SparkLogs vs syslog-ng
SparkLogs
sparklogs.comsyslog-ng
syslog-ng.comSide by side
| Figure | SparkLogs | syslog-ng |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $100/mo | Free |
| Free plan | — | Yes |
| Free trial | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | — | Yes |
| Web | Yes | — |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| iOS | Yes | — |
| Android | Yes | — |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 3 | 6 |
| Spec score · Log Management Software | 9.0 (#13) | 9.1 (#11) |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Integrations | Supported ingestion tooling includes OpenTelemetry, Grafana Alloy, Vector, Fluent Bit, filebeat, Logstash, Beats, and APIs for HTTPS JSON, Elasticsearch bulk, and Loki push. | The product pages list destinations and integrations including Elasticsearch, Hadoop, Kafka, MongoDB, SQL databases, Redis, Splunk, and SIEM tools. |
| Security | SparkLogs states that connections use TLS 1.2 or newer and data at rest uses AES-256 encryption. | Premium Edition supports TLS-encrypted transfer and encrypted log storage, with X.509 certificates for host and server mutual authentication. |
| Support | SparkLogs invites questions, ideas, and feedback through its Discord community, and provides a security and compliance contact path. | Commercial customers can access certified engineers, global coverage, and support services; Open Source Edition users are directed to community support and documentation. |
| What it does | SparkLogs is a cloud-first, petabyte-scale log management and observability platform. | syslog-ng is an enhanced log daemon that receives syslog, unstructured text, message queues, SQL and NoSQL data and routes or stores it. |
Plans
SparkLogs
- SparkLogs Cloud$100 a month
- Private Cloud$440 a month
- Self-Hosted Querying$2,000 a month
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
SparkLogs
SparkLogs is a cloud-first log management and observability platform for collecting, querying, and retaining telemetry. Its SQL-like, type-aware LQL offers interactive histograms and exploration across billions of events. Data can be sent through the SparkLogs Agent or authenticated Ingest Keys, with ingestion tooling that includes OpenTelemetry, Grafana Alloy, Vector, Fluent Bit, filebeat, Logstash, Beats, and APIs. AutoExtract identifies standard fields in raw messages, while AutoClassify groups similar messages into patterns. The platform also provides live log tailing, pipelines, archive export, and tools for AI-assisted fleet investigations using logs and system state. It supports cloud and self-hosted deployment and runs on web and native desktop and mobile apps. SparkLogs says connections use TLS 1.2 or newer and stored data uses AES-256; it is not yet SOC 2 or ISO 27001 certified. The official agent currently supports Windows 10 or later and Windows Server 2016 or later on x64. SparkLogs Cloud costs $100 a month, with 300 GB monthly ingestion included and a listed free allowance under 25 GB per month. Private Cloud is $440 a month; Self-Hosted Querying is $2,000 a month.
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.