Cloud log management is the comprehensive processing of log data, including generation, aggregation, storage, analysis, archive, and disposal. The top log management services offer troubleshooting and operational efficiency through seamless integration, secure log handling, advanced security analytics, and more. To help you select an ideal cloud log management solution, we’ve evaluated the top options and their use cases.
Here are the six best cloud log management services to consider:
- ManageEngine: Best overall cloud log management service
- Sumo Logic: Best option for unified log management control
- New Relic: Most accessible and transparent pricing structure
- Sematext Logs: Best option for smooth log data aggregation
- Datadog: Best for automated log anomaly detection capacity
- SolarWinds: Best service for rapid security incident response
Top Cloud Log Management Services Comparison
Explore each service’s different offerings, strengths, and capabilities below.
| Log Navigation | Integration & Compatibility | Real-time Alert & Notifications | Advanced Security Analytics | Free-for-Life Tier | Standard Plan Pricing | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ManageEngine Log360 | Yes | 12 major third-party apps and vendors integrations | Yes | Add-on | Yes, with storage capacity of 50GB/year. | Starts at $25/month. |
| Sumo Logic | Yes | 150+ apps and native integrations | Yes | Add-on | Yes, with storage capacity of 1 GB/day. | Starts at $3.00/GB. |
| New Relic | Yes | 700+ technologies integrations | Yes | Yes | Yes, with storage capacity of 100 GB storage/month. | Starts at $10/user, plus $0.30/GB after 100 GB data ingest. |
| Sematext Logs | Yes | 100+ apps and native integrations | Yes | Yes | Yes, with storage capacity of 500 MB/day. | Starts at $45/month. Pro plan starts at $54/month. |
| Datadog | Yes | 650+ technologies integrations | Yes | Add-on | No, but it offers a 14-day free trial. | Starts at $ 0.10/GB/ month, plus $1.70/ month for 15-day log retention. |
| SolarWinds | Yes | AWS, Azure, and hybrid cloud application log support | Yes | Yes | No, but it offers a 30-day free trial. | Starts at $279/month. |
Note: All prices are commitment-free and usage-based unless otherwise noted.
Table of Contents
ManageEngine Log360
Best Overall Cloud Log Management Service
Overall Rating: 4.6/5
- Core Features: 4.2/5
- Cost: 5/5
- Additional Features: 5/5
- Customer Support: 3.9/5
- Ease of Use: 5/5
ManageEngine Log360 is a comprehensive SIEM solution that includes log management, Active Directory change auditing, cloud security, compliance management, incident detection, incident response, threat hunting, and security orchestration. The platform delivers regulatory compliance by employing audit-ready report templates, and it includes a strong framework for monitoring and enforcing compliance requirements.
Although ManageEngine utilizes security orchestration, automation, and response (SOAR) for swift log troubleshooting, SolarWinds’ addition of trace context to logs significantly reduces the mean time to repair.
Pricing
- Free-for-life tier: Supports 50GB storage per year
- Basic plan: $300+ per year
- Custom plans: Contact for quote
Key Features
- Active Directory change auditing: Has real-time monitoring and auditing of essential AD updates. Tracks questionable user behavior and proactively mitigates hazards.
- Cloud security: Gains visibility into AWS, Azure, Salesforce, and Google Cloud Platform. Monitors changes in cloud infrastructure for data security.
- Compliance management: Ensures regulatory compliance by employing audit-ready report templates. Compliance violation alerts are available for proactive management.
- Incident detection: Uses real-time event correlation to identify threats. Allows you to receive notifications regarding blacklisted IP addresses and URLs. Uses user and entity behavior analytics (UEBA) and threat analytics to detect advanced threats.
- Incident response: Uses an automated incident process to respond to security concerns.
- Log management: Collects logs from various sources. Analyzes logs on dashboards to detect attacks. Performs post-attack investigation using log forensics.
- Security orchestration, automation, and response (SOAR): Gathers security data from several platforms and displays it on a single console. Using process settings, it automates response to recognized incidents.
- Threat hunting: Searches for advanced security threats. Enables real-time event response and log search features.
Pros
- Provides automated compliance reports and alerts to meet regulatory mandates.
- Offers flexibility in deployment.
- Cloud security feature supports multiple cloud platforms.
