Graylog Enterprise vs SolarWinds Kiwi Syslog Server comparison

Graylog and SolarWinds are both solutions in the Log Management category. Graylog is ranked #15 with an average rating of 7.0, while SolarWinds is ranked #22 with an average rating of 8.5. Graylog holds a 6.0% mindshare in Log Management, compared to SolarWinds’s 1.6% mindshare. Additionally, 95% of Graylog users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 85% of SolarWinds users who would recommend it.

Graylog Enterprise

Read 21 Graylog Enterprise reviews

8,356 Views
8,356 Comparison Views

95% willing to recommend

SolarWinds Kiwi Syslog Server

Read 7 SolarWinds Kiwi Syslog Server reviews

2,611 Views
2,585 Comparison Views

85% willing to recommend

Graylog Enterprise

SolarWinds Kiwi Syslog Server

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 8, 2025

Graylog Enterprise and SolarWinds Kiwi Syslog Server are both key players in the syslog server market. Graylog Enterprise stands out with its ability to handle complex data management, while SolarWinds Kiwi Syslog Server is preferred for its affordability and ease of use.

Features: Graylog Enterprise offers advanced log collection, powerful correlation capabilities, and a configurable open-source foundation suited for large-scale operations. It supports Elasticsearch integration and real-time data processing, making it ideal for handling extensive log data. SolarWinds Kiwi Syslog Server provides essential log management features, supports multiple protocols, and offers color-coded log displays for easier event monitoring, making it appealing for small to mid-sized organizations.

Room for Improvement: Graylog Enterprise could benefit from streamlined deployment processes and reduced initial setup complexity. Enhanced user documentation for beginners would also be valuable. SolarWinds Kiwi Syslog Server might improve by expanding its feature set to include more robust analytics, offering more advanced data correlation tools, and providing a more powerful alerting system.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: SolarWinds Kiwi Syslog Server is known for quick deployment and minimal configuration, making it easy to get started. It also provides reliable customer service for straightforward setup. Graylog Enterprise, while more complex in deployment, offers comprehensive support and detailed documentation, aiding enterprises with elaborate setup needs.

Pricing and ROI: Graylog Enterprise entails higher initial costs due to its rich feature set but offers significant long-term ROI for large-scale implementations. It is a cost-intensive solution that pays off for businesses needing in-depth analytics. SolarWinds Kiwi Syslog Server presents a cost-effective option with lower upfront expenses, offering a compelling ROI for businesses seeking basic log monitoring without advanced functionalities.

To learn more, read our detailed Graylog Enterprise vs. SolarWinds Kiwi Syslog Server Report (Updated: September 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Graylog Enterprise vs. SolarWinds Kiwi Syslog Server

September 2025

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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

Graylog Enterprise

Ranking in Log Management

15th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

SolarWinds Kiwi Syslog Server

Ranking in Log Management

22nd

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

6.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Log Management category, the mindshare of Graylog Enterprise is 6.0%, up from 6.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SolarWinds Kiwi Syslog Server is 1.6%, down from 2.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Log Management Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Graylog Enterprise	6.0%
SolarWinds Kiwi Syslog Server	1.6%
Other	92.4%

Log Management

Featured Reviews

Ivan Kokalovic

DevOps Engineer at Proton Technologies

Facilitates backend service monitoring with efficient log retrieval and API flexibility

Graylog is valuable because it bridges technical knowledge to non-technical teams, presenting complex backend processes in a simple timeline. It boosts the knowledge of sales and customer support teams by allowing them to see the backend operations without needing to read the code. Its API is flexible for visualization, and its powerful search engine efficiently handles large volumes of log data. Moreover, its stability, fast search capabilities, and compatibility with languages like ANSI SQL enhance its utility in IT infrastructure.

