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Amazon CloudWatch vs Amazon OpenSearch Service comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 9, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

Amazon CloudWatch
Ranking in Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability
13th
Ranking in Log Management
14th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
46
Ranking in other categories
Cloud Monitoring Software (10th)
Amazon OpenSearch Service
Ranking in Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability
35th
Ranking in Log Management
30th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.5
Number of Reviews
5
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability category, the mindshare of Amazon CloudWatch is 1.6%, up from 1.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Amazon OpenSearch Service is 1.7%, up from 0.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability
 

Featured Reviews

Rasanpreet Singh - PeerSpot reviewer
Reliable AWS monitoring and logging
The choice of logging solution should always be determined by the specific business requirements. It is crucial to align the logging strategy with what type of logs are needed and how they should be used. There are instances where we require custom solutions to retrieve logs, especially application logs that may not be easily accessible through CloudWatch or similar services. When we heavily rely on AWS native services, CloudWatch is indeed a robust choice. However, in certain scenarios, we might need integration capabilities with other tools, and if they can incorporate such features, it would enhance overall logging capabilities. I would rate it eight out of ten.
VijayKumar27 - PeerSpot reviewer
Effective as a vector store, serverless architecture but there aren't enough security features
The pricing aspect is a concern. The service is way too costly. For the past month, I used only 30 to 40 MB of data, and the cost was $500. AWS could improve pricing. Even being serverless, it incurs charges during idle times. For just holding data, you need to create a list. AWS should add an option to make data idle, so it won't include computing charges. They charge for OCU units based on the time the serverless solution is up, not on indexing or retrieval speed. Once the service starts, it starts getting billed. It would help if there were an option to limit computing. When using it as a database, storing data without frequent fetching would save computing costs.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"Amazon CloudWatch's best feature stems from its ability to monitor app performance."
"What I found most valuable in Amazon CloudWatch is that it gives you detailed information, which I found helpful because it can even provide you with data for the past one minute, which is quite granular. That was what helped me most in terms of finding the root causes. Task automation is another valuable feature of Amazon CloudWatch."
"Every time we get an alarm or have an incident, CloudWatch is always there. We use it not only for resources we've spun up in the cloud, but also for some of our on-premises resources."
"The tool's UI is good. One can scroll through the logs very easily."
"We use Amazon CloudWatch for logging."
"Our team finds it overall quite useful."
"I have found the memory metrics and the CPU metrics valuable."
"It is a stable solution...I rate the technical support a ten out of ten."
"This service already sorts data like vectors. They have classified the storage pre-defined."
"Amazon OpenSearch Service provides a managed database solution, so we don't need to manage everything ourselves."
"The customer service is excellent, rated nine out of ten."
"The business analytics capabilities are the most important feature it provides."
"We retrieve historical data with just a click of a button to move it from cold to hot or warm because it's already stored in the backend storage"
"I would definitely recommend Amazon OpenSearch Service to other professionals due to its fast and reliable search capabilities."
"Amazon OpenSearch Service has enhanced our organization's ability to store and search large amounts of data efficiently."
 

Cons

"The solution's auto-scaling could be improved."
"Maybe Amazon Web Services can improve by providing a library for CloudWatch with some useful features."
"The configuration capabilities could be better."
"The dashboard and the UI could improve in Amazon CloudWatch. Additionally, they should focus on visibility inside the servers with AI and machine learning integrations. This would allow users who are using the solution to see what is happening within the system better."
"The product should provide more features."
"CloudWatch's scalability could be improved."
"The technical support must be improved."
"There could be further enhancements through CloudWatch's partnerships."
"It would be beneficial to have some level of customization available in the managed service, tailored to the specific use cases of the end users."
"One improvement I would like to see is support for auto-scaling."
"The pricing aspect is a concern. The service is way too costly. For the past month, I used only 30 to 40 MB of data, and the cost was $500. AWS could improve pricing."
"We faced documentation challenges during integration after migrating from Elasticsearch to Amazon OpenSearch Service. Better documentation on integration, query handling, and a more user-friendly UI could enhance the product."
"The price is fair yet leans towards the expensive side. I'd rate it five out of ten with respect to capabilities vs. cost."
"They can enhance data visualization."
"One improvement I would like to see is support for auto-scaling."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is a free-of-charge service."
"Its pricing is reasonable. It is sometimes tricky, but it is reasonable as compared to others."
"I consider it as a medium-priced solution."
"It’s an open-source solution."
"The pricing is average."
"The tool is not expensive."
"The pricing model is pay-as-you-go so you have to be mindful of usage to manage costs."
"The price is okay for me."
Information not available
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
18%
Financial Services Firm
17%
Manufacturing Company
8%
University
5%
Financial Services Firm
15%
Computer Software Company
15%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
5%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Amazon CloudWatch?
Amazon CloudWatch charges more for custom metrics as well as for changes in the timeline, which I see as a disadvantage given the price.
What needs improvement with Amazon CloudWatch?
Amazon CloudWatch charges extra for custom metrics, which is a significant disadvantage. Another aspect that needs improvement is the look and feel of custom dashboards, which currently do not matc...
What do you like most about Amazon OpenSearch Service?
We retrieve historical data with just a click of a button to move it from cold to hot or warm because it's already stored in the backend storage
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Amazon OpenSearch Service?
Amazon OpenSearch Service is a bit costly compared to self-hosted Elasticsearch due to the managed service pricing.
What needs improvement with Amazon OpenSearch Service?
One improvement I would like to see is support for auto-scaling. The current configuration does not support automatic scaling based on server load, requiring us to manage the scaling manually. Addi...
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

AirAsia, Airbnb, Aircel, APUS, Avazu, Casa & Video, Futbol Club Barcelona (FCBarcelona), National Taiwan University, redBus
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Amazon CloudWatch vs. Amazon OpenSearch Service and other solutions. Updated: February 2025.
845,040 professionals have used our research since 2012.