SolarWinds Papertrail review
A simple hosted log service with a free tier and predictable per-GB pricing.
Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026
SolarWinds Papertrail is a cloud-based log management service for developers, IT teams, and operations teams. It brings application, server, service, and network-device logs into a web interface, where teams can search and filter events, inspect incoming activity in real time, create alerts, and review log volume. The service accepts syslog and text-file logs and provides both REST API and command-line access. Its straightforward hosted model fits small teams that want centralized logs without a broad platform around them.
Pricing is easy to map to usage. The Free plan includes 50 MB per month plus one week of downloadable and analyzable logs. The Paid plan starts at $5 per GB per month, with a 1 GB per month starting volume. Paid retention can be selected from 1 day to 4 weeks, and the plan includes one year of downloadable archives. That structure makes Papertrail approachable for low-volume environments, while teams should account for the 1 GB starting volume and choose retention based on how long searchable logs must remain available.
Papertrail’s strongest fit is focused operational visibility: centralized aggregation, real-time live tailing, regular-expression search, scheduled and inactivity alerts, log velocity analytics, and access control through log groups and user permissions. Slack and PagerDuty integrations support alert workflows, while Amazon S3 export and downloadable archives extend storage options. Teams needing a simple web-and-API service with practical search and archiving should consider it. It is less suitable for organizations that require self-hosted deployment or a broader log platform beyond the listed capabilities.
SolarWinds Papertrail pros and cons
- Where it wins
- Free plan includes 50 MB/month and one week of log access
- Live tailing, regex search, alerts, and log velocity analytics
- REST API, command-line access, archives, and Amazon S3 export
- Where it doesn't
- The free plan is limited to 50 MB/month
- Paid plans start at a 1 GB/month volume
- Cloud deployment may not suit teams needing self-hosted logs
SolarWinds Papertrail fact sheet, pricing and score →
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