Logstash
Logstash: A capable open-source log pipeline engine for teams managing their own infrastructure. Ranked #13 of 109 in Log Management Software by our editors (8.2/10); pricing: Free plan · 30-day trial; best for open-source log pipeline processing.
At a glance
- Editor score8.2 / 10
- PricingFree plan · 30-day trial
- Best forOpen-source log pipeline processing
- Free planYes
- Paid fromFree
- Facts checked20 Sep 2026
Where it wins
- Free, open-source pipelines for collection, filtering, and routing
- Grok, Dissect, JSON, and other parsing filters
- Persistent and dead-letter queues support event handling
Where it doesn't
- Self-hosted deployment requires infrastructure management
- Logstash processes events rather than providing storage retention
- Search and storage features are not part of its core role
Our verdict on Logstash
Logstash is an open-source data collection and event-processing engine from Elastic. It receives logs and other events through input plugins, transforms or enriches them with filters and codecs, and sends them to destinations through output plugins. Technical teams can deploy it on Linux or Windows servers, Docker, or Kubernetes. It fits organizations that need control over how logs are collected, parsed, buffered, and routed.
Its main strength is configurable pipeline processing. File tailing and log rotation handling support ongoing collection, while Grok, Dissect, JSON, and other filters handle structured and unstructured data. Conditional event transformation and routing let teams direct different events to different destinations. Persistent queues provide on-disk buffering, and dead-letter queues handle unprocessable events. This makes Logstash a practical choice when the central requirement is shaping and moving event data through a defined pipeline.
Logstash also connects with Elasticsearch, Kafka, Redis, RabbitMQ, Amazon S3, Google Cloud Storage, and Google Pub/Sub, with outputs that include files, queues, cloud storage, and other destinations. The tradeoff is its narrow role: it processes and routes events rather than providing its own log-storage retention tier, and it is primarily self-hosted. Choose Logstash for open-source collection and pipeline control; choose another product when integrated search and storage are the primary requirement.
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Logstash pricing
Logstash fact sheet
| Free plan | Yes |
|---|---|
| Paid from | Free |
| Included ingestion | Not verified |
| Log retention | Not verified |
| Log pipelines | Yes |
| Archive export | Yes |
| Live log tailing | Yes |
| Deployment options | Self-hosted |
| Structured log parsing | Yes |
| Free trial | 30 days |
| Deployment | Self-hosted |
| Platforms | Linux, Windows |
| Support | Community, Docs |
| Built for | Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise (editorial estimate) |
| Integrations | 7 integrations: Elasticsearch, Amazon S3, Kafka, Redis, RabbitMQ, Google Cloud Storage … See all → |
| Pricing | Free plan · 30-day trial |
| Website | elastic.co |
| Facts checked | 20 Sep 2026 |
Logstash integrations
Logstash lists 7 integrations on its own site.
- Elasticsearch
- Amazon S3
- Kafka
- Redis
- RabbitMQ
- Google Cloud Storage
- Google Pub/Sub
See all Logstash integrations →
Alternatives to Logstash
- ELK StackA flexible open-source log stack with broad deployment options and layered pricing.9.4
- Splunk EnterpriseA broad, self-managed log analytics platform for large enterprises with sales-led pricing.9.3
- Google Cloud LoggingA capable Google Cloud logging service with usage-based pricing and broad routing options.9.2
See all Logstash alternatives →
Also Ranked In
Logstash is ranked in 2 of our directories.
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Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026
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