Comparison

LogTide vs Graylog for Log Management

Compare LogTide and Graylog for log management. Docker Compose vs Java/MongoDB/Elasticsearch, SIEM, and migration path.

Simpler setup (Docker Compose) Built-in SIEM with Sigma rules Lower resource requirements Modern UI

Graylog is an established open-source log management platform built on Java, MongoDB, and Elasticsearch (or OpenSearch). LogTide is a modern alternative with simpler architecture, lower resource needs, and built-in SIEM. Both are self-hosted and open-source, so this comparison focuses on architecture, operational complexity, and capabilities.

Architecture Comparison

Graylog

Graylog requires three separate components to function:

Graylog Server - Java-based log processing and UI (requires JVM tuning)
MongoDB - Configuration and metadata storage
Elasticsearch/OpenSearch - Log storage and full-text search engine

Each component must be installed, configured, version-matched, and maintained independently. Production deployments typically require clustering Elasticsearch nodes for redundancy and performance.

Minimum production setup: 3 Elasticsearch nodes + 1 MongoDB replica set + 1-2 Graylog servers = 5-6 processes across multiple machines.

LogTide

LogTide is a single application stack:

Backend - API, ingestion, search, alerting, SIEM
Frontend - Built-in web UI
TimescaleDB or ClickHouse - Storage (via Reservoir abstraction)

Production setup: docker compose up -d = 3 containers, one command. No Elasticsearch, no MongoDB, no JVM.

Resource Comparison

One of LogTide’s biggest advantages over Graylog is resource efficiency:

Component	Graylog	LogTide
Elasticsearch (3 nodes)	24-48 GB RAM	-
MongoDB	2-4 GB RAM	-
Graylog Server (JVM)	4-8 GB RAM	-
Backend	-	2-4 GB RAM
TimescaleDB	-	4-8 GB RAM
Total RAM	30-60 GB	6-12 GB
CPU cores	12-24	4-8
Disk IOPS	High (ES indexing)	Moderate

LogTide uses 60-80% less memory for equivalent workloads, primarily because it avoids the Elasticsearch heap overhead and JVM memory requirements.

Cost Comparison

Both offer free self-hosted options, but operational costs differ significantly due to infrastructure requirements and feature gating.

Graylog Pricing

Tier	Cost
Graylog Open (self-hosted)	Free (limited features)
Graylog Operations	From $1,250/month
Graylog Security	From $1,550/month
Graylog Cloud	From $1,250/month

Real-world infrastructure cost for 50 GB/day (self-hosted open source):

3x Elasticsearch nodes (16 GB RAM each): ~$450/month
MongoDB instance (4 GB RAM): ~$50/month
Graylog server (8 GB JVM heap): ~$100/month
Storage (2 TB SSD across ES nodes): ~$100/month
Infrastructure total: ~$700/month ($8,400/year)

To get SIEM features, you need Graylog Security at $1,550+/month, bringing the total to $2,250/month ($27,000/year).

LogTide Pricing

Component	Cost
Software license	Free (AGPLv3)
Cloud VM (4 CPU, 16 GB RAM)	~$100-200/month
Storage (1 TB SSD)	~$50-80/month
SIEM features	Included
Users	Unlimited

Same 50 GB/day scenario:

Infrastructure: ~$200-300/month
Total: ~$250/month ($3,000/year)

Infrastructure savings vs Graylog Open: ~$5,400/year (64%)

Savings vs Graylog Security: ~$24,000/year (89%)

Feature Comparison

Feature	Graylog Open	LogTide
Log ingestion (Syslog, GELF)	Yes	Syslog (via Fluent Bit) + HTTP API
HTTP API ingestion	Yes (GELF HTTP)	Yes (native)
Native SDKs	No (GELF libraries)	Yes (Node.js, Python, Go)
OpenTelemetry support	Plugin	Native OTLP
Full-text search	Yes (Elasticsearch)	Yes (indexed)
Real-time streaming	Yes	Yes (SSE)
Alert rules	Yes	Yes
Pipelines / extractors	Yes (processing rules)	Auto JSON parsing
Lookup tables	Yes	metadata JSON
Sigma detection rules	No (Graylog Security only)	Built-in
MITRE ATT&CK mapping	No (Graylog Security only)	Included
Incident management	No (Graylog Security only)	Included
Multi-tenancy	Limited (streams)	Yes (organizations/projects)
Self-hosted	Yes	Yes
Open source	Yes (SSPL for some features)	AGPLv3
Architecture complexity	High (Java + MongoDB + ES)	Low (Docker Compose)
Index management	Manual (rotation, retention)	Automatic

Where Graylog Wins

Mature log processing. Graylog’s processing pipelines, extractors, and lookup tables provide sophisticated log transformation capabilities. If you need to parse complex log formats (syslog, CEF, LEEF, Windows Event Log) with rule-based extraction and enrichment, Graylog’s pipeline system is well-established and battle-tested.

Native Syslog and GELF support. Graylog has first-class Syslog (TCP/UDP) and GELF input support, making it a natural fit for network devices, firewalls, switches, and legacy infrastructure that speaks Syslog natively. No intermediary agent is needed.

Established community. Graylog has been around since 2010 and has a large community with extensive documentation, content packs, and community plugins. There are answers to most common questions on forums and Stack Overflow.

Stream-based routing. Graylog’s stream concept allows flexible log routing based on field-matching rules. Different log types can be sent to different indexes with independent retention policies, making it easy to manage data lifecycle.

