Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

Graylog vs SolarWinds Kiwi Syslog Server comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 7, 2024

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
21
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
SolarWinds Kiwi Syslog Server
Ranking in Log Management
23rd
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
7
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Log Management category, the mindshare of Graylog is 6.5%, up from 5.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SolarWinds Kiwi Syslog Server is 1.6%, down from 2.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Log Management
 

Featured Reviews

Ivan Kokalovic - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
Muhammad Anas - PeerSpot reviewer
Shows login failures and server issues but search functions and filters could be improved
Kiwi Syslog shows login failures and server issues. I'm using version 9.8.1. It's deployed on-premises. There are four people in my organization who are using this solution. They're all infrastructure engineers The best thing about Kiwi Syslog is that it filters logs into different levels. It's…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The best feature of Graylog is the Elasticsearch integration. We can integrate and we can run filters, such as an event of interest, and those logs we can send to any SIEM tool or as an analytic. Additionally, there are clear and well-documented implementation instructions on their website to follow if needed."
"Real-time UDP/GELF logging and full text-based searching."
"It has data adapters and lookup tables that utilize HTTP calls to APIs."
"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."
"Graylog's search functionality, alerting functionality, user management, and dashboards are useful."
"The Graylog features that have proven to be most beneficial for our data analysis in particular are that we tend to use it as a big data store, so we have the correlation rules that, if something matches under certain conditions, it raises an alarm."
"The product is scalable. The solution is stable."
"We're using the Community edition, but I know that it has really good dashboarding and alerts."
"Simplicity is the most valuable feature."
"Overall, I rate SolarWinds Kiwi Syslog Server ten out of ten."
"The best thing about Kiwi Syslog is that it filters logs into different levels."
"The most valuable feature of SolarWinds Kiwi Syslog Server is its performance and management. Additionally, the solution integrates well."
"The most valuable feature of this solution is the alerting based on the security logs."
"I appreciate that with Kiwi Syslog, we can segregate the logs based on the display, such as using different colors and fonts, which helps greatly in identifying logs by their severity."
"I appreciate that with Kiwi Syslog, we can segregate the logs based on the display, such as using different colors and fonts, which helps greatly in identifying logs by their severity."
"The most valuable features of SolarWinds Kiwi Syslog Server include its ability to provide network mapping and deliver information to my customers about their networks through various methods."
 

Cons

"We ran into problems with Elasticsearch throwing a circuit-breaking exception due to field data size being too large. It turned out that the heap size directly impacted this size in a high-throughput environment, causing unexplained instability in Graylog. We were able to troubleshoot on the Elasticsearch size, but we should have been able to reference some minimum requirements for Graylog to know that our settings weren't sufficient."
"Graylog can improve the index rotation as it's quite a complex solution."
"The infrastructure cost is the main issue. I like the rest. If the infrastructure costs could be lower, it would be fantastic."
"Its scalability gets complicated when we have to update or edit multiple nodes."
"I would like to see a default dashboard widget that shows the topology of the clusters defined for the graylog install."
"Elasticsearch recommendations for tuning could be better. Graylog doesn't have direct support for running the system inside of Kubernetes, so it can be challenging to fill in the gaps and set up containers in a way that is both performant and stable."
"Graylog needs to improve their authentication. Also, the fact that Graylog displays logs from the top down is just ridiculous."
"I hope to see improvements in Graylog for more interactivity, user-friendliness, and creating alerts. The initial setup is complex."
"I would like to see better search functions and better filters in the next release."
"The Windows log forwarder is not functioning properly."
"Technical support could definitely be better."
"I would like to have email notifications for emergency logs."
"There is a need for an on-premises solution, which could lead to easier sales in larger markets."
"I would like to see a more user-friendly and customizable dashboard."
"SolarWinds pricing is perceived as very high in the market, which can be a barrier for many customers."
"SolarWinds Kiwi Syslog Server could improve by reducing the price."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We're using the Community edition."
"Having paid official support is wise for projects."
"​You get a lot out-of-the-box with the non-enterprise version, so give it a try first."
"It's open source and free. They have a paid version, but we never looked into that because we never needed the features of the paid version."
"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."
"If you want something that works and do not have the money for Splunk or QRadar, take Graylog.​​"
"It's an open-source solution that can be used free of charge."
"I use the free version of Graylog."
"We subscribe and pay directly on the website."
"The price of SolarWinds Kiwi Syslog Server could improve."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Log Management solutions are best for your needs.
860,592 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
17%
Comms Service Provider
10%
University
7%
Educational Organization
7%
Government
16%
Computer Software Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Manufacturing Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Graylog?
The product is scalable. The solution is stable.
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...
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 ...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SolarWinds Kiwi Syslog Server?
SolarWinds pricing is perceived as very high in the market, which can be a barrier for many customers.
What needs improvement with SolarWinds Kiwi Syslog Server?
The Windows log forwarder is not functioning properly. This is a significant concern, as it led to losing a deal due to the inability to provide Windows logs effectively. It should be more user-fri...
What is your primary use case for SolarWinds Kiwi Syslog Server?
Our primary use case for Kiwi Syslog is for gathering logs necessary for auditing purposes.
 

Also Known As

Graylog2
Kiwi Syslog Server
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Blue Cross Blue Shield, eBay, Cisco, LinkedIn, SAP, King.com, Twilio, Deutsche Presse-Agentur
Holy Cross Energy, West Texas A&M University, Medium Enterprise Industrial Manufacturing Company
Find out what your peers are saying about Graylog vs. SolarWinds Kiwi Syslog Server and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
860,592 professionals have used our research since 2012.