Amazon CloudWatch Logs vs Grafana Loki

Amazon CloudWatch Logs9.0Visit Grafana Loki8.7Visit

Higher score Amazon CloudWatch Logs #4 in Log Analysis Software 9.0/10 Paid ✓ 0 of 1 features Visit AWS

vs

Grafana Loki #7 in Log Analysis Software 8.7/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 0 of 1 features Visit Grafana Loki

• Amazon CloudWatch Logs fits best

  AWS-centric teams analyzing operational logs

• Grafana Loki fits best

  Grafana users wanting open-source log storage

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Side by side

Feature	Amazon CloudWatch Logs 9.0/10 Visit ↗	Grafana Loki 8.7/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	9.0	8.7
Ranking	#4 in Log Analysis Software	#7 in Log Analysis Software
Best for	AWS-centric teams analyzing operational logs	Grafana users wanting open-source log storage
Pricing model	Paid	Free
Starting price	$0.03/GB usage-based	Free plan
Free plan	—	✓ (best)
Free trial	—	—
Deployment	Cloud	Self-hosted
Platforms	Web	Linux
Support	Docs, Community, Tickets, Phone	Docs, Community
Integrations	5 integrations	3 integrations
Built for	Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise	Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features Amazon CloudWatch Logs 0/1 · Grafana Loki 0/1
Log alerts	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Specs
Deployment	Cloud	Self-hosted
Log retention	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Query language	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Free ingestion limit	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Log source integrations	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Our review
Pros	Queries log data interactively with CloudWatch Logs Insights. Routes events to Kinesis Data Streams, Firehose, or Lambda. Supports retention controls, S3 export, and sensitive-data masking.	Query logs with LogQL and tail incoming data in real time. Choose self-hosted storage or managed Grafana Cloud Logs. Integrate with Grafana, Prometheus, Kubernetes, and object-storage services.
Cons	Usage-based pricing varies by AWS Region. Its integrations and workflow center on the AWS ecosystem. Requires teams to manage retention choices by log group.	Indexes labels rather than full log text, narrowing search approach. Grafana Cloud Logs Pro adds usage charges beyond its included ingestion. Cloud Free retention is 14 days; longer retention requires Pro or self-management.
Our verdict	Amazon CloudWatch Logs collects and centralizes log data from AWS resources, applications, and other sources, then supports search, filtering, analysis, routing, and storage management. It suits teams that operate primarily on AWS and want… Read the review →	Grafana Loki is an open-source log aggregation system for storing and querying application and infrastructure logs. It suits teams already working in Grafana that want log storage alongside their monitoring workflows, including those who… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• Amazon CloudWatch Logs — where it wins

  • Queries log data interactively with CloudWatch Logs Insights.
  • Routes events to Kinesis Data Streams, Firehose, or Lambda.
  • Supports retention controls, S3 export, and sensitive-data masking.

  Where it doesn't

  • Usage-based pricing varies by AWS Region.
  • Its integrations and workflow center on the AWS ecosystem.
  • Requires teams to manage retention choices by log group.

• Grafana Loki — where it wins

  • Query logs with LogQL and tail incoming data in real time.
  • Choose self-hosted storage or managed Grafana Cloud Logs.
  • Integrate with Grafana, Prometheus, Kubernetes, and object-storage services.

  Where it doesn't

  • Indexes labels rather than full log text, narrowing search approach.
  • Grafana Cloud Logs Pro adds usage charges beyond its included ingestion.
  • Cloud Free retention is 14 days; longer retention requires Pro or self-management.

• Amazon CloudWatch Logs9.0/10 · Paid

  A broad AWS log service for querying, routing, and managing operational data.

  Visit AWSFull verdict →
• Grafana Loki8.7/10 · Free plan

  A Grafana-centered log store with LogQL, live tailing, and label-based indexing.

  Visit Grafana LokiFull verdict →