Graylog vs Logstash comparison

Graylog and Elastic are both solutions in the Log Management category. Graylog is ranked #15 with an average rating of 7.0, while Elastic is ranked #24 with an average rating of 9.0. Graylog holds a 6.4% mindshare in Log Management, compared to Elastic’s 0.6% mindshare. Additionally, 95% of Graylog users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 75% of Elastic users who would recommend it.

Graylog

Read 21 Graylog reviews

8,998 Views
8,998 Comparison Views

95% willing to recommend

Logstash

Read 5 Logstash reviews

810 Views
810 Comparison Views

75% willing to recommend

Graylog

Logstash

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Graylog and Logstash based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out in this report how the two Log Management solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI.

To learn more, read our detailed Graylog vs. Logstash Report (Updated: July 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Graylog vs. Logstash

July 2025

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Helped 865,295 peers since 2012

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Categories and Ranking

Graylog

Ranking in Log Management

15th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Logstash

Ranking in Log Management

24th

Average Rating

9.0

Reviews Sentiment

5.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Log Management category, the mindshare of Graylog is 6.4%, up from 6.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Logstash is 0.6%, up from 0.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Log Management

Featured Reviews

Ivan Kokalovic

DevOps Engineer at Proton Technologies

Facilitates backend service monitoring with efficient log retrieval and API flexibility

Graylog is valuable because it bridges technical knowledge to non-technical teams, presenting complex backend processes in a simple timeline. It boosts the knowledge of sales and customer support teams by allowing them to see the backend operations without needing to read the code. Its API is flexible for visualization, and its powerful search engine efficiently handles large volumes of log data. Moreover, its stability, fast search capabilities, and compatibility with languages like ANSI SQL enhance its utility in IT infrastructure.

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PRANIL CHANDARKAR

Associate Consultant at a computer software company with 1,001-5,000 employees

Open-source accessibility and ease of implementation empower adaptable log management

As both a customer and an integrator, I think the best features in Logstash are that people prefer it because it is open to all, as it is an open-source version. The functionality of Logstash is quite easy to implement. I can say that the plugin ecosystem of Logstash is great. I have used some plugins for shell script monitoring and for SQL monitoring, and these are all working well with Logstash. The real-time processing capabilities of Logstash are also pretty fine with the tool. When I use the community edition, I have to do many things manually. If I am using enterprise Elastic, then that is taken care of by the Elastic native machine learning.

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Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"Graylog is very handy."

"It is used as a log manager/SIEM. It provides visibility into the infrastructure and security related events."

"Everything stands out as valuable, including the fact that I can quantify and qualify the logs, create pipelines and process the logs in any way I like, and create charts or data maps."

"The product is scalable. The solution is stable."

"I like the correlation and the alerting."

"The solution's most valuable feature is its new interface."

"Real-time UDP/GELF logging and full text-based searching."

"We're using the Community edition, but I know that it has really good dashboarding and alerts."

More Graylog pros

"We have three or four Logstash servers for high availability."

"The transformation means we ship the logs in the way that we want them to be presented in Kibana, which is the main function we use Logstash for."

"Everything aligns well with improving our organization."

"Logstash has numerous plugins for inputs and outputs, allowing it to work well in environments that do not contain other Elastic components."

"I can collect logs from various data sources, including hardware."

Cons

"Since container orchestration systems are popular and Graylog fits the niche well, perhaps they could officially support running in docker containers on Kubernetes as a StatefulSet as a use case. That way, the declarative nature of Kubernetes config files would document their best case deployment scenario-"

"I would like to see a default dashboard widget that shows the topology of the clusters defined for the graylog install."

"Its scalability gets complicated when we have to update or edit multiple nodes."

"With technical support, you are on your own without an enterprise license."

"Over six months, I had two similar issues where searches were performed on field "messages". It exhausted all the memory of the ES node causing an ES crash and a Graylog halt."

"The infrastructure cost is the main issue. I like the rest. If the infrastructure costs could be lower, it would be fantastic."

"Graylog can improve the index rotation as it's quite a complex solution."

"The biggest problem is the collector application, as we wanted to avoid using Graylog Collector Sidecar due to its architecture."

More Graylog cons

"There can be a UI to implement with Logstash. Currently, I have to work with config files and everything."

"Almost all the research can be very bad. We still have a problem with importing the log system."

"The product needs to improve its compatibility."