Read full review

Muhammad Anas

Assistant Manager NOC and Infrastructure at NiFT

Shows login failures and server issues but search functions and filters could be improved

Kiwi Syslog shows login failures and server issues. I'm using version 9.8.1. It's deployed on-premises. There are four people in my organization who are using this solution. They're all infrastructure engineers The best thing about Kiwi Syslog is that it filters logs into different levels. It's…

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Message forwarding through the in-built module."

"Graylog is valuable because it bridges technical knowledge to non-technical teams, presenting complex backend processes in a simple timeline."

"The build is stable and requires little maintenance, even compared to some extremely expensive products."

"The solution's most valuable feature is its new interface."

"I like the correlation and the alerting."

"We run a containerized microservices environment. Being able to set up streams and search for errors and anomalies across hundreds of containers is why a log aggregation platform like Graylog is valuable to us."

"What I like about Graylog is that it's real-time and you have access to the raw data. So, you ingest it, and you have access to every message and every data item you ingest. You can then build analytics on top of that. You can look at the raw data, and you can do some volumetric estimations, such as how big traffic you have, how many messages of data of a type you have, etc."

"Open source and user friendly."

More Graylog Enterprise pros

"Simplicity is the most valuable feature."

"Overall, I rate SolarWinds Kiwi Syslog Server ten out of ten."

"I appreciate that with Kiwi Syslog, we can segregate the logs based on the display, such as using different colors and fonts, which helps greatly in identifying logs by their severity."

"We are very happy with the stability of the solution."

"I appreciate that with Kiwi Syslog, we can segregate the logs based on the display, such as using different colors and fonts, which helps greatly in identifying logs by their severity."

"The most valuable feature of SolarWinds Kiwi Syslog Server is its performance and management. Additionally, the solution integrates well."

"The best thing about Kiwi Syslog is that it filters logs into different levels."

"The most valuable feature of this solution is the alerting based on the security logs."

More SolarWinds Kiwi Syslog Server pros

Cons

"The area in Graylog that needs to be improved or enhanced would be the integrations."

"We ran into problems with Elasticsearch throwing a circuit-breaking exception due to field data size being too large. It turned out that the heap size directly impacted this size in a high-throughput environment, causing unexplained instability in Graylog. We were able to troubleshoot on the Elasticsearch size, but we should have been able to reference some minimum requirements for Graylog to know that our settings weren't sufficient."

"The biggest problem is the collector application, as we wanted to avoid using Graylog Collector Sidecar due to its architecture."

"When it comes to configuring the processing pipeline, writing the rules can be very tedious, especially since the documentation isn't extensive on how the functions provided for these rules work."

"Elasticsearch recommendations for tuning could be better. Graylog doesn't have direct support for running the system inside of Kubernetes, so it can be challenging to fill in the gaps and set up containers in a way that is both performant and stable."

"I would like to see a date and time in the Graylog Grok patterns so that I can save time when searching for a log. I like how the streams and the search query work, but adding a date and time will allow me to pull out a log in a milli-second."

"Since container orchestration systems are popular and Graylog fits the niche well, perhaps they could officially support running in docker containers on Kubernetes as a StatefulSet as a use case. That way, the declarative nature of Kubernetes config files would document their best case deployment scenario-"

"More customization is always useful."

More Graylog Enterprise cons

"There is a need for an on-premises solution, which could lead to easier sales in larger markets."

"I would like to have email notifications for emergency logs."

"I would like to see a more user-friendly and customizable dashboard."

"SolarWinds pricing is perceived as very high in the market, which can be a barrier for many customers."

"The Windows log forwarder is not functioning properly. This is a significant concern, as it led to losing a deal due to the inability to provide Windows logs effectively."

"Technical support could definitely be better."

"I would like to see better search functions and better filters in the next release."

"SolarWinds Kiwi Syslog Server could improve by reducing the price."

More SolarWinds Kiwi Syslog Server cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I am using a community edition. I have not looked at the enterprise offering from Graylog."

"We are using the free version of the product. However, the paid version is expensive."

"Consider Enterprise support if you have atypical needs or setup requirements."

"It's an open-source solution that can be used free of charge."

