Log Management · head to head
Stackdriver vs CloudWatch
Stackdriver
Log Management
Google Cloud Operations - Monitoring and Logging
- 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; CloudWatch the free tier covers 5 GB of log ingestion and 10 custom metrics a month, after which log ingestion is $0.50 per GB from 5 to 30 GB
- They diverge on capability: Stackdriver covers Log management, CloudWatch covers Log aggregation.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Stackdriver and CloudWatch actually diverge.
| Attribute | Stackdriver | CloudWatch |
|---|
Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (usage-based), free tier (Yes), platforms (Web, Api), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Log Management), founded (2006).
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 CloudWatch
- Log aggregation
- Dashboards
- Alarms and notifications
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 CloudWatch
- Alerting and uptime checks on cloud servicesnot CloudWatch
- Running managed Prometheus-compatible monitoring at scalenot CloudWatch
CloudWatch
- Metrics and log collection for AWS workloadsnot Stackdriver
- Alarming on thresholds across AWS servicesnot Stackdriver
- Querying logs with Logs Insightsnot Stackdriver
- Live tailing logs during an incidentnot Stackdriver
- Distributed tracing alongside X-Raynot 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
CloudWatch
- The free tier covers 5 GB of log ingestion and 10 custom metrics a month, after which log ingestion is $0.50 per GB from 5 to 30 GB
- Custom metrics are $0.30 each for the first 10,000, so instrumenting broadly gets expensive before volume discounts apply
- Each custom dashboard beyond the free three is $3 a month
- Alarms are billed at $0.10 per alarm metric a month, with high-resolution alarms costing more
- Log storage beyond the free 5 GB is $0.03 per GB per month on top of the ingestion charge
Pricing, plan by plan
Stackdriver
Free- FreeFree
- Log management
- Metrics collection
- Real-time monitoring
CloudWatch
Free- FreeFree
- Metrics collection
- Log aggregation
- Dashboards
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 CloudWatch if
- You need log aggregation.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, Api.
- You also want dashboards.
Questions people ask
- Is Stackdriver or CloudWatch better?
- Neither clearly leads. Stackdriver starts at Free and CloudWatch at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Stackdriver or CloudWatch?
- Stackdriver starts at Free and CloudWatch at Free.
- Does Stackdriver or CloudWatch 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 CloudWatch is typically brought in for.
- What can Stackdriver do that CloudWatch cannot?
- Stackdriver covers Log management, Real-time monitoring, Error reporting. CloudWatch covers Log aggregation, Dashboards, Alarms and notifications. Both handle Metrics collection, API, Webhooks, REST.