Log Management · head to head
Stackdriver vs Elastic
Stackdriver
Log Management
Google Cloud Operations - Monitoring and Logging
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Only Stackdriver has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
- Each has a real cost: Stackdriver stackdriver is now branded Google Cloud Observability and cloud.google.com/stackdriver redirects to the Observability product page; Elastic the 99.95% monthly uptime SLA is only offered on the Platinum and Enterprise subscription tiers of Hosted deployments, not on lower tiers, per elastic.co, August 2026
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Stackdriver and Elastic actually diverge.
| Attribute | Stackdriver | Elastic |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | Free | On request |
| Pricing model | usage-based | Unknown |
| Free tier | Yes | No |
| Platforms | Web, Api | Web |
| Founded | 2006 | Unknown |
Identical on both: 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
- Metrics collection
- Real-time monitoring
- Error reporting
- API
- Webhooks
- REST
- Web support
Only in Elastic
Nothing recorded that Stackdriver does not also cover.
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 Elastic
- Alerting and uptime checks on cloud servicesnot Elastic
- Running managed Prometheus-compatible monitoring at scalenot Elastic
Elastic
No use cases recorded yet. See the Elastic review.
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
Elastic
- The 99.95% monthly uptime SLA is only offered on the Platinum and Enterprise subscription tiers of Hosted deployments, not on lower tiers, per elastic.co, August 2026
Pricing, plan by plan
Stackdriver
Free- FreeFree
- Log management
- Metrics collection
- Real-time monitoring
Elastic
On requestNo published plan breakdown. See the Elastic review.
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 metrics collection.
Choose Elastic if
Nothing in the data separates Elastic from Stackdriver on the points above - pick on price and on how each one feels to use.
Questions people ask
- Is Stackdriver or Elastic better?
- Neither clearly leads. Stackdriver starts at Free and Elastic at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Stackdriver or Elastic?
- Stackdriver has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Stackdriver and On request for Elastic.
- Does Stackdriver or Elastic run on more platforms?
- Stackdriver runs on Web, Api. Elastic runs on Web.
- Can I use Stackdriver for free?
- Yes. Stackdriver has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Elastic starts at On request.
- 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 Elastic is typically brought in for.
- What can Stackdriver do that Elastic cannot?
- Stackdriver covers Log management, Metrics collection, Real-time monitoring, Error reporting.