Log Management · pricing
CloudWatch pricing
CloudWatch publishes a single tier. Below is what it costs, what it covers, and how that compares with the log management tools listed alongside it.
- Entry price
- Free
- Model
- Usage-based
- Tiers
- 1
- Free tier
- Yes
CloudWatch plans, side by side
Every published tier in ascending order of price, with the number of features each one lists. An absence here means the record does not itemise it, not that the tier lacks it.
| Plan | Price | Features listed | Step up from the tier below |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | Free | 3 | Entry tier |
Where CloudWatch stops being free
Free, Free
- Metrics collection
- Log aggregation
- Dashboards
No paid tier on record
CloudWatch lists a free tier and no priced tier above it in the record we hold.
What the product covers
The full CloudWatch feature record, grouped as the catalogue groups it. This is the product as a whole; the record does not map every feature onto a specific tier.
Core
- Metrics collection
- Log aggregation
- Dashboards
- Alarms and notifications
Integrations
- API
- Webhooks
- REST
Platform
- Web support
- Api support
People bring CloudWatch in for metrics and log collection for aws workloads, alarming on thresholds across aws services, querying logs with logs insights, live tailing logs during an incident, distributed tracing alongside x-ray. If that is not the job you are buying for, the alternatives to CloudWatch are worth a look before you commit to a tier.
How that compares in Log Management
Too few log management tools in this directory publish a starting price to quote a meaningful median, so the table below is a like-for-like list rather than a ranking.
| Tool | Entry price | Model | Rated | Head to head |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CloudWatch (this page) | Free | usage-based | - | |
| Coralogix | Free, then $0.42/per GB (logs ingestion) | usage-based | - | vs CloudWatch |
| Better Stack | Free, then $25/month | freemium | - | vs CloudWatch |
| AppDynamics | Free | usage-based | - | vs CloudWatch |
| Azure Monitor | Free | usage-based | - | vs CloudWatch |
| Bugsnag | Free | usage-based | - | vs CloudWatch |
| Airbrake | Free | usage-based | - | vs CloudWatch |
Ratings are aggregated from third-party sources and imported with each catalogue entry, they are not reviews hosted on Softwr. How each figure is used is set out on the CloudWatch badges page.
Before you pay for CloudWatch
Three things this page cannot tell you, and all three change the bill. The record carries a price and a billing period but not the unit - per-seat and flat-rate pricing are indistinguishable in this data, so a five-person team may be looking at five times the figure above. It carries no annual rate, so any discount for paying yearly is not something this page can quote. And it carries no trial length.
What it can tell you is the shape of the ladder: a single tier at Free. Because there is a free tier, the cheapest way to answer the rest is to use it before paying anything.
CloudWatch runs on web, api, and is published by Amazon Web Services of United States. The full record is on the CloudWatch review, and the rest of the category is under best log management tools.
CloudWatch pricing questions
- How much does CloudWatch cost?
- CloudWatch publishes a single tier, Free, at Free.
- Does CloudWatch have a free plan?
- Yes. The Free tier costs nothing and covers metrics collection, log aggregation, dashboards.
- Which log management tools can I use without paying?
- 7 of the 7 log management tools listed alongside CloudWatch have a free tier: Coralogix, Better Stack, AppDynamics, Azure Monitor, Bugsnag.
- What am I actually paying for with CloudWatch?
- The record lists 9 features across 3 areas: core, integrations, platform. In practice it is brought in for metrics and log collection for aws workloads, alarming on thresholds across aws services, querying logs with logs insights.
- Does CloudWatch charge per user?
- The record carries a price and a billing period for each of its 1 tiers, but not the unit that price is charged in. Per-seat and flat-rate billing look identical in this data, so check the vendor's page before budgeting for a team.
- Are these CloudWatch prices current?
- They are what the catalogue entry holds, refreshed when the entry is. Vendors change pricing without notice and nobody at Softwr re-verifies each tier by hand, so treat this as a structured summary and the vendor's own pricing page as the authority.
- What should I compare CloudWatch against before paying?
- The closest log management tools in this directory are Coralogix, Better Stack, AppDynamics, Azure Monitor. Each has a side-by-side comparison with CloudWatch covering price, platforms and features.