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The Best Alternatives to Splunk for Log Management, Monitoring & Analysis (Cloud, SaaS & Downloads)

Best Alternatives to Splunk for Log Management Monitoring Analysis

Marc Wilson UPDATED: April 27, 2023

Making sense of mountains of machine-generated data is one of the biggest challenges of large businesses and enterprises. This data is usually complex to understand and it comes in an unstructured format. On top of that, it is not always suitable for analysis, manual troubleshooting, and visualization.

Splunk fills this void.

You can give machine data to Splunk and it will do the hard work. This is a piece of software capable of searching, analyzing, and visualizing machine data generated from websites, applications, and devices. As soon as Splunk processes all important data, you’ll be able to find and isolate problems in real time. With the processed and extracted data, the software will also be able to provide detailed reports and graphs.

Here is our list of the Top Ten Splunk Alternatives:

  1. SolarWinds Hybrid Cloud Observability – FREE TRIAL This is a monitoring package that is able to discover, map, and monitor assets on site or on the cloud. Choose to install this system on Windows Server, AWS, or Azure. Start a 30-day free trial.
  2. Loggly – FREE TRIAL A cloud-based log management service that collects and consolidates log messages from a wide range of sources and also provides a log analyzer and data viewer. Sign up to a free trial for 14 days.
  3. Datadog Infrastructure Monitoring – FREE TRIAL This tool lets you capture events from Splunk and add them to key metrics charts or analyze the data in the dashboard. This is a cloud-based service. Access a 14-day free trial.
  4. ManageEngine Log360 – FREE TRIAL This SIEM offers a data viewer for manual analysis plus automated threat detection. Runs on Windows Server. Get a 30-day free trial.
  5. Site24x7 Log Management – FREE TRIAL This cloud-based system is able to collect logs from on-premises systems and cloud platforms, providing consolidation and searching functions. Start a 30-day free trial.
  6. Sumo Logic A SaaS data analytics platform that can gather log data from your site and manage it.
  7. LogZilla A log collection, management, and analysis package that is available in free and paid versions. Install it on a bare metal server or a cloud server.
  8. jKool A SaaS data analyzer that can be fed with logs or live system performance data and is available in free and paid versions.
  9. Mixpanel A cloud-based data analyzer that can be used for a variety of data inputs, including log files.
  10. Fluentd A free, open source data collection system that can gather and consolidate log messages. Available for Windows, Linux, and macOS.

Splunk is a really powerful tool but unfortunately, it is not free (as is the great software out there)

If you have the budget, go for it. But as your data scales, it can get expensive as compared to other products out there, especially those that are open source.

Luckily there are many good options for machine data analytics tools in the market. In the following section, we will describe the best Splunk alternatives for log monitoring, management, search, and more.

The Best Splunk Alternatives

Our methodology for selecting Splunk alternatives

We reviewed various Splunk alternatives and analyzed the options based on the following criteria:

  • Support for hybrid cloud environments
  • Alert and reporting features
  • A facility to analyze network performance over time
  • Graphical interpretation of data, such as charts and graphs
  • A free trial period, a demo, or a money-back guarantee for no-risk assessment
  • A good price that reflects value for money when compared to the functions offered

Below you'll find a description of each software package we recommend along with some screenshots and details on where to download each product.

1. SolarWinds Hybrid Cloud Observability – FREE TRIAL

SolarWinds Hybrid Cloud Observability Virtualization

SolarWinds Hybrid Cloud Observability discovers, maps, and monitors IT assets across platforms. The tool identifies live connections between entities and the applications that perform those links.

Hybrid Cloud Observability presents a stack of application stack layers, showing a live performance graph for each layer placed one on top of the other so that you can correlate activity between them.

The service also shows, on demand, the movement of data from one location, through networks and applications to its destination along a route of network and internet links.

You can use this system’s AI-based alerting mechanism to leave the tool to watch over your IT system while you attend to other tasks – you will be drawn back to the console if a problem arises.

A recent report – 2022 GigaOm Radar for Cloud Observability – compares the observability products of different providers ranks SolarWinds highly.

