vs

Splunk vs VictoriaLogs

Splunk: Machine-data indexing and search platform with schema-on-read SPL queries, now owned by Cisco. VictoriaLogs: Log database from the VictoriaMetrics team: schemaless ingestion, LogsQL and low RAM and disk use.

key differences

  • Licensing: Splunk is proprietary (Proprietary commercial license); VictoriaLogs is open source (permissive) (Apache License 2.0).
  • Only Splunk has role-based access.
  • Only VictoriaLogs has json, columnar storage.

choose splunk for

  • +Security information and event management (SIEM)
  • +Centralised log search and alerting
  • +IT operations monitoring and incident investigation
  • +Compliance reporting over machine data

best at · Observability, Search, 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

overview
Primary model
Search Engine
Search Engine
Also supports
Time-Series
Time-Series, Columnar / OLAP
Type
Database engine
Database engine
Status
Active
Active
Developer
Splunk (a Cisco company)
VictoriaMetrics Inc.
First release
2004
2023
Latest version
10.6.1 (Oct 16, 2026)
1.53.0 (Oct 1, 2026)
License
ProprietaryProprietary commercial license
Open source (permissive)Apache License 2.0
Free tier
✓
✓
popularity
WhichDB Score
48.1
19.4
Rank
#31
#169
GitHub stars
–
2.4K
Stack Overflow questions
2.3K
–
scale & guarantees
Comfortable data size
Large (≤ 1 PB)
Large (≤ 1 PB)
Horizontal scaling
Native
Native
Multi-region
Read replicas
None
ACID
None
None
Consistency
Eventual
Eventual
Schema
Schemaless
Schemaless
Architecture
Distributed, Client server
Single node, Distributed
deployment
Self-hosted
✓
✓
Vendor-managed cloud
✓
—
Serverless
—
—
Embedded
—
—
Edge
—
—
Clouds
AWS, Google Cloud
–
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
SPL, SPL2
LogsQL
Client languages
Python, JavaScript, Java
–
Best for
Observability, Search, Time-series, Real-time analytics
Observability, Search, Time-series

Splunk vs VictoriaLogs: FAQ

What is the difference between Splunk and VictoriaLogs?

Splunk: Machine-data indexing and search platform with schema-on-read SPL queries, now owned by Cisco. VictoriaLogs: Log database from the VictoriaMetrics team: schemaless ingestion, LogsQL and low RAM and disk use. Licensing: Splunk is proprietary (Proprietary commercial license); VictoriaLogs is open source (permissive) (Apache License 2.0). Only Splunk has role-based access. Only VictoriaLogs has json, columnar storage.

When should I choose Splunk over VictoriaLogs?

Choose Splunk for security information and event management (SIEM); centralised log search and alerting; and IT operations monitoring and incident investigation. 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 Splunk or VictoriaLogs more popular?

Splunk ranks #31 on the WhichDB Score (48.1/100) and VictoriaLogs ranks #169 (19.4/100). Popularity is not fit: check the requirements that matter for your project.

Are Splunk and VictoriaLogs open source?

No. Splunk is proprietary, closed-source software. Yes. VictoriaLogs is open source. License: Apache License 2.0.