Install
Elasticsearch alternatives
4 tools to consider instead of Elasticsearch, shown against it.
| Elasticsearch | OpenSearch | Splunk | Graylog | Sumo Logic | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vendor | Elasticsearch B.V. (Elastic) | OpenSearch Software Foundation (originated at Amazon) | Cisco Systems, Inc. (Splunk) | Graylog, Inc. | Sumo Logic, Inc. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Pricing model | Usage-based | Open source + paid options | Quote only | Free tier + paid plans | Quote only | ||||||||||||||||||
| Free tier | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | ||||||||||||||||||
| Deployment | Cloud, Self-hosted | Cloud, Self-hosted | Cloud, Self-hosted | Cloud, Self-hosted | Cloud | ||||||||||||||||||
| Open source | No (Elastic License 2.0 / SSPL (source-available; AGPL-3.0 option since 2024)) | Yes (Apache-2.0) | No | Yes (SSPL (Graylog Open); proprietary (Enterprise/Security)) | No | ||||||||||||||||||
| Best for | Teams needing a flexible, self-hostable search/log backend that can double as a SIEM without a separate platform. | Teams that want an Elasticsearch-compatible, fully open-source log analytics stack without license-model risk. | Large enterprises with existing Splunk investment needing unified log search across IT operations and security. | Teams wanting a free, self-hosted log management core with a clear upgrade path to SIEM features. | DevOps and SecOps teams wanting unlimited-ingest SaaS log analytics with a single credits pool across use cases. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Pricing | Elastic Cloud Hosted starts from a base monthly rate for a reference config plus usage-based instance pricing; self-managed is free with paid subscription tiers for advanced features.
Prices read from the vendor's own page on September 21, 2026. Vendors change prices; check the source before you budget. | The software is free under Apache-2.0; cost is entirely the compute/storage of self-hosting or a managed service like Amazon OpenSearch Service. Pricing has not been verified yet — see the vendor's site. | Workload-, ingest- or activity-based licensing for the core platform; no flat public per-GB rate is listed, quotes vary by data volume. Checked on the vendor's own page on September 21, 2026: no prices are published. Expect to be quoted. | Graylog Open is free with no volume cap; Enterprise and Security editions are licensed annually by daily processed-data volume (GB/day) or prepaid consumption units (GCU).
Prices read from the vendor's own page on September 21, 2026. Vendors change prices; check the source before you budget. | Credits-based consumption model: unlimited ingest, but analytics activity draws down prepaid credits at a rate that varies by data tier; no flat public per-GB rate.
Prices read from the vendor's own page on September 21, 2026. Vendors change prices; check the source before you budget. | ||||||||||||||||||
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