# Elastic (ELK Stack) vs Fluent Bit

**Leader by Vioscale score:** Elastic (ELK Stack)

| Attribute | Elastic (ELK Stack) | Fluent Bit |
|---|---|---|
| **Vioscale score** | 68.4 (68% (medium)) | 52.7 (42% (low)) |
| activity.commits_last_30d | 100 | 100 |
| adoption.dependent_repos | 18,551 | 0 |
| adoption.github_stars | 77,862 | 8,062 |
| deployment.options | `{"cloud":true,"hybrid":true,"self_hosted":true}` | `{"cloud":true,"hybrid":true,"on_prem":true,"self_hosted":true}` |
| description.long | A cloud-based observability and search platform that ingests logs from multiple sources, automatically structures them with AI, and enables full-text search, alerting, dashboards, and machine learning analysis on unstructured data. | Collects and routes telemetry data from distributed systems with high efficiency and built-in support for the OpenTelemetry standard. |
| features.capabilities | `{"hosting":"both","alerting":true,"log_role":"platform","live_tail":true,"dashboards":true,"query_language":"ES|QL (with native PromQL support)","full_text_search":true,"retention_tiering":true,"structured_parsing":true,"object_store_backed":false}` | `{"hosting":"both","log_role":"shipper","otel_support":"native","structured_parsing":true}` |
| integrations.count | 35 | 100 |
| integrations.list | `[{"name":"OpenAI"},{"name":"Anthropic"},{"name":"Jina AI"},{"name":"Amazon Bedrock"},{"name":"Google Vertex AI"},{"name":"Microsoft Azure AI"},{"name":"Mistral"},{"name":"Cohere"},{"name":"Hugging Face"},{"name":"NVIDIA"},{"name":"IBM watsonx"},{"name":"LlamaIndex"},{"name":"LangChain"},{"name":"Vectorize.io"},{"name":"Slack"},{"name":"Jira"},{"name":"PagerDuty"},{"name":"ServiceNow"},{"name":"Microsoft Teams"},{"name":"xMatters"},{"name":"IBM Resilient"},{"name":"Filebeat"},{"name":"Metricbeat"},{"name":"Heartbeat"},{"name":"Elastic Agent"},{"name":"Logstash"},{"name":"Osquery"},{"name":"AWS S3"},{"name":"Red Hat"},{"name":"Unstructured.io"},{"name":"Aryn"}]` | `[{"name":"AWS S3"},{"name":"Google Cloud Storage"},{"name":"Kubernetes"},{"name":"OpenTelemetry"},{"name":"Syslog"},{"name":"Prometheus"},{"name":"Windows Event Log"},{"name":"Podman"},{"name":"NVIDIA GPU"},{"name":"HTTP"},{"name":"Google Chronicle"},{"name":"Fluent Forward"}]` |
| language.primary | Java | C |
| license.spdx | - | Apache-2.0 |
| market.availability | `{"hqCountry":"US","primaryMarkets":["US","GB"],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` | - |
| platform.support | `{"cli":true,"web":true}` | `{"cli":true,"mac":true,"linux":true,"windows":true}` |
| pricing | `{"type":"subscription","plans":[{"free":false,"name":"Standard","summary":"From $99/month. Free 14-day trial.","features":["Distributed Elasticsearch Platform on AWS, Azure, GCP","Elasticsearch Query Language (ES|QL)","AutoOps monitoring","Hundreds of out-of-the-box integrations","Discover, dashboards, alerting","Security: detection engine, centralized agent management","Observability: APM, logging, metrics apps","Synthetic monitoring","Limited web support (2 contacts, 3-business day response)"],"commitment":"monthly","components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":99,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}],"description":"Foundation plan with Elasticsearch datastore, integrations, monitoring, security basics, and observability.","contactSales":false},{"free":false,"name":"Gold","summary":"From $114/month. Includes reporting and third-party integrations.","features":["Everything in Standard","Reporting","Third-party alerting actions","Watcher","Enterprise Search","Advanced workflows","Base support (business hours, phone/web, 6 contacts)"],"commitment":"monthly","components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":114,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}],"description":"Standard plan plus reporting, advanced alerting, third-party actions, enterprise search, and business hours support.","contactSales":false},{"free":false,"name":"Platinum","summary":"From $131/month. ML and advanced security included.","features":["Everything in Gold","Advanced security features","Machine learning: anomaly detection, supervised learning","Cross-cluster replication","Semantic and vector search with ML models (ELSER, e5)","AI-assisted pipelines with Streams","Log categorization, service maps","Service Level Objectives","24/7/365 support (1-hour urgent response, 8 contacts)","99.95% monthly uptime SLA"],"commitment":"monthly","components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":131,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}],"description":"Gold plan plus advanced security, machine learning, cross-cluster replication, and 24/7 support