Compare logging services (CloudWatch Logs, Azure Monitor Logs, Cloud Logging) across providers.
Last verified: May 2026
Centralized log management service for monitoring, storing, and accessing log files from AWS resources, on-premises servers, and custom applications.
Scalable log analytics service that collects and organises log and performance data from monitored resources, enabling complex queries with Kusto Query Language.
Fully managed, real-time log management service with storage, search, analysis, and alerting at exabyte scale across Google Cloud and other sources.
[
{
"provider": "aws",
"serviceName": "Amazon CloudWatch Logs",
"description": "Centralized log management service for monitoring, storing, and accessing log files from AWS resources, on-premises servers, and custom applications.",
"maxLogSize": "256 KB per log event",
"retentionOptions": "1 day to 10 years (configurable per log group)",
"queryLanguage": "CloudWatch Logs Insights",
"ingestionPricePerGB": 0.5,
"storagePricePerGB": 0.03,
"freeAllowance": "5 GB ingestion + 5 GB archival storage per month",
"realTimeStreaming": true,
"exportOptions": [
"S3",
"Kinesis Data Streams",
"Kinesis Data Firehose",
"Lambda"
],
"encryptionAtRest": true
},
{
"provider": "azure",
"serviceName": "Azure Monitor Logs (Log Analytics)",
"description": "Scalable log analytics service that collects and organises log and performance data from monitored resources, enabling complex queries with Kusto Query Language.",
"maxLogSize": "32 KB per record (basic); custom logs up to 1 MB",
"retentionOptions": "31 days interactive (free) up to 730 days interactive; archive tier up to 12 years",
"queryLanguage": "Kusto Query Language (KQL)",
"ingestionPricePerGB": 2.76,
"storagePricePerGB": 0.12,
"freeAllowance": "First 5 GB per billing account per month (Log Analytics)",
"realTimeStreaming": true,
"exportOptions": [
"Azure Storage",
"Event Hubs",
"Power BI",
"Azure Data Explorer"
],
"encryptionAtRest": true
},
{
"provider": "gcp",
"serviceName": "Google Cloud Logging",
"description": "Fully managed, real-time log management service with storage, search, analysis, and alerting at exabyte scale across Google Cloud and other sources.",
"maxLogSize": "256 KB per log entry",
"retentionOptions": "30 days default; custom log buckets up to 3,650 days (10 years)",
"queryLanguage": "Logging query language",
"ingestionPricePerGB": 0.5,
"storagePricePerGB": 0.01,
"freeAllowance": "First 50 GB per project per month",
"realTimeStreaming": true,
"exportOptions": [
"BigQuery",
"Cloud Storage",
"Pub/Sub",
"Splunk"
],
"encryptionAtRest": true
}
]The Multi-Cloud Logging Compare tool offers a detailed comparison of logging services across AWS, Azure, and GCP. It covers CloudWatch Logs, Azure Monitor Logs (Log Analytics), and Cloud Logging, mapping features like log ingestion, query languages, retention policies, export options, and pricing. Teams running workloads across multiple clouds can use this reference to understand how each provider handles log management and where the services differ in capability and cost.
The tool compares AWS CloudWatch Logs (including Logs Insights), Azure Monitor Logs with Log Analytics workspaces, and GCP Cloud Logging. It covers ingestion methods, query capabilities, retention, export, and pricing.
Yes. Each provider supports exporting logs to external destinations. Common patterns include streaming to a SIEM like Splunk or Datadog, or consolidating into one cloud's logging platform using cross-cloud agents and export pipelines.
Your platform team is centralizing logs from AWS and GCP workloads to a single SIEM. The compare tool shows: AWS egress to internet = $0.09/GB after first 100GB; GCP egress = $0.12/GB to internet, $0.01/GB to AWS via direct interconnect. For 5 TB/month of logs from each cloud, AWS-side egress is ~$450/month, GCP-side is ~$610/month. You decide to use a managed SIEM with multi-cloud agents instead of cross-cloud egress — same data centralized at lower egress cost.
The compare tool normalizes logging features across providers into 12+ dimensions: ingestion model, query language, retention defaults, max retention, export destinations, structured logging support, log routing/sinks, alert integration, pricing tiers, and free quotas. Side-by-side tables show feature availability and current pricing, with caveats noted where features are similar but not identical (e.g., 'KQL is more powerful than CloudWatch Insights for joins').
Cloud Logging ingestion costs are typically the #1 line item on a multi-cloud logging bill. AWS CloudWatch Logs at $0.50/GB ingestion + $0.03/GB storage adds up fast. Azure Monitor's Basic Logs tier ($0.50/GB) vs Analytics tier ($2.30/GB) is the same data with different query SLAs — use Basic for high-volume operational logs and Analytics only for security/audit logs.
Cross-cloud log centralization via SIEM (Splunk, Datadog, Sumo Logic) is operationally cleaner than chaining native services, but the egress costs to ship logs out of each cloud can be brutal. Calculate egress + SIEM ingestion against keeping logs in-cloud and using a metasearch tool. The break-even depends heavily on your log volume per cloud.
All three providers cap log retention at very different defaults: CloudWatch defaults to never-expire (you pay forever), Azure Monitor defaults to 30 days, Cloud Logging defaults to 30 days for _Default bucket and 400 days for _Required. Check your actual retention settings — old logs sitting in CloudWatch from years ago are pure cost with zero value.
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