- Automated incident response and correlation enhance threat detection and resolution.
- Has comprehensive visibility into AWS, Azure, Salesforce, and Google Cloud Platform.
Cons
- Potential complexity may be overwhelming for small organizations with fewer resources.
- Customizing features or reports may require a deeper understanding of the platform.
- 90 days log retention might be limiting for some organizations.
Sumo Logic
Best Option for Unified Log Management Control
Overall Rating: 4.1/5
- Core Features: 4.8/5
- Cost: 3.9/5
- Additional Features: 3.7/5
- Customer Support: 3.9/5
- Ease of Use: 4.3/5
Sumo Logic offers a comprehensive log management solution that covers the whole software stack, no matter the environment (cloud, on-premises, or hybrid). It efficiently manages large amounts of machine data to boost modern businesses’ operations. Sumo Logic’s integrated logs and metrics solutions help to accelerate application delivery, enable real-time monitoring, and improve security and compliance.
Sumo Logic charges based on ingested gigabytes, which costs higher than other solutions on the market. If you are looking for more affordable pricing per gigabyte on demand, check out New Relic.
Pricing
- Free-for-life tier: Supports 1 gb log capacity per day
- Essentials plan: $3+ per ingested gigabyte
- Custom plans: Contact for quote
- Free trial: 30 days
Key Features
- Automated log level detection: Implements automated log level detection and reliability management via SLIs and SLOs, resulting in efficient log analysis.
- A-Z platform capabilities: The platform has rapid connections with Slack, PagerDuty, AWS Lambda, and ServiceNow, as well as advanced capabilities such as anomaly rules, threat intelligence, and entity relationship graphs.
- Cloud log management: Supports one-click AWS, Azure, and GCP connectors, as well as built-in pattern analysis, anomaly detection, and predictive analytics for unprecedented insights into cloud-based machine data.
- Global intelligence: Provides a more informed understanding of log data by enhancing log data analysis with worldwide confidence scores and GEO/IP lookups.
- Multi-cloud support: Enables real-time visibility into AWS, Azure, and GCP, as well as over 150 apps for out-of-the-box visibility, making it adaptable to multi-cloud settings.
- Observability: Provides better insights through application and infrastructure monitoring, multi-cloud observability, and Real User Monitoring (RUM).
- Tiered data analytics: Provides tiered data analytics with adjustable log data retention, ensuring scalability and adaptability to a wide range of data analytics requirements.
- Unified log management: Includes real-time alerting and machine learning to help with problem resolution. The centralized security and compliance tools streamline log management by simplifying monitoring.
Pros
- Sumo Logic has an extensive feature set and seamless integrations.
- Provides extensive monitoring and RUM for improved application performance insights.
- The standard plan’s log retention is one year.
- Has unlimited capacity feature to scale logs without fear of exceeding capacity limits.
- Provides PCI, SOC, CSA, ISO, and HIPAA certifications.
Cons
- Large-scale deployments with lengthy data retention requirements can be expensive.
- For new users, the comprehensive feature set requires a learning curve.
- Pricing per consumed gigabyte costs higher than other vendors.
New Relic
Most Accessible and Transparent Pricing Structure
Overall Rating: 4.5/5
- Core Features: 4.5/5
- Cost: 5/5
- Additional Features: 4.8/5
- Customer Support: 3.9/5
- Ease of Use: 4.3/5
New Relic’s cloud log management streamlines log monitoring by aggregating logs into a single central location, reducing screen switching. It provides simple capabilities for developer teams to share insights with less-technical counterparts, making it ideal for moving away from ELK stacks. With straightforward cost management, it’s a great option for businesses looking for pricing clarity in log management solutions.
New Relic is not PCI compliant, while service for FedRAMP and HIPAA compliance requires “Data Plus” available in the highest enterprise plan. ManageEngine Log 360 has a more compliant solution at no additional cost.
Pricing
- Free-for-life tier: Supports 100 GB data-ingest per month
- Standard plan: $10+ per user per month with $0.30/GB beyond the free 100 GB limit
- Data Plus: $0.50/GB of data ingest
- Custom plans: Contact for quote
Key Features
- Advanced troubleshooting: Employs JOINs and lookups to resolve business-critical incidents in a single query with logs and other data.
