# fluentd vs logstash

> Two self-hosted [Splunk alternatives](https://selfhost.directory/alternative-to/splunk), compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.

| | fluentd | logstash |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 74/100 ✓ | 72/100 |
| Rank in category | #2 of 13 in Log Management | #2 of 8 in Data Pipeline |
| GitHub stars | 13 612 | 14 970 ✓ |
| Stars, last 30 days | +22 ✓ | +21 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 7 | 32 ✓ |
| Latest release | v1.20.1 · 26 Oct 2026 ✓ | v9.5.5 · 6 Oct 2026 |
| Setup | Moderate | Moderate ✓ |
| Official Docker image | Yes | Yes |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Other |
| Main language | Ruby | Java |

## Which one should you pick?

fluentd scores 74/100 against 72/100 for logstash, so it is the safer default.

logstash ships more often: 32 stable releases in the past year, against 7 for fluentd.

## Details

- [fluentd](https://selfhost.directory/project/fluentd) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/fluentd.md)
- [logstash](https://selfhost.directory/project/logstash) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/logstash.md)

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Source: https://selfhost.directory/compare/fluentd-vs-logstash