud, alerting and uptime checks on cloud services, running managed prometheus-compatible monitoring at scale. Of those, centralised logging, metrics and traces for workloads running on google cloud and alerting and uptime checks on cloud services are not what Azure Monitor is typically brought in for.
- What can Stackdriver do that Azure Monitor cannot?
- Stackdriver covers Log management, Real-time monitoring, Error reporting. Azure Monitor covers Log collection, Alerts and notifications, Custom dashboards. Both handle Metrics collection, API, Webhooks, REST.