Elasticsearch query power. Because Graylog uses Elasticsearch under the hood, you get the full power of Lucene queries and Elasticsearch aggregations for complex log analysis.

Where LogTide Wins

Dramatically simpler operations. Graylog requires managing Elasticsearch clusters (shard allocation, replica management, index rotation, JVM garbage collection tuning), MongoDB (replica sets for HA, WiredTiger cache sizing), and the Graylog JVM (heap sizing, thread pool tuning). LogTide is a single Docker Compose deployment with your choice of TimescaleDB or ClickHouse.

Lower resource footprint. Graylog’s Elasticsearch dependency alone needs 24-48 GB of RAM in production. Add MongoDB and the Graylog JVM, and you’re looking at 30-60 GB minimum. LogTide runs on 6-12 GB total, saving 60-80% on infrastructure.

Built-in SIEM at no extra cost. Graylog locks SIEM features (Sigma rules, MITRE ATT&CK mapping, incident management) behind the paid Graylog Security tier at $1,550+/month. LogTide includes all SIEM capabilities in the free open-source version.

Native SDKs. Graylog relies on GELF (Graylog Extended Log Format) libraries or Syslog for application logging. GELF is non-standard and Graylog-specific. LogTide provides native SDKs for Node.js, Python, and Go with structured logging, automatic batching, and retry support.

Flexible storage backends. LogTide supports TimescaleDB (PostgreSQL-based, default) and ClickHouse via its Reservoir abstraction. Both are easier to manage than Elasticsearch. With TimescaleDB, standard SQL tooling, pg_dump, and pgAdmin all work out of the box. With ClickHouse, you get columnar storage optimized for high-volume analytical queries.

True open source. Some Graylog features are now under the Server Side Public License (SSPL), which restricts usage in certain scenarios. LogTide is fully AGPLv3 with no feature gating between free and paid tiers.

No version compatibility headaches. Graylog requires version-matching between Graylog Server, Elasticsearch/OpenSearch, and MongoDB. Upgrading one component without the others can cause breakage. LogTide is a single versioned release.

When to Choose Graylog

You receive logs primarily via Syslog or GELF from network infrastructure
You need Graylog’s mature log processing pipelines and extractors
Your team has existing Graylog expertise, content packs, and dashboards
You need stream-based routing for complex multi-tenant log management
You’re already running Elasticsearch and want to leverage that investment
You need Elasticsearch’s advanced aggregation capabilities

When to Choose LogTide

You want simpler operations without managing Elasticsearch and MongoDB
Infrastructure budget is limited (60-80% less RAM needed)
You need SIEM capabilities without paying for Graylog Security
You prefer native application SDKs over GELF format
You want a modern stack with flexible storage (TimescaleDB or ClickHouse)
You’re starting fresh and want the fastest path to production
You want all features included with no commercial tier gating

Migration Path

Step 1: Ship Logs to Both

Run LogTide alongside Graylog during evaluation. Use Fluent Bit to fan out logs to both systems:

[SERVICE]
    Flush 5
    Log_Level info

[INPUT]
    Name tail
    Path /var/log/app/*.log
    Tag app.*
    Parser json

[INPUT]
    Name systemd
    Tag system.*
    Systemd_Filter _SYSTEMD_UNIT=nginx.service

# Send to LogTide
[OUTPUT]
    Name http
    Match *
    Host logtide.internal
    Port 8080
    URI /api/v1/ingest
    Format json
    Header X-API-Key lp_your_api_key

# Keep Graylog output during migration
[OUTPUT]
    Name gelf
    Match *
    Host graylog.internal
    Port 12201
    Mode tcp

Step 2: Forward Syslog Sources to LogTide

For network devices and infrastructure sending Syslog or GELF, use Fluent Bit as a protocol relay:

# Receive Syslog from network devices
[INPUT]
    Name syslog
    Listen 0.0.0.0
    Port 5140
    Mode tcp
    Parser syslog-rfc5424

# Receive GELF from legacy applications
[INPUT]
    Name tcp
    Listen 0.0.0.0
    Port 12201
    Format json

# Forward everything to LogTide
[OUTPUT]
    Name http
    Match *
    Host logtide.internal
    Port 8080
    URI /api/v1/ingest
    Format json
    Header X-API-Key lp_your_api_key

Step 3: Validate and Cut Over

Compare LogTide and Graylog results for 1-2 weeks:

Verify search results match for the same queries and time ranges
Confirm alerts fire correctly with equivalent thresholds
Test SIEM detection rules against your real log data
Validate multi-tenancy and access controls
Once validated, redirect all log sources to LogTide and decommission the Graylog stack (Elasticsearch, MongoDB, Graylog Server)

Concept Mapping

Graylog	LogTide	Notes
Stream	Project	Logical grouping of logs
Index Set	Project	One index set = One project
Source	Service	Per-source identification
Extractor	N/A (auto JSON)	LogTide auto-parses JSON fields
Processing Pipeline	N/A	Preprocess in Fluent Bit or app
GELF input	HTTP API / SDK	Direct HTTP ingestion
Syslog input	Fluent Bit relay	Forward via Fluent Bit
Alert Condition	Alert Rule	Similar functionality
Notification	Webhook / Email	Alert delivery channels
Content Pack	N/A	Use Sigma rules from SigmaHQ
Lookup Table	metadata JSON	Store enrichment data in metadata
Graylog Security	Sigma Rules + SIEM	Built-in, no extra license
Dashboard	SIEM Dashboard	Security-focused dashboards

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