Pros:

  • Excellent management console and ease of use
  • Leverages AI to improve the accuracy of alerts
  • Displays both live and historic metrics
  • Features dependency mapping

Cons:

  • Would like to see a longer trial period

Here are some screenshots of Hybrid Cloud Observability’s key features.

SolarWinds Hybrid Cloud Observability AD

SolarWinds Hybrid Cloud Observability Network Paths

SolarWinds Hybrid Cloud Observability Real Time Polling

Price: Essentials – from $5 per node per month, Advanced – from $9 per node per month.

Download: Register for access to a 30-day free trial.

Start Free Trial!
via SolarWinds.com

2. Loggly – FREE TRIAL

loggly dashboard

Loggly was acquired by SolarWinds in 2018. It is a cloud-based log management and analytics SaaS platform. It a solution that focuses on DevOps teams.

Loggly does not need any proprietary software agents to collect machine data. It can perform log analysis to a large variety of log sources. In addition, it can collect data from systems that are compatible with Syslog and JSON.

Its powerful searching mechanism allows you to filter the massive volumes of machine-generated log data and get faster MTTR (Mean Time to Repair). You can also monitor application performance, system behavior, or unusual activity with Loggly’s real-time log monitoring.

Pros:

  • Lives in the cloud, allowing syslogs servers to scale regardless of onsite infrastructure
  • Setup is easy, no lengthy onboarding process
  • Can pull logs from cloud platforms such as AWS, Docker, etc
  • Data is immediately available for review and analysis
  • Offers a completely free version with limited retention

Cons:

  • Would like to see a longer 30-day trial

Here's some screenshots of the dashboard and Loggly in Action:

loggly dashboard average response times

loggly dashboard

Price:  Lite (Free), Standard ($79.00/month), Pro ($199.00/month), and Enterprise ($349.00/month).

Download: Sign up to SolarWinds Loggly to get a free trial for 14 days.

3. Datadog Infrastructure Monitoring – FREE TRIAL

Datadog Infrastructure Monitoring

Datadog Infrastructure is a monitor for the applications and services that lie behind user-facing software. The system can be expanded by integrations that add functionality and there is an integration for Splunk.

The Splunk functions of Datadog read in log data collected by Splunk. This data can then be added to charts of collected metrics that Datadog already displays in its dashboard. It is also possible to run off reports in Datadog based on Splunk-sourced data files.

Pros:

  • Provides quick insights into local and cloud servers through templates and prebuilt monitors
  • Great interface, easy to use, and highly customizable
  • Cloud-based SaaS product allows monitoring with no server deployments or onboarding fees
  • Supports auto-discovery that builds network topology maps on the fly

Cons:

  • Would like to see a longer 30-day trial

Price: There are three editions of Datadog Infrastructure. These plans are:

  • Free – $0/month for up to five hosts
  • Pro – $15/month per host
  • Enterprise – $23.month per host

The Splunk integration is not available with the Free option.

Download: Datadog Infrastructure is a cloud-based platform. You can access a 14-day free trial of either of the paid plans.

Start 14-day FREE Trial!!

4. ManageEngine Log360 – FREE TRIAL

ManageEngine Log360 ELA

ManageEngine Log360 is a data search tool that provides facilities for both manual and automated analysis. The service collects, consolidates, and manages logs and also provides a SIEM for security monitoring.

The Log360 package contains a central server and endpoint agents. Those agents collect log data and send them to the log manager. There are also collector agents for cloud platforms.

The log management system displays recently arrived records in a data viewer and also stores those logs in files. Files can be read into the data viewer, which includes analytical tools. The SIEM performs automated data analysis, looking for intruder activity. If it identifies anomalous behavior it will raise an alert. Log360 shows alerts in the system dashboard and can also feed them through service desk team management packages.

Pros:

  • Can monitor key server metrics and automatically send alerts to users or teams
  • Offers on-premise and cloud deployment options, giving organizations more flexibility for deployment
  • Can highlight interdependencies between applications to map out how performance issues can impact businesses operations
  • Can automatically detect databases, server hardware, and devices for real-time asset management

Cons:

  • Can take time to fully explore all features and options available

Price: There are three editions of Log360: Free, Standard, and Professional. You need to contact the Sales Department of ManageEngine to get a quote for the paid versions.

