Who is each tool for?
Gr
Grafana Loki
Teams wanting cost-effective log aggregation with Grafana
Sp
Splunk
Enterprises with heavy log analysis and security requirements
Pros and Cons
Gr
Grafana Loki
Pros
- Cost-effective (indexes labels only)
- Native Grafana integration
- Prometheus-like label system
- Easy to operate
Cons
- No full-text indexing
- Query performance depends on labels
- Less powerful search than Elasticsearch
Sp
Splunk
Pros
- Industry-leading search capabilities
- Powerful SPL query language
- Strong security and compliance
- Extensive app marketplace
Cons
- Expensive licensing model
- Resource-intensive deployment
- Steep learning curve for SPL
Feature Comparison
Feature
Gr
Grafana LokiSp
SplunkAPM
4
7
Log Management
8.5
10
Infrastructure Monitoring
7
8
Alerting
7.5
8.5
Integrations
8
8.5
Ease of Use
8
6.5
Support
7.5
9
Value for Money
9.5
6
Overall Score
8.5
8.6
Pricing
Gr
Grafana Loki
Free / Cloud from $49/mo
Pricing varies by data volume and features. Contact Grafana Loki for a custom quote.
Sp
Splunk
Custom pricing
Pricing varies by data volume and features. Contact Splunk for a custom quote.
Our Verdict
Both Grafana Loki and Splunk are excellent observability platforms. Splunk edges ahead with a score of 8.6/10, particularly excelling in APM and Log Management.