with 1-hour urgent response.","contactSales":false},{"free":false,"name":"Enterprise","summary":"From $184/month. Full AI suite and advanced automation.","features":["Everything in Platinum","Searchable snapshots in cold/frozen tiers","Elastic Maps Server","Cross-cluster search and ES|QL Data Federation","GPU inference with Elastic Inference Service","Elastic Agent Builder powered by LLM","AI-assisted dashboard creation","Elastic Workflows (automation)","SAML SSO","Inference Service management","Hybrid search and RAG","Semantic reranking","Attack Discovery (agentic investigation)","Premium support (30-minute urgent response, 8 contacts)","99.95% monthly uptime SLA"],"commitment":"monthly","components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":184,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}],"description":"Platinum plan plus advanced AI features, searchable snapshots, GPU inference, workflow automation, SAML SSO, and premium 30-minute support.","contactSales":false}],"addOns":[{"name":"Synthetic Monitoring","components":[{"per":{"qty":1,"unit":"test_run"},"kind":"metered","amount":0.0123,"currency":"USD"},{"kind":"fixed","amount":28,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}]}],"summary":"From $99/month. Subscription model with free 14-day trial. Usage-based pricing for cloud resources (120 GB storage / 2 zones baseline).","currency":"USD","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://www.elastic.co/pricing/cloud-hosted","retrievedAt":"2026-08-14T11:07:35.066Z","freeTrialDays":14,"startingPrice":{"amount":99,"period":"month","currency":"USD"},"billingPeriods":["month"]}` | `{"type":"open_source","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://fluentbit.io/","retrievedAt":"2026-08-14T11:06:42.544Z"}` |
| pricing.free_tier | yes | yes |
| pricing.model | commercial | commercial |
| pricing.price_level | high | free |
| pricing.transparent | yes | - |
| release.cadence_days | - | 8 |
| release.history | `[{"url":"https://github.com/elastic/elasticsearch/releases/tag/v9.5.2","date":"2026-08-20T16:44:04Z","type":"stable","version":"v9.5.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/elastic/elasticsearch/releases/tag/v9.5.1","date":"2026-08-11T17:58:01Z","type":"stable","version":"v9.5.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/elastic/elasticsearch/releases/tag/v9.4.5","date":"2026-08-11T17:57:54Z","type":"stable","version":"v9.4.5"},{"url":"https://github.com/elastic/elasticsearch/releases/tag/v8.19.20","date":"2026-08-11T18:24:43Z","type":"stable","version":"v8.19.20"},{"url":"https://github.com/elastic/elasticsearch/releases/tag/v9.5.0","date":"2026-08-04T11:46:37Z","type":"stable","version":"v9.5.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/elastic/elasticsearch/releases/tag/v9.4.4","date":"2026-07-21T12:56:20Z","type":"stable","version":"v9.4.4"},{"url":"https://github.com/elastic/elasticsearch/releases/tag/v9.3.8","date":"2026-07-21T12:56:46Z","type":"stable","version":"v9.3.8"},{"url":"https://github.com/elastic/elasticsearch/releases/tag/v8.19.19","date":"2026-07-21T13:28:17Z","type":"stable","version":"v8.19.19"},{"url":"https://github.com/elastic/elasticsearch/releases/tag/v8.19.18","date":"2026-06-30T16:43:41Z","type":"stable","version":"v8.19.18"},{"url":"https://github.com/elastic/elasticsearch/releases/tag/v9.3.7","date":"2026-06-30T16:47:02Z","type":"stable","version":"v9.3.7"},{"url":"https://github.com/elastic/elasticsearch/releases/tag/v9.4.3","date":"2026-06-30T14:30:13Z","type":"stable","version":"v9.4.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/elastic/elasticsearch/releases/tag/v8.19.17","date":"2026-06-23T13:59:04Z","type":"stable","version":"v8.19.17"},{"url":"https://github.com/elastic/elasticsearch/releases/tag/v9.3.6","date":"2026-06-23T14:09:56Z","type":"stable","version":"v9.3.6"},{"url":"https://github.com/elastic/elasticsearch/releases/tag/v9.4.2","date":"2026-05-28T14:59:44Z","type":"stable","version":"v9.4.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/elastic/elasticsearch/releases/tag/v9.3.5","date":"2026-05-28T14:59:30Z","type":"stable","version":"v9.3.5"},{"url":"https://github.com/elastic/elasticsearch/releases/tag/v8.19.16","date":"2026-05-28T14:59:08Z","type":"stable","version":"v8.19.16"},{"url":"https://github.com/elastic/elasticsearch/releases/tag/v9.4.1","date":"2026-05-12T18:02:29Z","type":"stable","version":"v9.4.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/elastic/elasticsearch/releases/tag/v9.4.0","date":"2026-05-05T15:15:40Z","type":"stable","version":"v9.4.