Download: You can get a 30-day free trial of Log360.

Start 30-day FREE Trial!!

5. Site24x7 Log Management- FREE TRIAL

Site24x7 Log Management

Site24x7 Log Management is a unit on a cloud platform of system monitoring and management tools. This log server is able to collect messages from on-premises software and devices and it can also accept logs ent from cloud platforms.

The cloud-based log manager provides a console that shows log message throughput per source type and also translates log message formats into a standard layout so that they can be searched and filed together. A data viewer support manual analysis with sort, filter, and group functions.

Pros:

  • Cloud-based subscription service
  • Log collection and consolidation
  • Manual search facilities
  • Log file management

Cons:

  • No on-premises version

Price: The Log Management unit is integrated into all of its subscription editions, each of which has its own pricing structure. An example is the infrastructure edition, which includes a log processing allowance of 500 MB per month along with other utilities at a price of $9 per month. Extra log processing capacity costs $10 per month for each 10 GB extension.

Download: Site24x7 is a cloud-based system, so you sign up online to access the system console. You can access a 30-day free trial.

Start 30-day Free Trial!

6. Sumo Logic

sumo logic

SumoLogic is a cloud-based machine data analytics software aimed for large-scale businesses. It helps you gather and analyze machine-log generated data. SumoLogic provides log management and time series metrics of the machine-generated log data so that you can have real-time insights. With this tool, you can implement your own Amazon AWS, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud, or hybrid applications.

Some Features

  • A powerful search mechanism.
  • Real-time dashboards.
  • Alert and notify system.
  • Out-of-the-box apps.
  • VM Support

SumoLogic is able to collect terabytes of data from any application, device, sensor, or cloud. Instead of running 3rd party data collection equipment, Sumo Logic provides a centralized logging and metrics collection platform. The light and automatic collectors do all the work for you.

Pros:

  • Supports multiple environments (Linux, Windows, and Mac OS)
  • Simple installation – Uses wizards to streamline install and add-ons
  • Has a host of templates and premade assets making the experience user friendly

Cons:

  • Better suited for small to medium-sized businesses

Price: There are three pricing models, Free, Professional ($90/month per 1GB ADI), and Enterprise ($150/month per 1GB ADI).

Download:Get started with the free version if you are looking to try Sumo Logic in small projects.

7. LogZilla

logzilla

LogZilla is considered the world’s first Network Event Orchestrator “NEO” and leader in real-time network data insights delivery. It is a powerful network operations software aimed for enterprises. LogZilla can scale up to 65K nodes and consume over 850,000 of events per second.

You can access this massive domain, all from a single and central interface. The LogZilla centralized HTML5 web user interface allows you full mobility. The software can be installed in bare metal, cloud, or hybrid environments.

Pros:

  • A simple drag-and-drop interface makes administration easier
  • Can scale to include up to 65,000 nodes
  • Supports bare metal, cloud, and hybrid environments
  • Best suited for enterprise networks

Cons:

  • Pricing is not published on their site

Price: There are two versions of the software, NEO Enterprise, and NEO free. The price is not published on their site, but you can get in contact with sales.

Download: You can get LogZilla NEO free version just by paying with a Tweet or LinkedIn.

8. jKool

jkool

Advanced visualization and analysis SaaS solution for machine-generated data. Jkool can examine logs, performance, metrics, and transactions in real-time or historically. JKool is highly scalable. With this tool, you can easily detect multiple patterns, variations, and bottlenecks within and across many different apps.

All of this can be visualized from its centralized web-based user interface, which is highly customizable. The dashboard includes multiple view tabs that provide, charts, comparisons, heat maps, and topology.

Installation and Setup?

Use this software as a service in the cloud or deploy it in your datacenter. It can be installed on premises, accessed from the cloud, or via different channels, such as IBM Blumix or Docker.