- Instant visibility at scalable volume: Search results are returned in seconds, eliminating the need to index logs. Uses data partitioning to segment data for customizable visibility.
- Integration: Log forwarding uses open-source solutions from Fluentd, Fluent Bit, and Logstash. Integrates with AWS, Azure, and other services for smooth data collection. For agentless log management, it sends syslog data to New Relic’s TCP endpoint.
- Log retention flexibility: Provides log retention modification based on specific demands for prolonged data storage.
- Machine learning integration: Employs machine learning to find patterns and outliers in your log data in real time. It improves log data analysis by using machine learning skills for preemptive issue detection.
- Reliability and support: Provides 30-day log retention, queries, alarms, AIOps, and fast response through machine learning-driven log analysis.
- User-friendly interface: Has easy-to-use features for developer teams to share insights with less-technical business teams.
- Automated alerts: Improves monitoring with automatic notifications that advise users of potential threats in real time.
Pros
- Scalable solutions for a fraction of the cost compared to other platforms.
- Offers a simple configuration for easy log data import from various sources.
- Clear and predictable expenses with transparent user-based pricing.
- Issue resolution is streamlined via lightning-fast answers and ML-driven log analysis.
- Suitable for software engineering teams transitioning from ELK stacks.
Cons
- Enterprises may need to control expenditures when they go above the free 100 GB limit.
- The normal 30-day log retention may be insufficient for some large organizations.
- Compliance service is available at higher plans.
Sematext Logs
Best Option for Smooth Log Data Aggregation
Overall Rating: 4.1/5
- Core Features: 4.3/5
- Cost: 3.3/5
- Additional Features: 4.5/5
- Customer Support: 3.9/5
- Ease of Use: 5/5
Sematext Logs is a centralized logging platform that aggregates, structures, and analyzes logs from many sources, including applications and microservices. Sematext offers feature-rich solutions for cloud environments with ELK stack integration. It provides DevOps and IT admins with end-to-end insight with quick log analysis and troubleshooting operations, making it a good choice for organizations looking for seamless log aggregation and effective log management.
Sematext’s standard plan only offers 15 days log retention. If you’re looking for a standard plan with a longer log retention period, try Sumo Logic.
Pricing
- Free-for-life tier: Supports 7-day log retention and 500 mb daily volume
- Standard plan: $45+ per month
- Pro plan: $54+ per month
- Custom plans: Contact for quote
- Free trial: 14 days
Key Features
- Advanced data filtering: Lets you perform a quick search using Boolean operators and precise field references to quickly locate relevant information in a big log data set.
- Centralized log storage: Logs are aggregated centrally for quicker analysis in cloud environments.
- Collaborative access control: Role-based access control (RBAC) provides granular control over user access, allowing safe log management in collaborative cloud settings.
- Efficient log query management: Saves, tags, and reuses searches for effective log analysis, optimizing the process for quick access to essential data.
- ELK hosting solution: Makes use of the Elasticsearch API and Kibana without having to manage infrastructure, removing complications and allowing you to focus on log analysis.
- External system integration: Ensures interoperability with a variety of log shippers for flexible log collection, enabling seamless log collection from a variety of sources in cloud environments.
- Live tail: Provides immediate visibility into log data in dynamic systems.
- Log data protection: Encrypted channels and access controls ensure security and compliance.
Pros
- Logs from various sources are aggregated and analyzed in real time.
- Offers pricing models flexible for various needs.
- Integration capabilities with an extensive list of log shippers and systems.
- Provides an interactive demo of the log monitoring dashboard and processes.
- Granular control over user roles and privileges supports scalable administration of logs.
Cons
- Availability of ML integration and multi-cloud features is not explicitly specified.
- Advanced features require a learning curve or some amount of technical proficiency.
- Depending on the scale, it might demand large resources, thereby hurting performance.
Datadog
Best for Automated Log Anomaly Detection Capacity
Overall Rating: 3.7/5
- Core Features: 4.4/5
- Cost: 3/5
- Additional Features: 4.3/5
- Customer Support: 3.4/5
- Ease of Use: 3.7/5
Datadog caters to a wide range of organizational demands with scalable log management capabilities such as log processing, enrichment, and endless logging. The platform enables users to easily explore logs by utilizing interactive dashboards, log patterns, and automated log anomalies detection, which employs machine learning techniques and statistical analysis to establish baseline behavior.
