---
title: "Elasticsearch | Grafana Labs"
description: "The Elasticsearch data source for logs and search."
---

> For a curated documentation index, see [llms.txt](/llms.txt). For the complete documentation index, see [llms-full.txt](/llms-full.txt).

## Elasticsearch: Full-text search and log analytics

**What it’s for:** Logs with complex search needs including security analytics, audit logging, and full-text search.

## Trade-offs

| Pros                      | Cons                     |
|---------------------------|--------------------------|
| Powerful full-text search | Complex to operate       |
| Mature ecosystem          | Higher resource usage    |
| Rich query capabilities   | More expensive than Loki |
| Decades of development    | Steeper learning curve   |

## Best for

- Complex log search requirements
- Security analytics (SIEM)
- Existing Elasticsearch installations

## Documentation

View the full documentation. *Learning path coming soon!*

[Elasticsearch data source](https://grafana.com/docs/grafana/latest/datasources/elasticsearch/)