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/elastic/elasticsearch/releases/tag/v8.19.15","date":"2026-04-30T15:24:27Z","type":"stable","version":"v8.19.15"},{"url":"https://github.com/elastic/elasticsearch/releases/tag/v9.3.4","date":"2026-04-30T15:24:33Z","type":"stable","version":"v9.3.4"}]` | `[{"url":"https://github.com/fluent/fluent-bit/releases/tag/v5.1.1","date":"2026-08-16T04:40:56Z","type":"stable","version":"v5.1.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/fluent/fluent-bit/releases/tag/v5.1.0","date":"2026-08-06T02:29:07Z","type":"stable","version":"v5.1.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/fluent/fluent-bit/releases/tag/v4.2.8","date":"2026-08-04T05:56:56Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.2.8"},{"url":"https://github.com/fluent/fluent-bit/releases/tag/v4.2.7","date":"2026-07-09T08:29:44Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.2.7"},{"url":"https://github.com/fluent/fluent-bit/releases/tag/v5.0.9","date":"2026-07-04T16:00:11Z","type":"stable","version":"v5.0.9"},{"url":"https://github.com/fluent/fluent-bit/releases/tag/v4.2.6","date":"2026-06-26T05:43:32Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.2.6"},{"url":"https://github.com/fluent/fluent-bit/releases/tag/v5.0.8","date":"2026-06-24T15:05:57Z","type":"stable","version":"v5.0.8"},{"url":"https://github.com/fluent/fluent-bit/releases/tag/v5.0.7","date":"2026-06-06T04:22:23Z","type":"stable","version":"v5.0.7"},{"url":"https://github.com/fluent/fluent-bit/releases/tag/v4.2.5","date":"2026-06-03T06:04:25Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.2.5"},{"url":"https://github.com/fluent/fluent-bit/releases/tag/v5.0.6","date":"2026-05-21T23:19:01Z","type":"stable","version":"v5.0.6"},{"url":"https://github.com/fluent/fluent-bit/releases/tag/v5.0.5","date":"2026-05-07T19:53:24Z","type":"stable","version":"v5.0.5"},{"url":"https://github.com/fluent/fluent-bit/releases/tag/v5.0.4","date":"2026-05-01T18:06:29Z","type":"stable","version":"v5.0.4"},{"url":"https://github.com/fluent/fluent-bit/releases/tag/v5.0.3","date":"2026-04-14T21:13:53Z","type":"stable","version":"v5.0.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/fluent/fluent-bit/releases/tag/v4.2.4","date":"2026-04-10T07:57:40Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.2.4"},{"url":"https://github.com/fluent/fluent-bit/releases/tag/v5.0.2","date":"2026-04-01T18:54:40Z","type":"stable","version":"v5.0.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/fluent/fluent-bit/releases/tag/v5.0.1","date":"2026-03-31T03:52:57Z","type":"stable","version":"v5.0.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/fluent/fluent-bit/releases/tag/v4.2.3.1","date":"2026-02-20T04:22:33Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.2.3.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/fluent/fluent-bit/releases/tag/v4.2.3","date":"2026-02-18T17:39:51Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.2.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/fluent/fluent-bit/releases/tag/v4.2.2","date":"2025-12-24T03:23:11Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.2.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/fluent/fluent-bit/releases/tag/v4.2.1","date":"2025-12-18T04:57:38Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.2.1"}]` |
| reliability.sla_pct | 99.95 | - |
| reliability.status_page | yes | - |
| security.disclosure_policy | yes | - |
| security.gdpr | yes | - |
| security.iso27001 | yes | - |
| security.scorecard | 6.9 | 6.2 |
| security.vulnerabilities | `{"count":45,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=maven&package_name=org.elasticsearch%3Aelasticsearch&per_page=100","last_12m":2,"max_severity":"HIGH"}` | `{"count":0,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=helm&package_name=stevehipwell-helm-charts-fluent-bit-collector%2Ffluent-bit-collector&per_page=100","last_12m":0,"max_severity":null}` |

## Capabilities (Log Management Software)

| Capability | Elastic (ELK Stack) | Fluent Bit |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **Core** |  |  |
| Pipeline role | End-to-end platform | Shipper |
| **Search** |  |  |
| Full-text log search | ✓ | - |
| Live tail / stream | ✓ | - |
| **Processing** |  |  |
| Structured parsing | ✓ | ✓ |
| PII redaction at ingest | - | - |
| **Ops** |  |  |
| Log-based alerting | ✓ | - |
| Dashboards / visualisation | ✓ | - |
| **Storage** |  |  |
| Retention tiering | ✓ | - |
| Object-store columnar backend | ✗ | - |
| **Interop** |  |  |
| OpenTelemetry logs | - | Native |
| Query language | ES|QL (with native PromQL support) | - |
| **Deployment** |  |  |
| Hosting | Cloud + self-hosted | Cloud + self-hosted |

*Source: Vioscale. Generated 2026-09-01T16:45:28.455Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*