Datadog’s complicated pricing plan may require users to constantly monitor their usage. For a more transparent pricing plan, see Sematext Logs.
Pricing
- Standard log ingest: $ 0.10+ per GB per month
- Log rehydration: $1.70 per month for 15 days retention
- Custom plans: Contact for quote
- Free trial: 14 days
Key Features
- Custom processing and parsers: Customizes log processing to meet specific requirements.
- Enterprise-grade security: Provides enterprise-grade security features and is fully integrated with Datadog’s RBAC.
- Integrated correlation: In a single click, correlate logs with APM traces. Navigates from dashboards to relevant logs with ease.
- Log analytics and dashboarding: Constructs personalized log analytics and dashboards.
- Logging without limits: Capable of ingesting, live tailing, and archiving all logs. Metrics are generated from all logs for trend tracking. Rehydrates audit logs from compressed archives.
- Log processing and enrichment: Makes use of pre-built log processing pipelines. Creates organized datasets from raw log data. Adds custom reference data to logs. Log Forwarding centralizes log routing.
- Rehydration and archiving: Archive to AWS S3, Azure Blob Storage, and Google Cloud Storage. Log Rehydration allows access to archived logs.
- Scalable log management: Granular RBAC controls are available for log data access. Scalable to handle millions of logs in real time.
Pros
- Supports PCI and HIPAA compliance.
- Provides in-depth log analytics and customizable dashboards.
- The platform automatically identifies log anomalies using Watchdog Insights.
- The ability to rehydrate logs to cloud storage enhances audit capabilities.
- Offers comprehensive support for over 650 vendor-backed integrations.
Cons
- Pricing model leads to varying charges based on usage patterns and retention needs.
- Organizations should carefully monitor on-demand costs on a consistent basis.
- Large environment setup may need technical support.
SolarWinds
Best Option for Rapid Security Incident Response
Overall Rating: 4/5
- Core Features: 4.3/5
- Cost: 3.2/5
- Additional Features: 4.3/5
- Customer Support: 3.9/5
- Ease of Use: 5/5
SolarWinds Loggly delivers extensive observability through time-series performance statistics and log management, reducing the time to identify and resolve performance issues. Scalable technology enables IT operations to grow intelligently, quickly diagnosing problems and reducing Mean Time to Repair (MTTR). With shareable visualizations, contextualized searching, and surround search capabilities, the platform speeds up troubleshooting.
While SolarWinds offers integrations with major cloud services, it still has fewer native integrations compared to some competitors. For solutions with diverse integration, see Datadog.
Pricing
- Standard plan: $3,348+ annually
- Custom plans: Contact for quote
- Free trial: 30 days
Key Features
- Automated integration with Azure and AWS: End-to-end performance metrics, traces, and logs span a wide range of services and integrations, enabling speedier resolution of Azure and AWS application performance issues.
- Contextualized searching and shared visualization: Accelerates troubleshooting by providing full and shared visualizations across all logs and data. Through contextualized searching, it’s possible to identify issues quickly.
- Continuous insights: Gain proactive continuous insights across AWS, Azure, and hybrid cloud systems, allowing for quick issue resolution and lowering Mean Time To Repair (MTTR).
- Exception-based analytics: Manages exceptions by recognizing deviations from the norm using log formats and analytic search capabilities.
- Rapid repair: Identifies and communicates root causes as quickly as possible, guaranteeing maximum availability for applications, services, and associated infrastructure.
- Scalable technology for business growth: Enables IT operations to grow wisely by providing dynamically scalable infrastructure, applications, and services. Reduces MTTR and speeds up troubleshooting across the stack.
- Spot usage patterns and historical analysis: Identifies utilization patterns across apps, services, and infrastructure by analyzing user log and infrastructure data over time.
- Trace context integration: Integrates trace context into logs to understand the consequences of suspect log lines on application and service performance, decreasing troubleshooting time.
Pros
- Trace context to logs feature significantly reduces mean time to repair.
- Unified log monitoring for comprehensive insights.
- Rapid problem detection and communication of the root causes.
- Scalable technology assists in the dynamic growth of businesses.
- Provides shared visualizations and contextualized searches for effective troubleshooting.
Cons
- Some advanced cloud features may require additional configuration.