Pros:

  • Highly visual admin console – great for quick overviews
  • Can monitor key metrics and collect log events from servers
  • Highly scalable – great for growing MSPs and networks

Cons:

  • Must contact sales for a quote

Price: There are two pricing models, Personal (Free) and Business (Get a quote).

Download: Sign up for a free trial. No downloads, everything on the cloud.

9. Mixpanel

Mixpanel

A user-analytics tool designed for the product, marketing, and data teams. It analyzes internal and external data across the full customer journey. Mixpanel makes data-driven decisions easier for established large companies. It can help get insights into their acquisition, activation, retention, and revenue.

Some Features

  • Automatic Insights.
  • Mobile A/B Testing
  • Funnels, Retention, Engagement.
  • Versatile Data Visualization

Mixpanel is easy to navigate and learn. Its dashboard allows you to customize as you like and check specific KPIs. You can share the dashboard with your team even if members don’t have a Mixpanel account. You can also drill down into the actions a user has taken in your product. And if you need help with automation activities, its Machine Learning model can help you improve customer engagement.

Deployment?  Mixpanel can be deployed within the Cloud as a SaaS platform and accessed through its web interface. It also allows full mobility with its mobile apps, Android and iOS.

Pros:

  • Offers A/B testing – great for sitewide optimization
  • Leverages machine learning to improve automated tasks
  • Better suited for data-driven tasks
  • Offers iOS and Android app

Cons:

  • Better suited for enterprise networks

Price: The pricing model includes three versions, Free (limited), Basic ($999/yr), and Enterprise (contact them).

Download: Sign up to start with the Free version to test the product with 5million data points.

10. Fluentd

fluentd

Fluentd is an open source data collection software. It helps you unify the collection and ingestion of machine-generated data. This tool analyzes event logs, application logs, and clickstreams in real time. It was originally designed as a unifying layer between different log inputs and outputs.

Best Features? Fluentd allows easy filtering, buffering, and routing of data thanks to:

  • Access logs with Apache.
  • Alerting with Nagios.
  • App logs with its Frontend and Backend.
  • Analysis with MongoDB, MySQL, and Hadoop.
  • Archiving with Amazon S3
  • Databases.

Fluentd is highly flexible. Its 500+ plugins help with the integration of different types of data inputs and outputs. Fluentd is supported by Linux, MacOS, and Windows.

Pros:

  • Simple lightweight platform
  • Free open source and transparent project
  • Offers over 500 plugins to extend its functionality
  • Available for Windows, Mac, and Linux environments

Cons:

  • Not the best option for enterprises
  • Could use more data visualization features

Price: Free and open source.

Download: Get the current Fluentd stable version.

11. LogFaces

logFaces

LogFaces, developed by MoonLit Software, is an enterprise logging suite. The solution features a centralized log server and a powerful log viewer. It can aggregate, analyze, store, and send log data. LogFaces can be used with logging frameworks such as Apache log4j and other open-source projects.

LogFaces provide great services. With it, users can create log perspectives or filters, which are log stream views coming from the log server. They can direct a log server on which data to send to a log viewer. It is also possible to configure audible alerts when there is an error in the data.

The LogFaces server should be installed on-premises.

Pros:

  • Best suited for small to medium size companies
  • Offers highly customizable reports and admin console
  • Uniquely offers audible alerts – great for busy NOC teams

Cons:

  • Dashboard can feel cluttered in when used in very large networks

Price: No free version. The product comes on two pricing versions, Enterprise Edition ($599 per year) and Site Edition ($1499 per year).

Download: Get 20 days fully-featured trial.

12. Sentry

sentry

Sentry is an open-source error tracking tool delivered as a hosted service. It is categorized as an application monitoring software with a with a focus on error reporting. Sentry helps developers keep track and fix system crashes in real-time.

Sentry is cross-platform and works on most popular Linux distributions. It contains a full API to dispatch events from many languages. Official Sentry SDKs, include JavaScript, Python, Ruby, PHP, Go, Java, and many more. These SDKs will attach to the runtime environment framework and automatically attempt to report errors. When errors occur, Sentry can be configured to send notifications via email or SMS.

