The best log analytics platforms, according to hackers
5 log analytics platforms were recommended on Hacker News between November 2025 and November 2026. We rank them by how many separate people recommend each one, and 2 earn the Hacker Approved badge.
Top picks
The two most recommended log analytics platforms with the badge. Each figure is 2 people. RecommendsCriticizes One comment
Standard fit with Grafana and Prometheus
Recommended as a free, self-hostable log store that is easy to run alongside Grafana and Prometheus. Common caveat: limited query support and a steep learning curve for complex queries.
Clear automatic flowchart and graph layouts
Free open-source stack with strong log filtering and querying; some also use the Eclipse ELK layout engine for flowcharts. Caveat: heavy on memory and operations.
All 5 log analytics platforms, ranked
Select a column heading to sort. Approval share is recommenders out of everyone who gave an opinion; the tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs. Months counts the months, out of 13, in which someone recommended it.
| Rank | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Grafana Loki | 19 | 7 | 73% | 8 | — | Approved |
| 2 | ELK stack | 15 | 7 | 68% | 8 | — | Approved |
| 3 | VictoriaLogs | 8 | 0 | 100% | 7 | — | — |
| 4 | Splunk | 7 | 20 | 26% | 6 | — | — |
| 5 | Kibana | 6 | 2 | 75% | 4 | — | — |
How we rank
Rank is the number of separate people who recommend a product in a Hacker News comment over the past year. Someone who praises the same log analytics platform in five threads counts once.
The badge goes to log analytics platforms that at least 10 people recommend, with recommenders outnumbering critics at least 2 to 1, recommended in at least 4 of the 13 months.
Rankings are never for sale. We may earn a commission when you buy through our links. It never changes the order.