Software · head to head
Stackdriver vs Elastic APM
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; Elastic APM pricing is not published on the product page; cost follows the underlying Elastic deployment rather than being quoted per host or per service
- They diverge on capability: Stackdriver covers Log management, Elastic APM covers Performance monitoring.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Stackdriver and Elastic APM actually diverge.
| Attribute | Stackdriver | Elastic APM |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | usage-based | open-source |
| Founded | 2006 | 2011 |
Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), 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 Stackdriver
- Log management
- Metrics collection
- Real-time monitoring
- Error reporting
Only in Elastic APM
- Performance monitoring
- Error tracking
- Transaction tracing
- Custom metrics
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.
Stackdriver
- Centralised logging, metrics and traces for workloads running on Google Cloudnot Elastic APM
- Alerting and uptime checks on cloud servicesnot Elastic APM
- Running managed Prometheus-compatible monitoring at scalenot Elastic APM
Elastic APM
- Distributed tracing across microservicesnot Stackdriver
- Auto-instrumenting Java, .NET, Python, Go, Node.js, Ruby, PHP and C++ servicesnot Stackdriver
- OpenTelemetry-native collection through the Elastic distributionsnot Stackdriver
- Correlating latency and errors with machine learningnot Stackdriver
- Monitoring LLM calls alongside application tracesnot 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
Elastic APM
- Pricing is not published on the product page; cost follows the underlying Elastic deployment rather than being quoted per host or per service
- Self-managed deployment means running and scaling Elasticsearch yourself
- Serverless does not carry every capability the hosted option does
Pricing, plan by plan
Stackdriver
Free- FreeFree
- Log management
- Metrics collection
- Real-time monitoring
Elastic APM
Free- FreeFree
- Performance monitoring
- Error tracking
- Transaction tracing
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 APM if
- You need performance monitoring.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, Api.
- You also want error tracking.
Questions people ask
- Is Stackdriver or Elastic APM better?
- Neither clearly leads. Stackdriver starts at Free and Elastic APM at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Stackdriver or Elastic APM?
- Stackdriver starts at Free and Elastic APM at Free.
- Does Stackdriver or Elastic APM 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 Elastic APM is typically brought in for.
- What can Stackdriver do that Elastic APM cannot?
- Stackdriver covers Log management, Metrics collection, Real-time monitoring, Error reporting. Elastic APM covers Performance monitoring, Error tracking, Transaction tracing, Custom metrics. Both handle API, Webhooks, REST, Web support.