Fluent Bit vs syslog-ng
Fluent Bit
fluentbit.iosyslog-ng
syslog-ng.comSide by side
| Figure | Fluent Bit | syslog-ng |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | Yes |
| Open source | — | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| API | — | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 6 |
| Spec score · Telemetry Pipeline Software | 8.1 (#13) | 8.7 (#2) |
| Integrations | Output destinations include Splunk, Elasticsearch, OpenSearch, Kafka, and other services. | The product pages list destinations and integrations including Elasticsearch, Hadoop, Kafka, MongoDB, SQL databases, Redis, Splunk, and SIEM tools. |
| License | Fluent Bit, its core, plugins, and tools are distributed under the Apache License 2.0. | The public project combines LGPL and GPL licensing: core reusable code is generally LGPL 2.1-or-later while many modules are GPLv2-or-later. |
| Parsing | Built-in parsers support JSON, Regex, LTSV, and Logfmt. | Built-in parsers include CSV, database and key-value parsers, with macros and rewrite capabilities for normalizing messages in flight. |
| Performance | The project is designed for high throughput with low resource consumption. | The project reports 600,000–800,000 messages per second in a simple single-node use case, with lower throughput when parsing and filtering are enabled. |
| Purpose | Fluent Bit is an open-source telemetry agent for collecting and processing telemetry across constrained systems and cloud infrastructures. | syslog-ng collects logs from infrastructure sources, processes them, and routes or stores them for analysis. |
| Reliability | It provides backpressure handling and buffering in memory and on the file system. | Premium Edition uses disk buffering, client-side failover, and application-layer acknowledgement to help transfer logs without message loss. |
| Security | Fluent Bit has integrated TLS and SSL support for network input and output plugins. | Premium Edition supports TLS-encrypted transfer and encrypted log storage, with X.509 certificates for host and server mutual authentication. |
Plans
syslog-ng
- syslog-ng Open Source EditionFree
- syslog-ng Premium Edition trialFree
- Syslog-ng Basic$2,800, paid once
- syslog-ng Premium EditionPriced on request
- syslog-ng Premium Edition MarketplacePriced on request
- syslog-ng Store BoxPriced on request
In their own words
Fluent Bit
Fluent Bit is a free, open-source telemetry agent for collecting and processing logs, metrics, and traces. It can run as an edge agent on constrained systems or as a central collector for cloud infrastructure, and is designed for high throughput with low resource consumption. Built-in parsers cover JSON, Regex, LTSV, and Logfmt; metrics compatibility includes Prometheus and OpenTelemetry. More than 100 built-in plugins cover inputs, filters, analytics, and outputs, with destinations including Splunk, Elasticsearch, OpenSearch, and Kafka. Buffering in memory or on the file system and backpressure handling support data flow, while network input and output plugins include TLS and SSL. Stream processing supports SQL queries, aggregation windows, forecasting, and data analysis. Users can write plugins in C, Lua, Golang, or WebAssembly. The Open-source Fluent Bit plan costs nothing, with self-hosted deployment under the Apache License 2.0. Official packages and installation guidance cover Linux, macOS, Windows, containers, and selected BSD and IBM Z Linux environments.
syslog-ng
syslog-ng collects infrastructure logs, processes them, and routes or stores them for analysis. Its free Open Source Edition can collect, parse, classify, rewrite, and correlate logs before sending them to analysis tools or storing them. Premium Edition adds filtering and real-time pattern correlation to reduce and normalize log data, plus disk buffering, client-side failover, and application-layer acknowledgements. It supports TLS-encrypted transfer and encrypted log storage with X.509 certificates for mutual authentication. Store Box offers access-controlled search and custom reports that can help with compliance work. Listed destinations include Elasticsearch, Hadoop, Kafka, MongoDB, SQL databases, Redis, Splunk, and SIEM tools. Premium licensing is based on Log Source Hosts, with annual support available; Store Box licensing depends on Log Source Hosts and hardware configuration. Open Source Edition is GPL/LGPL licensed and community supported. Commercial customers can access certified engineers and support services; Premium Edition and Store Box offer free trials.