Best Log Management Software in 2026
Updated
In short: ELK Stack is ranked #1 of 107 as of 4 October 2026, ahead of Amazon CloudWatch Logs and Sumo Logic. The best-ranked option with a free plan is Amazon CloudWatch Logs. The lowest first paid tier on this page is Google Cloud Logging at $0.01/mo.
For teams working with logs, the right comparison points depend on how you need to inspect, process, and retain event data. ELK Stack, Elastic Observability, and Splunk Enterprise head the ranking, with NXLog and Amazon CloudWatch Logs next. Compare live log tailing and log pipelines with structured parsing and retention. Archive export and deployment options offer further ways to assess fit, while included ingestion, free-plan availability, and paid-from pricing help frame cost considerations. Use these listed capabilities to focus on the workflows and log-handling requirements that matter to you.
107 log management software ranked on what their makers publish — plans and prices, free tiers, platforms and the facts on their own pages.
#1 ELK Stack Top pick · 9.4 
#2 Amazon CloudWatch Logs Runner-up · 9.0 Free plan · $0.03/mo
#3 Sumo Logic Also great · 8.7 Free plan · Free
- Free planFree trial apiLinuxmacOSself-hostedWindows
- Free plan
- Yes
- Paid from
- Free
- Log retention
- 30 days
- Log pipelines
- Yes
- Archive export
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms - Free plan apiWeb
- Free plan
- No
- Included ingestion
- 5 GB/day
- Log pipelines
- Yes
- Archive export
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms$0.03/mofirst paid tier About Amazon CloudWatch LogsVisit site - Free planFree trial Web
- Free plan
- Yes
- Log pipelines
- Yes
- Archive export
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms - Free trial apiLinuxmacOSself-hostedWebWindows
- Free plan
- No
- Log retention
- 30 days
- Log pipelines
- Yes
- Archive export
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms - Free plan
- Free plan
- Yes
- Paid from
- $0.05/mo
- Log retention
- 30 days
- Log pipelines
- Yes
- Archive export
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms$0.05/mofirst paid tier About Oracle Cloud Infrastructure LoggingVisit site - Free planFree trial apiLinuxmacOSWebWindows
- Free plan
- Yes
- Paid from
- $79/mo
- Included ingestion
- 1 GB/day
- Log retention
- 15 days
- Log pipelines
- Yes
- Archive export
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms - Free plan WebWindowsmacOSLinux
- Free plan
- Yes
- Paid from
- $12.12/mo
- Log pipelines
- Yes
- Archive export
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms$12.12/mofirst paid tier About NXLogVisit site - Free plan LinuxmacOSWebWindows
- Free plan
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms$0.03/mofirst paid tier About Grafana Cloud Application ObservabilityVisit site - Web
- Free plan
- Yes
- Included ingestion
- 50 GB/day
- Log retention
- 30 days
- Log pipelines
- Yes
- Archive export
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms$0.01/mofirst paid tier About Google Cloud LoggingVisit site - Free plan Web
- Free plan
- Yes
- Paid from
- $0.09/mo
- Log pipelines
- Yes
- Archive export
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms$0.12/mofirst paid tier About LogmanagerVisit site - Free plan Web
- Free plan
- Yes
- Log retention
- 30 days
- Log pipelines
- Yes
- Archive export
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms - Free planFree trial Linuxself-hostedWeb
- Free plan
- Yes
- Paid from
- $30/mo
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms$30/mofirst paid tier About groundcoverVisit site - Free plan self-hosted
- Free plan
- Yes
- Log pipelines
- Yes
- Archive export
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms$999/mofirst paid tier About Kiwi Syslog ServerVisit site - Free trial AndroidapiiOSLinuxmacOSself-hostedWebWindows
- Free plan
- Yes
- Paid from
- $100/mo
- Included ingestion
- 300 GB/day
- Log retention
- 365 days
- Log pipelines
- Yes
- Archive export
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms$100/mofirst paid tier About SparkLogsVisit site - Free planFree trial AndroidapiiOSself-hostedWeb
- Free plan
- Yes
- Log pipelines
- Yes
- Archive export
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms$10/mofirst paid tier About LogflareVisit site - apiLinuxself-hostedWebWindows
- Log pipelines
- Yes
- Archive export
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms - Free planFree trial self-hosted
- Free plan
- Yes
- Paid from
- $83/mo
- Included ingestion
- 1 GB/day
- Log retention
- 3 days
- Log pipelines
- Yes
- Archive export
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms$83/mofirst paid tier About XPLGVisit site - Web
- Free plan
- Yes
- Log pipelines
- Yes
- Archive export
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms - Free plan WebWindowsmacOSLinux
- Free plan
- Yes
- Log retention
- 3 days
- Log pipelines
- Yes
- Archive export
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms$0.11/mofirst paid tier About TrueWatch Log ManagementVisit site -
- Free plan
- No
- Log retention
- 7 days
- Log pipelines
- Yes
- Archive export
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms - WebWindowsLinux
- Paid from
- $3/mo
- Included ingestion
- 10 GB/day
- Log retention
- 7 days
- Log pipelines
- Yes
- Archive export
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms$3/mofirst paid tier About Site24x7 AppLogsVisit site - Web
- Free plan
- No
- Paid from
- $1.04/mo
- Log pipelines
- Yes
- Archive export
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms$0.10/mofirst paid tier About OVHcloud Logs Data PlatformVisit site - self-hosted
- Free plan
- Yes
- Log pipelines
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms - self-hosted
- Free plan
- Yes
- Log pipelines
- Yes
- Archive export
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms - self-hosted
- Log pipelines
- Yes
- Archive export
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms
Is your app on this list?
Numbered spots on this list can be sponsored. They are labelled, and the editorial order and scores never change for payment.
Questions about this list
Which log management software is ranked first on Everything Xiaomi?
ELK Stack is ranked #1 of 107 with a score of 9.4. Amazon CloudWatch Logs is second and Sumo Logic third.
How many of these have a free plan?
14 of the 25 on this page publish a free plan on their own pricing pages.
Which is the cheapest paid option?
On this page, Google Cloud Logging has the lowest first paid tier we found: $0.01/mo.
How is this list ranked?
Ranked on what each maker publishes: documentation depth, a free tier and the platforms it runs on. Paid placements never change a rank.