- Limited free version options compared to other solutions.
- Lacks details for pricing and plans.
Top 5 Features of Cloud Log Management Services
Effective cloud log management hinges on key features like log navigation, integration and compatibility, real-time alert capabilities, log security and access management, and advanced security analytics. These features provide enterprises with complete control and insight into their log data.
Log Navigation
Log navigation is the ability to easily navigate through log data and search for and filter logs based on certain criteria or time ranges. Efficient log navigation enables quick troubleshooting and detection of issues. It speeds up the process of discovering useful information amid massive amounts of log data, lowering Mean Time to Resolution (MTTR).
Integration & Compatibility
These include seamless integration with numerous platforms, services, and data sources, ensuring that the log management system can ingest and interact with a wide range of log types. Integration is critical for extensive log collection in a heterogeneous IT environment. Compatibility guarantees that the log management solution works in unison with existing systems, resulting in unified visibility and faster analysis.
Real-Time Alerting & Notification
Users can set up notifications based on established criteria, informing them promptly when specific events or abnormalities occur. Proactive incident response requires the rapid discovery of concerns via real-time alerts. It allows for timely response, which reduces the impact of potential problems on system performance and security.
Log Security & Access Management
Log security and access management include securing log data via encryption and access controls, as well as ensuring that only authorized users can view or alter logs. Log data protection ensures the integrity and security of sensitive information. Access controls prevent illegal access, protect against potential security breaches, and ensure data protection rules are followed.
Advanced Security Analytics
Advanced security analytics analyzes log data, detects trends, and identifies potential security threats using complex algorithms and approaches. This feature improves the log management solution’s ability to detect anomalies, allowing it to provide advanced security measures and reduce the risk of security incidents.
How We Evaluated the Best Cloud Log Management Services
We used a systematic approach in our complete evaluation of the top cloud log management services, creating five distinct categories: cost, core features, additional features, support and ease of use — each with key subcriteria. We allocated category ratings ranging from one to five based on the review of particular subcriteria for each service on our list to guarantee a balanced assessment.
Core Features – 25%
This digs into key factors including log navigation, integration capabilities, real-time alerts, log security, data processing, visualization tools, and sophisticated security analytics, as well as standard log retention days.
Criterion Winner: Sumo Logic
Cost – 20%
Cost examines factors such as the availability of free trials, transparent pricing strategies, customizable product bundles, and overall market competitiveness.
Criterion Winner: Multiple winners
Additional Features – 20%
This evaluates additional but valuable capabilities such as custom dashboards, anomaly detection, real-time data streaming, compliance adherence, resource optimization recommendations, and multi-cloud management support.
Criterion Winner: ManageEngine
Customer Support – 20%
This assesses the accessibility and effectiveness of customer service channels such as live chat, email responsiveness, and the quality of documentation, demos, and training materials.
Criterion Winner: Multiple winners
Ease of Use – 15%
This category examines automation levels, knowledge base resources, technical skill required for setup, and the administrative interface’s appeal and intuitiveness.
Criterion Winner: Multiple winners
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What are the benefits of working with cloud log management services?
With centralized control, real-time alerts, and better security, cloud log management systems simplify analysis. Live Tail provides speedy issue response, and multi-user RBAC ensures collaborative security. Flexible log transport and integrations improve interoperability, while extensive search tools speed up analysis.
Can I integrate cloud log management with my existing monitoring and alerting tools?
Yes, the majority of cloud log management services integrate with popular monitoring and alerting technologies. This allows seamless collaboration between log management and other parts of IT infrastructure monitoring, providing for a more comprehensive approach to system health and problem resolution.
How does cloud log management improve security?
Cloud log management improves security through the capability of real-time alerting, encrypted channels, and access limits. It aids in the rapid identification and response to potential security risks, protecting sensitive data and maintaining compliance with industry requirements.
Bottom Line: Optimize Operations with Cloud Log Management Solutions
Implementing modern cloud log management solutions is a solid first step for enterprises looking to improve their response agility and security posture. Carefully select the solution most tailored to your needs to fully enjoy the benefits and empower your business to streamline digital operations seamlessly and securely. Also take advantage of any free trials, free-for-life plans, or demos offered to try your top service before you buy.
For enhanced security and threat detection, consider integrating SIEM tools with your cloud log management.