"Having paid official support is wise for projects."

"If you want something that works and do not have the money for Splunk or QRadar, take Graylog."

"It's open source and free. They have a paid version, but we never looked into that because we never needed the features of the paid version."

"We're using the Community edition."

More Graylog Enterprise pricing and cost advice

"The price of SolarWinds Kiwi Syslog Server could improve."

"We subscribe and pay directly on the website."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

16%

Comms Service Provider

10%

Educational Organization

Government

16%

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

University

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	8
Midsize Enterprise	4
Large Enterprise	7

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	4
Midsize Enterprise	1
Large Enterprise	2

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Graylog?

The product is scalable. The solution is stable.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Graylog?

I am not familiar with the pricing details of Graylog, as I was not responsible for that aspect. It was determined that we didn't need an enterprise plan, which is more suited for clients with less...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Graylog?

An improvement I would suggest is in Graylog's user interface, such as allowing for font size adjustments. A potential enhancement could be the integration with Ollama to run large language models ...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SolarWinds Kiwi Syslog Server?

SolarWinds pricing is perceived as very high in the market, which can be a barrier for many customers.

See all answers

What needs improvement with SolarWinds Kiwi Syslog Server?

The Windows log forwarder is not functioning properly. This is a significant concern, as it led to losing a deal due to the inability to provide Windows logs effectively. It should be more user-fri...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for SolarWinds Kiwi Syslog Server?

Our primary use case for Kiwi Syslog is for gathering logs necessary for auditing purposes.

See all answers

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Graylog Enterprise

October 2025

Download Graylog Enterprise product report

Buyer's Guide

Log Management

October 2025

Download SolarWinds Kiwi Syslog Server product report

Also Known As

Graylog2

Kiwi Syslog Server

Overview

Graylog Enterprise, recognized for log collection, real-time search, and enriched data handling, offers an open-source framework that integrates seamlessly with Elasticsearch. Its user-centric interface streamlines data correlation and log aggregation, supporting both backend services and comprehensive monitoring needs.

Graylog Enterprise stands out for its stability and powerful log management capabilities, facilitating efficient log aggregation, real-time updates, and data analytics. Users benefit from its plugin-based alerting, user-friendly interface, and support for microservices, including Docker integration. The ability to search in detail, flexible API integration, and data enrichment features are highly valued. Challenges include collector application issues, desired visualization enhancements, and authentication integration improvements. Users seek advancements in UI customization, backup functions, and easier rule creation.

What are Graylog Enterprise's most important features?

Log Collection: Efficiently aggregates and handles diverse logs.
Real-Time Search: Provides immediate log data access.
Custom Alerts: Plugin-based alerting for tailored notifications.
Dashboard Enhancements: Improved visualization for data insights.
Data Enrichment: Adds value through detailed log analysis.

What benefits and ROI can users expect?

Audit Trail Support: Essential for compliance in financial sectors.
Security Event Correlation: Enables incident analysis and response.
Faster Issue Identification: Speeds up troubleshooting with detailed visualization.
API Flexibility: Seamless integration across systems and environments.
Comprehensive Monitoring: Centralized log management enhances oversight.

In industrial use, Graylog Enterprise is crucial for audit trailing in financial sectors, facilitating security event identification and error monitoring. Backend teams leverage real-time analytics for swift issue resolution, while developers appreciate the comprehensive log visualization enabled by Docker integration for microservice management.

Graylog

A syslog server is a logging server that allows for the centralized collection of syslog messages, known as events, from a variety of networking devices such as routers, switches, and firewalls, in addition to servers running a variety of operating systems.

SolarWinds

Sample Customers

Blue Cross Blue Shield, eBay, Cisco, LinkedIn, SAP, King.com, Twilio, Deutsche Presse-Agentur

Holy Cross Energy, West Texas A&M University, Medium Enterprise Industrial Manufacturing Company

Buyer's Guide

Graylog Enterprise vs. SolarWinds Kiwi Syslog Server

September 2025

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