Observability Logging Costs Across Major Vendors

### Comprehensive Overview of Observability Logging Costs Across Major Vendors

Introduction

Observability is key to maintaining system reliability, performance, and security in modern IT environments. It encompasses three main pillars: logs, metrics, and traces. Among these, logs play a crucial role in capturing granular details of events, which are essential for understanding system behavior and diagnosing issues. As organizations scale, the volume of logs generated can become overwhelming, making it essential to understand the costs associated with managing these logs across different platforms.

This summary provides a comparative analysis of the costs for handling 1,000 GB of log data per day across leading observability platforms: Elastic, Dynatrace, Coralogix, Grafana Loki, Datadog, Azure Monitor, and AWS CloudWatch.

Understanding Logging in Observability

Each vendor approaches logging differently, which impacts both performance and cost. The primary components that influence logging costs are:

- Ingestion: The cost of processing and storing incoming log data.

- Storage: The cost of retaining logs over time, with options for different storage tiers like hot, warm, and cold (frozen) storage.

- Query: The cost associated with accessing and analyzing stored logs.

1. Elastic Observability Logging Costs

- Pros: Elastic offers a highly customizable storage solution with different tiers (hot, warm, cold, frozen), allowing organizations to optimize costs based on data retrieval needs. Ingestion is free, and costs are driven by storage and the need for dedicated instances.

- Cons: Managing different storage tiers and provisioning dedicated instances can add complexity. The retention cost in hot storage is substantial, and archiving to S3, while cheaper, still adds up. The total annual cost for managing 1,000 GB/day in Elastic, considering retention and archiving, is approximately $984,960.

- Total Annual Cost: Approximately $984,960.

- Best For: Organizations needing flexible storage options with varying accessibility requirements.

- Published Article: [Elastic Observability Logging Costs](https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/elastic-observability-logging-costs-madhukar-beema-jvu5e/)

- Source: [Elastic Observability Documentation](https://www.elastic.co/guide/en/observability/current/observability-logs.html)

2. Dynatrace Observability Logging Costs

- Pros: Dynatrace provides AI-driven insights and includes query costs within its ingestion fees, making it cost-effective for frequent querying.

- Cons: The overall cost can vary significantly depending on query volume, with a range between $309,440 and $600,000 annually, especially for large volumes of log data.

- Total Annual Cost: Approximately $309,440 to $600,000, depending on query volume.

- Best For: Environments requiring continuous, in-depth analysis with frequent queries.

- Published Article: [Dynatrace Observability Logging Costs: A Comprehensive Analysis](https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/dynatrace-observability-logging-costs-comprehensive-analysis-beema-ggcpe/)

- Source: [Dynatrace Documentation](https://www.dynatrace.com/support/doc/)

3. Coralogix Observability Logging Costs

- Pros: Coralogix offers a unique approach by focusing on cost-efficient data pipelines. It’s designed to reduce costs by optimizing data ingestion and storage.

- Cons: Querying data stored in object storage can be slower, impacting performance when quick access is needed.

- Total Annual Cost: Approximately $571,260.

- Best For: Organizations seeking a cost-effective solution with the flexibility to optimize data pipelines.

- Published Article: [Coralogix Observability Logging Costs: A Detailed Overview](https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/coralogix-observability-logging-costs-detailed-overview-beema-ehmoe/)

- Source: [Coralogix Documentation](https://coralogix.com/)

4. Grafana Loki Observability Logging Costs

- Pros: Grafana Loki integrates seamlessly with Grafana, offering cost-effective log management with fair-use query policies.

- Cons: Performance may be impacted when querying large volumes of archived data.

- Total Annual Cost: Approximately $396,648.

- Best For: Organizations using Grafana for monitoring and visualization.

- Published Article: [Grafana Loki Observability Logging Costs: A Comprehensive Overview](https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/grafana-loki-observability-logging-costs-overview-madhukar-beema-grwte/)

- Source: [Grafana Loki Documentation](https://grafana.com/docs/loki/latest/)

5. Datadog Observability Logging Costs

- Pros: Datadog offers real-time monitoring and extensive integrations, providing granular pricing options based on log event size.

- Cons: Costs can escalate with small log events, making it one of the more expensive options.

- Unique Cost Factor: Datadog's costs vary significantly based on the size of log events. Smaller events result in more events per GB, leading to higher costs, especially in environments with frequent queries.

- Total Annual Cost: Ranges from $400,000 to $1,170,420 depending on log event size.

- Best For: Organizations needing diverse monitoring capabilities with real-time visibility.

- Published Article: [Datadog Observability Logging Costs: A Comprehensive Analysis](https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/datadog-observability-logging-costs-comprehensive-analysis-beema-rhj0e/)

- Source: [Datadog Pricing](https://www.datadoghq.com/pricing/)

6. Azure Monitor Observability Logging Costs

Option 1: Basic Logs

- Data Ingestion: $24,240/month

- Extended Retention (After 31 Days): $59,130/year

- Query Costs (100x Fair Usage): $27,000/month

- Total Monthly Cost: $51,240

- Total Annual Cost: Approximately $671,430

Option 2: Analytics Logs

- Data Ingestion: $111,420/month

- Extended Retention (After 31 Days): $59,130/year

- Total Monthly Cost: $111,420

- Total Annual Cost: Approximately $1,395,930

- Pros: Azure Monitor integrates well with Azure services, offering flexibility in data retention and storage tiers. The platform allows for both Basic Logs and Analytics Logs, providing options based on data usage needs.

- Cons: Costs can escalate depending on the choice between Basic Logs and Analytics Logs, with the latter being significantly more expensive.

- Best For: Azure-centric organizations requiring comprehensive monitoring.

- Published Article: [Azure Monitor Observability Logging Costs](https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/azure-monitor-observability-logging-costs-madhukar-beema-x5dne/)

- Source: [Azure Monitor Pricing](https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/pricing/details/monitor/)

7. AWS CloudWatch Observability Logging Costs

- Pros: AWS CloudWatch is deeply integrated with AWS, offering scalable log management with options for long-term storage in S3.

- Cons: Costs can accumulate rapidly with large data volumes and frequent queries, particularly when using AWS Athena for queries.

- Unique Cost Factor: AWS CloudWatch's costs can vary significantly based on query volume. Organizations with frequent, large-scale queries will see their costs increase, particularly when leveraging AWS Athena for querying archived logs.

- Total Annual Cost: Approximately $471,834.

- Best For: AWS-centric organizations needing native log management.

- Published Article: [AWS CloudWatch Observability Logging Costs](https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/aws-cloudwatch-observability-logging-costs-madhukar-beema-4fuwe/)

- Source: [AWS CloudWatch Pricing](https://aws.amazon.com/cloudwatch/pricing/)

Comparative Table for Managing 1,000 GB/Day of Log Data

Conclusion

Each observability platform has its own strengths and potential cost benefits. The choice of platform should be aligned with your organization’s specific needs, including log volume, query frequency, and integration with existing infrastructure. By carefully considering the cost structures and use cases, you can optimize your observability strategy for both performance and budget.

Disclaimer: The costs provided in this article are based on available data as of September 2024. Prices may vary based on factors such as discounts, regional pricing, and specific contract terms. Always refer to the vendor’s official pricing page for the most accurate and up-to-date information.