"We still have a problem with importing the log system."

"Elastic does not provide proper support for Logstash worldwide, and I rate their technical support as one out of ten."

"An enhancement we could implement is the ability to cluster Logstash to exist in more than one node."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We're using the Community edition."

"Consider Enterprise support if you have atypical needs or setup requirements."

"I am using a community edition. I have not looked at the enterprise offering from Graylog."

"Having paid official support is wise for projects."

"I use the free version of Graylog."

"Graylog is a free open-source solution. The free version has a capacity limitation of 2 GB daily, if you want to go above this you have to purchase a license."

"It's an open-source solution that can be used free of charge."

"If you want something that works and do not have the money for Splunk or QRadar, take Graylog."

More Graylog pricing and cost advice

Information not available

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

17%

Comms Service Provider

11%

Government

University

Financial Services Firm

16%

Computer Software Company

12%

Government

University

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Graylog?

The product is scalable. The solution is stable.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Graylog?

I am not familiar with the pricing details of Graylog, as I was not responsible for that aspect. It was determined that we didn't need an enterprise plan, which is more suited for clients with less...

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What needs improvement with Graylog?

An improvement I would suggest is in Graylog's user interface, such as allowing for font size adjustments. A potential enhancement could be the integration with Ollama to run large language models ...

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What do you like most about Logstash?

I can collect logs from various data sources, including hardware.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Logstash?

Customization can be automated with Logstash, but it is at the developer's disposal. The developer has to do it, not the tool as such. There is scope for optimization, but that is all outside the t...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Logstash?

The purposes for which I am using Logstash largely include log aggregation and application monitoring.

See all answers

Comparisons

Grafana Loki vs Graylog

Compared 33% of the time

Wazuh vs Graylog

Compared 25% of the time

syslog-ng vs Graylog

Compared 11% of the time

Security Onion vs Graylog

Compared 6% of the time

Fortinet FortiAnalyzer vs Graylog

Compared 3% of the time

More Graylog Competitors

Cribl vs Logstash

Compared 42% of the time

syslog-ng vs Logstash

Compared 17% of the time

Grafana Loki vs Logstash

Compared 17% of the time

Wazuh vs Logstash

Compared 13% of the time

More Logstash Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Graylog

August 2025

Download Graylog product report

Buyer's Guide

Log Management

July 2025

Download Logstash product report

Also Known As

Graylog2

No data available

Overview

Graylog is purpose-built to deliver the best log collection, storage, enrichment, and analysis. Graylog is:

Considerably faster analysis speeds.
More robust and easier-to-use analysis platform.
Simpler administration and infrastructure management.
Lower cost than alternatives.
Full-scale customer service.
No expensive training or tool experts required.

Graylog

Logstash is a versatile data processing pipeline that ingests data from multiple sources, transforms it, and sends it to preferred destinations, enabling seamless data utilization across systems.

Logstash provides an efficient and flexible way to manage data flow, supporting diverse input sources and offering a rich set of plugins. Its real-time processing capability and ease of integration with Elasticsearch make it advantageous for businesses looking to enhance data analytics. While valuable, Logstash can benefit from improvements like scalability enhancements and more robust error-handling mechanisms.

What are the key features of Logstash?

Input Plugin Support: Connects to a wide range of data sources for seamless ingestion.
Filter Plugin: Processes and enriches logs before output.
Output Plugin Flexibility: Delivers data to various endpoints efficiently.
Real-Time Pipeline: Processes data in real-time for immediate insights.

What benefits does Logstash provide?

Enhanced Data Processing: Streamlines data ingestion and transformation workflows.
Improved Analytics: Facilitates deeper insights through seamless Elasticsearch integration.
Cost Efficiency: Reduces total expenses by optimizing data handling processes.
Scalability: Adapts to diverse data volumes and use cases.

Industries like finance and e-commerce leverage Logstash for managing extensive log data and improving decision-making by feeding enriched data into analytics platforms. Its ability to handle diverse formats and integrate with Elastic Stack has proven crucial in implementing comprehensive data strategies.

Elastic

Sample Customers

Blue Cross Blue Shield, eBay, Cisco, LinkedIn, SAP, King.com, Twilio, Deutsche Presse-Agentur

Information Not Available

Buyer's Guide

Graylog vs. Logstash

July 2025

Free Report: Graylog vs. Logstash

Find out what your peers are saying about Graylog vs. Logstash and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.

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