Compare software

MetricbeatFluent Bit
Free

Free to download; Elastic Cloud hosting is a paid option.

 Free

Free and open source.

Windows, Linux, Command line Linux, Self-hosted
  • Ready-made modules for common services like Apache, Redis and NGINX
  • Packages for apt, yum, Docker and Kubernetes
  • Small footprint for an agent
  • Native OpenTelemetry input and output
  • Most useful alongside Elasticsearch and Kibana
  • Default build is under the source-available Elastic License
  • Only a pipeline; needs a separate backend to store and view data
  • Configuration takes some learning
Downloadable app Downloadable app, Self-hosted
Open source Open source
License: Apache-2.0 (OSS build); Elastic License (default build) License not stated
No account needed No account needed
Not stated if it works offline Works offline

Checked October 1, 2026

Checked September 24, 2026

Catalog facts only. Anything “not stated” is unconfirmed. Check full listings for details.