Logstash vs syslog-ng comparison

Elastic and One Identity are both solutions in the Log Management category. Elastic is ranked #24 with an average rating of 9.0, while One Identity is ranked #17 with an average rating of 10.0. Elastic holds a 0.7% mindshare in Log Management, compared to One Identity’s 2.4% mindshare. Additionally, 75% of Elastic users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of One Identity users who would recommend it.

Logstash

Read 5 Logstash reviews

836 Views
836 Comparison Views

75% willing to recommend

syslog-ng

Read 7 syslog-ng reviews

3,933 Views
3,933 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Logstash

syslog-ng

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Logstash and syslog-ng 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 Logstash vs. syslog-ng Report (Updated: September 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Logstash vs. syslog-ng

September 2025

Download the complete report

Helped 868,759 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

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

syslog-ng

Ranking in Log Management

17th

Average Rating

9.0

Reviews Sentiment

3.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Log Management category, the mindshare of Logstash is 0.7%, up from 0.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of syslog-ng is 2.4%, down from 2.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Log Management Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
syslog-ng	2.4%
Logstash	0.7%
Other	96.9%

Log Management

Featured Reviews

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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RyanVargas

Senior Director and Senior Systems Engineer (Dual Role), IT Infrastructure and Security at a financial services firm with 51-200 employees

It's a user-friendly open-source solution that can replace or augment a commercial product in some cases

I rate syslog-ng 10 out of 10. It's free and easy to use. It has built-in tools that help us index the various logs sent to it. It's a solid log product. If you're looking for a SIEM solution, syslog-ng will work as a stopgap measure at beginning of the project. It can also work as an injector for a true SIEM solution. You can send all the logs to syslog-ng and forward all the data to the SIEM solution after you've cleaned up the data and got the pertinent information. It's a good front end for a commercial SIEM solution, which becomes more expensive as you load more data into it. I would highly recommend syslog-ng for that use case. However, if you lack the expertise, you might need to go with a cloud-based SIEM instead. You need some in-house expertise or an outside consultant to manage it and set it up.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"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."

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

"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."

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

"Syslog-ng has built-in features that we can use to create alerts for a SIEM solution. It isn't a true SIEM solution, but it's sufficient for the time being."

"Syslog-ng has a separate config file in addition to the core configuration."

"The ability to extract and store the logs is the most valuable feature of syslog-ng."

"We chose syslog-ng because it is easy to install, easy to maintain, easy to update, and due to the fact that all data arrive in raw format, we can manipulate it as we want."

"Syslog-ng provides easy access to all my logs. It helps me show managers and other clients precisely where an incident occurred. I also like it because you can integrate syslog-ng with multiple solutions to allow real-time monitoring."

"For us, the most valuable feature is the use of compound search for searching logs at a specific time, by a specific user, or specific behavior."

Cons

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

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

"Almost all the research can be very bad. 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."

"The product needs to improve its compatibility."

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

"In syslog-ng, I think a GUI would be beneficial. I am unsure if the premium module has a GUI to administer it."

"There is always the potential for additional integration and protocol extensions."

"The filtering has room for improvement."

"Syslog-ng has built-in features that we can use to create alerts for a SIEM solution. It isn't a true SIEM solution, but it's sufficient for the time being."

"It's hard to find people who know how to use syslog-ng. I often find problems with configurations, and solutions aren't integrated correctly with syslog-ng. For example, there might be data with extra decimals, or the collector agents are incorrectly named. It isn't a problem with the solution; it's a lack of professionals."

"There is room for improvement in terms of observability."

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available

"Syslog-ng is open-source."

"Syslog-ng is a free open-source solution."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

17%

Computer Software Company

12%

Government

University

Government

13%

Computer Software Company

12%

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	3
Midsize Enterprise	2
Large Enterprise	3

Questions from the Community

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

What needs improvement with syslog-ng?

We currently do not use that feature. We currently have just an open-source release, not a premium release. My boss has indicated that he wants to buy a premium syslog-ng version next month. I thin...

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What is your primary use case for syslog-ng?

In Italy, we have to be compliant with the Garante for privacy. We have to log every login, logout, or login failure made by a system administrator. We store all syslog data of the infrastructure. ...

See all answers

What advice do you have for others considering syslog-ng?

When it comes to parsing, I can parse both structured and unstructured data, though our data are only structured. Currently, we collect all data we receive as raw data. Each file is stored for each...

See all answers

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Graylog Enterprise vs Logstash

Compared 12% of the time

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SolarWinds Kiwi Syslog Server vs syslog-ng

Compared 22% of the time

Grafana Loki vs syslog-ng

Compared 9% of the time

Cribl vs syslog-ng

Compared 6% of the time

Fortinet FortiAnalyzer vs syslog-ng

Compared 3% of the time

More syslog-ng Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Log Management

August 2025

Download Logstash product report

Buyer's Guide

syslog-ng

September 2025

Download syslog-ng product report

Overview

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

Optimizing SIEM
syslog-ng is the log management solution that improves the performance of your SIEM solution by reducing the amount and improving the quality of data feeding your SIEM.

Rapid search and troubleshooting
With syslog-ng Store Box, you can find the answer. Search billions of logs in seconds using full text queries with Boolean operators to pinpoint critical logs.

Meeting compliance requirements
syslog-ng Store Box provides secure, tamper-proof storage and custom reporting to demonstrate compliance.

Big data ingestion
syslog-ng can deliver data from a wide variety of sources to Hadoop, Elasticsearch, MongoDB, and Kafka as well as many others.

Universal log collection and routing
syslog-ng flexibly routes log data from X sources to Y destinations. Instead of deploying multiple agents on hosts, organizations can unify their log data collection and management.

Secure data archive
syslog-ng Store Box provides automated archiving, tamper-proof encrypted storage, granular access controls to protect log data. The largest appliance can store up to 10TB of raw logs.

One Identity

Sample Customers

Information Not Available

Tecnocom, University of Victoria, University of Exeter, Datapath

Buyer's Guide

Logstash vs. syslog-ng

September 2025

Free Report: Logstash vs. syslog-ng

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