Elasticsearch vs Loki
Elasticsearch
Distributed search and analytics engine
Loki
Log aggregation system by Grafana Labs
| Feature | Elasticsearch | Loki |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Databases | Monitoring |
| Sub-category | Search | Logging |
| Maturity | mature | mature |
| Complexity | intermediate | intermediate |
| Performance tier | medium | medium |
| License | SSPL | AGPL-3.0 |
| License type | source-available | copyleft |
| Pricing | fully free | fully free |
| GitHub stars | 72.0K | 24.0K |
| Contributors | 2.0K | 300 |
| Commit frequency | weekly | weekly |
| Plugin ecosystem | none | none |
| Docs quality | good | good |
| Backing org | Elastic | Grafana Labs |
| Funding model | open_core | open_core |
| Min RAM | 4 GB | 1 GB |
| Min CPU cores | 2 | 1 |
| Scaling pattern | distributed | single_node |
| Self-hostable | Yes | Yes |
| K8s native | No | Yes |
| Offline capable | Yes | No |
| Vendor lock-in | none | none |
| Languages | Java | Go |
| API type | REST | REST |
| Protocols | HTTP | HTTP |
| Deployment | docker, apt, binary | docker, binary |
| SDK languages | — | — |
| Team size fit | solo, small, medium, enterprise | small, medium, enterprise |
| First release | 2020 | 2020 |
| Latest version | — | — |
When to use Elasticsearch
- ✓ Primary use: full-text-search
- ✓ Primary use: log-analytics
- ✓ Primary use: security-analytics
When to use Loki
- ✓ Primary: log-aggregation
- ✓ Primary: log-search
- ✓ Primary: kubernetes-logging
Elasticsearch anti-patterns
Loki anti-patterns
- ✕ No full-text indexing by default
- ✕ LogQL learning curve
- ✕ Not for complex log analytics