CloudWatch vs Splunk: AWS-Native Monitoring or a Cross-Environment Data Platform
Prices and facts checked on vendor pages on Nov 8, 2026.
CloudWatch is the monitoring service built into AWS, and you pay only for what you use. Splunk is a separate data platform with search, security and observability products that you buy by quote. The question usually comes down to whether your workloads live almost entirely in AWS, or span several clouds and data centers.
The Short Answer
Pick CloudWatch if you run on AWS, want no contract, and are happy with metrics, logs and alarms that already work with your services. Pick Splunk if you need one search layer across AWS, other clouds and on-prem systems, a SIEM, or deployment in an air-gapped site.
CloudWatch vs Splunk at a Glance
How CloudWatch Charges
These are list prices checked Nov 8, 2026, and AWS notes that rates vary by region. The numbers below come from the pricing page's US East examples. The free tier covers 5 GB of logs (ingestion, archive storage and Logs Insights scanning), 1,800 Live Tail minutes, 10 custom metrics and 3 custom dashboards. Standard log ingestion is $0.50/GB and Infrequent Access is $0.25/GB. Archived data is $0.03/GB compressed, using a 0.15 compression ratio. Live Tail is $0.01 per minute after the free minutes. Custom metrics start at $0.30 per metric per month. OpenTelemetry metrics cost $0.50/GB ingested with 15 months of storage, and PromQL queries cost $0.01 per million samples scanned. A first copy of logs sent to another account is free, and further copies are $0.05/GB.
Example, using only those rates: you send 100 GB of Standard logs in a month. Ingestion is (100 - 5) x $0.50 = $47.50. Compressed at 0.15, that is 15 GB to archive, and (15 - 5) x $0.03 = $0.30 for that month's stored data. Queries add a charge per GB scanned, so budget for how often you search.
How Splunk Charges
Splunk sells through several meters, and you pick one when you sign. Ingest pricing is by gigabytes ingested. Workload pricing is by the compute your searches use. Activity-based pricing meters ingest and search together, and entity pricing counts hosts. Splunk Cloud Platform is offered on activity-based, ingest or workload terms, and Splunk Enterprise on ingest or workload terms, both for unlimited users. Observability Cloud starts at $15 (Infrastructure), $60 (App & Infra) or $75 (End-to-End) per host per month, billed annually. Splunk's pricing FAQ says it bills overages only when you consistently exceed purchased ingest or storage.
Where They Differ in Practice
Coverage beyond AWS. CloudWatch is strongest for AWS services, which send basic metrics automatically at no charge. Splunk is a place to search data from anywhere, and it can use Federated Search to read data in Amazon S3 without copying it first.
Log analysis. CloudWatch Logs Insights lets you pick among three query languages, which helps if your team already knows SQL or OpenSearch PPL. Splunk uses SPL. Its AI Assistant app can generate and explain SPL for Cloud customers, while CloudWatch offers a natural language query feature.
Control of retention and cost. In CloudWatch you set a retention period on each log group, and the default is to keep data forever, so unset groups keep adding to storage. Splunk spreads cost across whichever meter you chose, with Cloud Flex for moving budget between products.
Security. Splunk's Enterprise Security product is a SIEM with SOAR and UEBA in its Premier edition. CloudWatch's own product page focuses on monitoring, alarms and observability.
When to Pick CloudWatch
- Nearly everything you run is on AWS, and you want basic metrics to arrive without installing an agent.
- You want a bill you can estimate from published rates in the AWS calculator.
- A small team wants dashboards and alarms with no procurement step.
- You already use Prometheus or Grafana and want CloudWatch as one data source.
When to Pick Splunk
- Your estate includes other clouds, data centers or air-gapped networks.
- You need a SIEM next to your operational data.
- Your analysts already write SPL and expect users to be unlimited.
- You want to buy through AWS Marketplace or another channel under one commitment.
Where Sazabi Fits
Sazabi is AI-native observability and security, and it can sit beside CloudWatch or Splunk rather than replace them. If you already forward logs through an OpenTelemetry Collector, add Sazabi as an additional exporter and leave the current pipeline alone. Its agent investigates in Slack and opens issues. See Sazabi vs CloudWatch, Sazabi vs Splunk, CloudWatch alternatives, and the AWS integration.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CloudWatch cheaper than Splunk?
For an AWS-only workload with modest log volume, CloudWatch usually has the simpler bill: no minimum fee, a free tier of 5 GB of logs, and log ingestion that the pricing page works out at $0.50 per GB for Standard class in its US East examples. Splunk publishes starting prices only for Observability Cloud (from $15 per host per month, billed annually) and quotes Splunk Cloud Platform and Enterprise individually, so you need a quote to compare at your volume.
Can Splunk read data that stays in AWS?
Splunk lists Federated Search, which it describes as accessing and analyzing data where it resides, such as Amazon S3. It also lists AWS Marketplace as a purchase channel.
Does CloudWatch support OpenTelemetry?
Yes. AWS documents native OpenTelemetry support across metrics, logs and traces, and prices OTel metrics ingestion at $0.50 per GB with PromQL queries at $0.01 per million samples scanned.
How long does each tool keep logs?
CloudWatch Logs keeps data indefinitely by default and lets you set a retention period per log group. The Splunk pricing pages we reviewed do not state a retention period, so confirm it in your quote.
Sources
- Free tier, pay-as-you-go model with no minimum fee, log ingestion, archive and Live Tail rates, OpenTelemetry metrics and PromQL rates, custom metric rates, worked examples (accessed Nov 8, 2026)
- CloudWatch as the AWS-managed monitoring service, native OpenTelemetry support, Prometheus and Grafana integration, natural language query (accessed Nov 8, 2026)
- Logs Insights supports three query languages: Logs Insights QL, OpenSearch PPL and OpenSearch SQL (accessed Nov 8, 2026)
- Log groups, default indefinite log retention and per-log-group retention settings (accessed Nov 8, 2026)
- Native OpenTelemetry support across metrics, logs and traces (accessed Nov 8, 2026)
- CloudWatch investigations, a generative AI assistant for incident response (accessed Nov 8, 2026)
- Splunk Cloud Platform and Enterprise pricing models, Observability Cloud host prices, Cloud Flex, Federated Search to Amazon S3, AWS Marketplace listing, overage policy (accessed Nov 8, 2026)
- Ingest, workload, activity-based and entity pricing definitions (accessed Nov 8, 2026)
- 14-day Cloud trial; Splunk AI Assistant app that generates and explains SPL from natural language (accessed Nov 8, 2026)
- Splunk Enterprise runs on-premises, hybrid or in a data center (accessed Nov 8, 2026)
- Observability Cloud free for up to 15 hosts; native OpenTelemetry support; host-based pricing (accessed Nov 8, 2026)
- AI Assistant in Observability Cloud, natural language questions and SignalFlow dashboards (accessed Nov 8, 2026)
- Sazabi plan prices, included usage and overage rates (accessed Nov 8, 2026)
- Sazabi as an additional OTLP/HTTP exporter in an OpenTelemetry Collector (accessed Nov 8, 2026)