Log Management · head to head
Stackdriver vs Elasticsearch Service
Stackdriver
Log Management
Google Cloud Operations - Monitoring and Logging
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
Elasticsearch Service
Log Management
Managed Elasticsearch Cloud 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; Elasticsearch Service the 99.95 percent monthly uptime SLA applies only to the Platinum and Enterprise subscription tiers
- They diverge on capability: Stackdriver covers Log management, Elasticsearch Service covers Full-text search.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Stackdriver and Elasticsearch Service actually diverge.
| Attribute | Stackdriver | Elasticsearch Service |
|---|---|---|
| Founded | 2006 | 2011 |
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
- Metrics collection
- Real-time monitoring
- Error reporting
Only in Elasticsearch Service
- Full-text search
- Scalability
- High availability
- Security
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 Elasticsearch Service
- Alerting and uptime checks on cloud servicesnot Elasticsearch Service
- Running managed Prometheus-compatible monitoring at scalenot Elasticsearch Service
Elasticsearch Service
- Managed Elasticsearch without running the clusternot Stackdriver
- Log and observability data storage and searchnot Stackdriver
- Full-text search behind an applicationnot Stackdriver
- Deployments needing a specific cloud region across AWS, Azure or GCPnot 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
Elasticsearch Service
- The 99.95 percent monthly uptime SLA applies only to the Platinum and Enterprise subscription tiers
- Serverless does not yet support traffic filtering, cross-project search or bring-your-own-key encryption
- Serverless runs on AWS, GCP and Azure only, against 60 regions for the hosted option
- Per-unit prices are not published; hosted is resource-based and serverless usage-based
Pricing, plan by plan
Stackdriver
Free- FreeFree
- Log management
- Metrics collection
- Real-time monitoring
Elasticsearch Service
Free- FreeFree
- Full-text search
- Scalability
- High availability
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 Elasticsearch Service if
- You need full-text search.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, Api.
- You also want scalability.
Questions people ask
- Is Stackdriver or Elasticsearch Service better?
- Neither clearly leads. Stackdriver starts at Free and Elasticsearch Service at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Stackdriver or Elasticsearch Service?
- Stackdriver starts at Free and Elasticsearch Service at Free.
- Does Stackdriver or Elasticsearch Service 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 Elasticsearch Service is typically brought in for.
- What can Stackdriver do that Elasticsearch Service cannot?
- Stackdriver covers Log management, Metrics collection, Real-time monitoring, Error reporting. Elasticsearch Service covers Full-text search, Scalability, High availability, Security. Both handle API, Webhooks, REST, Web support.