For more information, Sentry has amazing product documentation.

Pros:

  • Dedicated to monitoring specifically only SQL, good for companies that already have other app monitoring tools they’re happy with
  • 100+ alerts and templates customized around SQL server health monitoring
  • Supports root cause analysis for faster resolution times

Cons:

  • Open source tools typically aren’t best for enterprise environments

Price: There are three pricing plans included on the website, Developer (Free), Team (Starts at $26/mo), and Business (Starts at $80/mo).

Download: Sign up and download a free developer version for an unlimited time.

13. Syslog-ng

syslong-ng

Syslog-ng develops log management products. The tool is based on the implementation of the Unix Syslog protocol. The software comes in three different versions Log Management Appliance, Software, and the Free Open-source version.

Other Important Features

  • Collect and index any log data and perform complex searches.
  • Protect sensitive data with granular access policies.
  • Create in-depth reports to help you with regulatory compliance.
  • Send log data to third-party tools.

The Syslog-ng Appliance and Software versions are able to scale to large enterprise environments. The software is a centralized platform capable of collecting and delivering any log data, whether is network traffic, performance metrics, or user activity.  With Syslog-ng you can gain a large insight into your entire IT environment by removing data silos.

Pros:

  • Completely free and open source
  • Can collect data on Linux, Unix and Windows, a good flexible option for networks running multiple operating systems
  • Supports data forwarding into database format, great for long-term archiving
  • Uses simple yet informative graphics

Cons:

  • Best suited for large networks or matured MSPs

Price: The price for the premium version is not published on the site, but you can request a quote. The open source version is 100% free.

Download: Get the free and open source version of Syslog-ng. You can also download a trial of the Premium Edition and Syslog-ng Store box.

14. Elasticsearch/Logstash

Elasticsearch

The Elasticsearch stack (ELK Stack) built on an open source foundation, allows you to take data from any source, and search, analyze and visualize it in real time. The stack is compromised by three tools, Logstash, Elasticsearch, and Kibana, which are designed to be used as an integrated solution.

The Elasticsearch allows you to search and analyze your data. The Kibana is the extensible user interface that allows you to configure and manage the Elastic Stack. The Logstash is a data collection and log-parsing engine. It can ingest data simultaneously from multiples inputs (any source and format) and send it to a stash (For example, Elastisearch).

Pros:

  • Simple interface that is easily customizable
  • Features metrics and monitors specifically for Elasticsearch
  • Back-end API make a wide range of integrations possible
  • Highly documented – reliable community support

Cons:

  • Open source tools often rely on community bug fixes and support – not the best option for enterprises looking to move quickly

Price: Elastic has three pricing models, Open source (free), Gold, and Platinium (request a quote).

Download: You can download the free and open source version of Elastic.

Conclusion

Finding a good Alternative to Splunk shouldn't be difficult with all the options from above. Splunk is a great tool and software package, but we understand that sometimes you may need a different solution or additional features that splunk doesn't offer to suite your needs.

Some of the Splunk Alternatives above have Cloud management interfaces, such as Loggly, with allows you to manage this all from a online dashboard, as opposed to having it on-premises. These solutions are great for those who do not want to incur additional costs and such for hardware and licensing.

We Recommend you sign up for some Trials (for the SaaS/Cloud products) or Download a couple of the On-premise software solutions and see which one fits your needs best as a Splunk Alternative!

Splunk Alternatives FAQs

What are some common log sources?

Some common log sources include operating systems, web servers, databases, firewalls, network devices, and security systems.

What is log retention?

Log retention refers to the process of retaining log files for a specified period of time for compliance, troubleshooting, or other purposes.

What is log rotation?

Log rotation is the process of archiving or deleting old log files to conserve disk space and optimize log file management.

What is real-time log monitoring?

Real-time log monitoring is the process of monitoring log files as they are generated to identify and respond to security incidents, technical issues, or other events in real-time.

What is log parsing?

Log parsing is the process of analyzing and extracting data from log files to gain insights into system behavior, performance, and security issues.

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