Azure Application Insights vs Serilog: What are the differences?

Introduction

Azure Application Insights and Serilog are two popular tools used in application monitoring and logging. While they serve similar purposes, there are distinct differences between them. In this Markdown code, we will highlight six key differences between Azure Application Insights and Serilog.

1. Deployment and Integration: Azure Application Insights is a cloud-based service provided by Microsoft Azure, making it seamlessly integrated with Azure applications. On the other hand, Serilog is a logging library that can be integrated into any .NET application, both cloud-based and on-premises.

2. Data Storage: In Azure Application Insights, the logs and telemetry data are stored in Azure, specifically in Azure Monitor and Azure Storage. The data can be queried, analyzed, and visualized using Azure portal and other analytics tools. With Serilog, the logs can be stored in various data sinks such as text files, SQL databases, Elasticsearch, etc., offering more flexibility in choosing the storage backend.

3. Automatic Instrumentation: Azure Application Insights provides automatic instrumentation for certain frameworks and platforms, including ASP.NET, ASP.NET Core, Azure Functions, and JavaScript applications. This means that you don't need to manually add code to track metrics and dependencies. In contrast, Serilog requires explicit code configuration to log events and metrics, requiring more control and customization.

4. Querying Capabilities: Azure Application Insights offers advanced querying capabilities using its query language, called Kusto Query Language (KQL). It allows you to perform complex queries to filter, aggregate, and analyze the logged data. Serilog, on the other hand, relies on external tools or libraries like Elasticsearch, Kibana, or Seq for querying and analyzing the logs.

5. Real-time Monitoring and Alerts: Azure Application Insights provides real-time monitoring and alerts, allowing you to set up rules based on certain conditions to receive notifications or trigger actions. It's tightly integrated with Azure Monitor, enabling proactive monitoring and debugging. Serilog, however, does not have native real-time monitoring and alerting capabilities. It relies on other tools or libraries to achieve this functionality.

6. Pricing and Cost: Azure Application Insights has a pricing model based on data ingestion and retention, where you pay for the amount of data ingested and the storage duration. The cost can vary based on the data volume and retention period. Serilog, being a logging library, does not have specific pricing. However, the storage backend chosen for storing logs may incur costs depending on the storage service provider.

Summary

In summary, Azure Application Insights is a cloud-based service tightly integrated with Azure, providing automatic instrumentation, advanced querying capabilities, and native real-time monitoring and alerting functionality. Conversely, Serilog is a flexible logging library that can be integrated into any .NET application, offering more control over data storage, querying through external tools, and a more customizable logging approach.