AWS CloudWatch Logs
| Ingestion | $0.50/GB |
| Storage | $0.03/GB/month |
| Logs Insights queries | $0.005/GB scanned |
| Live Tail | $0.01/minute |
Every Logs Insights query bills for the data it scans — debugging sessions have a meter running.
Full comparison vs LogTide
Updated pricing breakdown
What cloud logging really costs
AWS CloudWatch, Google Cloud Logging and Azure Monitor all meter ingestion, storage and queries separately. Here's the per-GB breakdown, worked examples at real volumes, and where the bill actually comes from.
Pricing by provider
Google Cloud Logging
| First 50 GiB/month | Free |
| Additional ingestion | $0.50/GiB |
| Storage (>30 days) | $0.01/GiB/month |
| Log Analytics | BigQuery query costs |
The free tier is generous for small projects, but beyond it costs scale linearly with volume.
Full comparison vs LogTideAzure Monitor (Log Analytics)
| Ingestion (pay-as-you-go) | $2.76/GB |
| Ingestion (commitment, 100 GB/day) | $1.96/GB |
| Extra retention | $0.10/GB/month |
| Sentinel SIEM add-on | +$2.46/GB |
The highest per-GB price of the three — and security detection (Sentinel) nearly doubles it.
Full comparison vs LogTide Worked example
The same logs, four very different bills
A mid-size SaaS ingesting 50 GB/day (~1.5 TB/month) with 30-day searchable retention and regular debugging queries:
| Platform | Monthly cost | Annual cost | Main cost drivers |
|---|---|---|---|
| AWS CloudWatch Logs | ~$870 | ~$10,440 | $750 ingestion + storage + Insights queries |
| Google Cloud Logging | ~$725 | ~$8,700 | $0.50/GiB beyond 50 GiB free + analytics |
| Azure Log Analytics | ~$3,240 | ~$38,880 | $1.96/GB commitment tier + retention |
| LogTide (self-hosted) | ~$330 | ~$3,960 | VM + storage only. Unlimited queries & users |
Figures from the detailed comparisons: vs CloudWatch, vs Cloud Logging, vs Azure Monitor. Below ~50 GiB/month, cloud free tiers win — self-hosting pays off as volume grows.
Beyond the sticker price
Where cloud logging bills actually come from
Pay-per-query
CloudWatch Logs Insights bills $0.005/GB scanned and Azure Basic Logs $0.006/GB. The more you debug, the more you pay — a perverse incentive during incidents.
Retention fees
Keeping logs searchable past 30 days costs extra everywhere. Compliance teams needing 12-month retention pay storage fees on every GB, every month.
SIEM add-ons
Security detection is never included: Microsoft Sentinel adds $2.46/GB on top of Log Analytics. LogTide ships Sigma rules and MITRE ATT&CK mapping in the box.
Growth coupling
Per-GB pricing means every new service, traffic spike or verbose deploy raises the bill. Teams respond by dropping logs — losing the data they need most.
Cutting the bill
Three ways to reduce cloud logging costs
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1. Filter and sample at the source
Drop debug-level noise before it ships, sample high-volume access logs, and route low-value log groups to short retention. This buys 20-40% but caps out quickly — and every filter is data you can't get back.
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2. Use commitment tiers and basic-log SKUs
Azure commitment tiers and CloudWatch infrequent-access classes trade flexibility for discounts. You're still metered per GB — the bill grows with you, just slightly slower.
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3. Move search and retention off the meter
The structural fix: keep cloud logging as a thin transport (or bypass it entirely) and run search, alerting and retention on self-hosted infrastructure. LogTide turns logging into a flat infrastructure line item — unlimited queries, users and retention. See the cost optimization guide for worked migrations.
Cloud logging pricing FAQ
Cloud logging pricing: FAQ
How much does Google Cloud Logging cost?
Google Cloud Logging includes 50 GiB of ingestion per project per month for free, then charges $0.50/GiB. Storage beyond the default 30-day retention costs $0.01/GiB/month, and querying logs through Log Analytics adds BigQuery costs. A workload ingesting 100 GiB/day runs roughly $1,675/month including analytics.
How much do AWS CloudWatch Logs cost?
CloudWatch Logs charges $0.50/GB for ingestion, $0.03/GB/month for storage, and $0.005 per GB scanned by each Logs Insights query. A 50 GB/day workload with 30-day retention and regular queries costs around $870/month — and query costs grow the more you actually use your logs.
How much does Azure Monitor Log Analytics cost?
Azure Log Analytics charges about $2.76/GB pay-as-you-go, dropping to roughly $1.96/GB on a 100 GB/day commitment tier. Retention beyond the included period adds $0.10/GB/month, and Microsoft Sentinel (the SIEM layer) adds another $2.46/GB on top.
Why do cloud logging bills grow so fast?
Because every dimension is metered: ingestion per GB, storage per GB-month, and often queries per GB scanned. Log volume grows with traffic and with every new service, so the bill compounds. Teams end up dropping logs or cutting retention to control costs — losing exactly the data they need during incidents.
How can I reduce cloud logging costs?
Short term: filter noisy debug logs at the source, sample high-volume access logs, and reduce retention on low-value log groups. Structurally: move log search and retention to self-hosted infrastructure. Self-hosting LogTide replaces per-GB fees with a fixed infrastructure cost, typically saving 60-90% beyond ~50 GB/day.
Is self-hosted logging really cheaper than CloudWatch or GCP?
Beyond moderate volume, yes. At 50 GB/day, CloudWatch costs ~$870/month versus ~$330/month for LogTide on equivalent AWS infrastructure. At 100 GiB/day on GCP, Cloud Logging runs ~$1,675/month versus ~$450/month self-hosted. Below ~50 GiB/month, cloud free tiers win and self-hosting is not worth the overhead.
Take logging off the meter
LogTide is free, open-source log management with built-in SIEM. Deploy with Docker Compose and stop paying per gigabyte.