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Grafana Loki vs VictoriaLogs

Grafana Loki: Label-indexed log aggregation: Prometheus-style streams, chunks on object storage, LogQL queries. VictoriaLogs: Log database from the VictoriaMetrics team: schemaless ingestion, LogsQL and low RAM and disk use.

key differences

  • Grafana Loki is primarily a time-series database; VictoriaLogs is search engine.
  • Licensing: Grafana Loki is open source (copyleft) (GNU AGPL v3.0); VictoriaLogs is open source (permissive) (Apache License 2.0).
  • Grafana Loki is built for larger datasets (Multi-PB) than VictoriaLogs (≤ 1 PB).
  • Only VictoriaLogs has full-text search, columnar storage.

choose grafana-loki for

  • +Kubernetes and application logs alongside Prometheus
  • +Cost-efficient log retention on S3
  • +Deriving metrics and alerts from log lines
  • +Correlating logs with traces in Grafana

best at · Observability, Time-series

choose victorialogs for

  • +Centralised application and Kubernetes logs
  • +Replacing an ELK stack to cut cost
  • +Debugging by trace or request ID across services
  • +Audit and security event retention

best at · Observability, Search, Time-series

Grafana LokiLabel-indexed log aggregation: Prometheus-style streams, chunks on object storage, LogQL queries.
VictoriaLogsLog database from the VictoriaMetrics team: schemaless ingestion, LogsQL and low RAM and disk use.
overview
Primary model
Time-Series
Search Engine
Also supports
–
Time-Series, Columnar / OLAP
Type
Database engine
Database engine
Status
Active
Active
Developer
Grafana Labs
VictoriaMetrics Inc.
First release
2018
2023
Latest version
3.7.9 (Oct 20, 2026)
1.53.0 (Oct 1, 2026)
License
Open source (copyleft)GNU AGPL v3.0
Open source (permissive)Apache License 2.0
Free tier
✓
✓
popularity
WhichDB Score
28.7
19.4
Rank
#96
#169
GitHub stars
29.1K
2.4K
Stack Overflow questions
643
–
scale & guarantees
Comfortable data size
Massive (Multi-PB)
Large (≤ 1 PB)
Horizontal scaling
Native
Native
Multi-region
None
None
ACID
None
None
Consistency
Eventual
Eventual
Schema
Schemaless
Schemaless
Architecture
Single node, Distributed, Shared storage
Single node, Distributed
deployment
Self-hosted
✓
✓
Vendor-managed cloud
✓
—
Serverless
—
—
Embedded
—
—
Edge
—
—
Clouds
AWS, Google Cloud, Azure
–
capabilities
Transactions
—
—
Joins
—
—
Secondary indexes
—
—
Full-text search
—
✓
Vector search
—
—
Geospatial
—
—
JSON
✓
✓
Change data capture
—
—
Triggers
—
—
Stored procedures
—
—
Materialized views
—
—
TTL / expiry
✓
✓
Pub/Sub
—
—
Columnar storage
—
✓
In-memory
—
—
Durable persistence
✓
✓
Compression
✓
✓
Encryption at rest
—
—
Role-based access
—
—
Time travel
—
—
Branching
—
—
Online schema changes
—
—
Streaming ingest
✓
✓
Offline sync
—
—
Runs in WebAssembly
—
—
interfaces
Query languages
LogQL
LogsQL
Client languages
–
–
Best for
Observability, Time-series
Observability, Search, Time-series
Add more to this comparisonNot sure either fits? Try smart match

Grafana Loki vs VictoriaLogs: FAQ

What is the difference between Grafana Loki and VictoriaLogs?

Grafana Loki: Label-indexed log aggregation: Prometheus-style streams, chunks on object storage, LogQL queries. VictoriaLogs: Log database from the VictoriaMetrics team: schemaless ingestion, LogsQL and low RAM and disk use. Grafana Loki is primarily a time-series database; VictoriaLogs is search engine. Licensing: Grafana Loki is open source (copyleft) (GNU AGPL v3.0); VictoriaLogs is open source (permissive) (Apache License 2.0). Grafana Loki is built for larger datasets (Multi-PB) than VictoriaLogs (≤ 1 PB).

When should I choose Grafana Loki over VictoriaLogs?

Choose Grafana Loki for kubernetes and application logs alongside Prometheus; cost-efficient log retention on S3; and deriving metrics and alerts from log lines. Choose VictoriaLogs for centralised application and Kubernetes logs; replacing an ELK stack to cut cost; and debugging by trace or request ID across services.

Is Grafana Loki or VictoriaLogs more popular?

Grafana Loki ranks #96 on the WhichDB Score (28.7/100) and VictoriaLogs ranks #169 (19.4/100). Popularity is not fit: check the requirements that matter for your project.

Are Grafana Loki and VictoriaLogs open source?

Yes. Grafana Loki is open source. License: GNU AGPL v3.0. Yes. VictoriaLogs is open source. License: Apache License 2.0.