Which open-source alternative to Sumo Logic fits your log analytics and SIEM use
If you are facing a Sumo Logic renewal, a pricing change or a residency requirement that your current hosting cannot meet, OpenSearch fits search-heavy log analytics, Graylog fits log management with SIEM workflows, and Wazuh fits endpoint-driven XDR. Most teams start by deciding which of those three jobs dominates: ad hoc investigation across large volumes of events, a shared place for alerts and case handling, or detection built around agents on hosts and endpoints. Those jobs map to different platforms, and mixing them is possible but adds operating work. Teams often begin looking for alternatives after ownership changes. Francisco Partners completed its acquisition of Sumo Logic on May 12, 2023, and Sumo Logic stock was delisted from Nasdaq. That change does not by itself alter your contract, but it is a common trigger for a review of vendor dependence, data location and renewal terms. Ask your account team in writing which terms, data regions and support commitments apply after the change, and record the answers before you compare platforms. Do not assume a pricing outcome until you have that document. Before choosing, inventory what you search, how long you keep it and who uses it. Export one representative set of saved searches and dashboards, and note which ones depend on Sumo Logic-specific query features. Sumo Logic's browser export of search results is capped at 100,000 rows per export, according to its documentation, so any historical extraction for an audit or migration will need multiple searches over shorter time ranges. Confirm that limit against the current documentation in your tenant, because it determines how long your cutover window must be.
Three self-hosted options for Sumo Logic workloads
Sumo Logic workloads usually split into log search and dashboards, alerting, and security analytics. The three platforms below cover different parts of that split, so the choice depends on which workload you are moving first and how much of the security layer you need to rebuild. Each card names the fit and the main trade-off to check before you commit.
OpenSearch for search and dashboards
OpenSearch is the most direct engine for log search and custom dashboards. It is licensed under Apache 2.0 and was forked from Elasticsearch 7.10.2 and Kibana 7.10.2, so it keeps wire compatibility with Elasticsearch 7.10 REST APIs. That matters if your collectors, scripts or ingest pipelines already speak that API. The trade-off is that you build detections, dashboards and alert workflows yourself or with DeployOpen-style implementation work, and you should confirm which alerting and security plugins your target version includes before you plan the cutover.
Graylog for log management with SIEM tiers
Graylog suits teams that want a log management console with alerting close to the product, without rebuilding every workflow from raw OpenSearch components. Graylog Open is free to self-manage under the Server Side Public License with no ingestion caps. Graylog Enterprise adds data lake and storage options with support, and Graylog Security adds SIEM, threat detection and anomaly detection. Check the SSPL terms with your legal team if you plan to offer the platform as a service to others, and price the Enterprise or Security tiers separately from the free edition.
Wazuh for security monitoring and compliance
Wazuh fits teams whose Sumo Logic use is mainly security monitoring, not general log analytics. It is licensed under GPLv2 and is built from the Wazuh indexer, server, dashboard and lightweight agents. It covers log analysis, file integrity monitoring, vulnerability detection and compliance support for PCI DSS and GDPR. Before you adopt it, confirm that its agents can cover your endpoints and cloud sources, and map the compliance modules to the specific controls your assessor will test rather than assuming coverage.
How each Sumo Logic capability maps to open-source options
This table maps each main Sumo Logic capability to OpenSearch, Graylog, Wazuh or Security Onion and marks where the open-source option needs extra work. Read the gaps column first, because collectors, Cloud SIEM content and export workflows are where most migration effort sits.
| Sumo Logic capability | Open-source option | Gap or condition to confirm |
|---|---|---|
| Log search and analytics | OpenSearch for indexing and query, with Graylog as a search and analytics front end | Query language and function coverage differ from Sumo Logic query syntax, so existing searches need translation and testing. |
| Download Search Results CSV export (100,000-row browser limit) | Scheduled exports through the OpenSearch REST API or Graylog API, written to your own storage | No browser row cap applies, but the export job, its schedule and its output format must be built and maintained by your team or partner. |
| Collectors and ingestion | Wazuh agents, Graylog inputs, Beats or Fluent Bit shipping to OpenSearch | Sumo Logic hosted collectors have no direct equivalent. You must deploy and manage self-hosted collectors and confirm source connector coverage with each vendor. |
| Dashboards | OpenSearch Dashboards or Graylog dashboards | Dashboards must be rebuilt by hand or exported and reworked, since panel definitions do not carry over automatically. |
| Alerting | OpenSearch alerting and monitors, Graylog event definitions and notifications | Alert logic, thresholds and notification routes must be re-created and tested against historical data before cutover. |
| Cloud SIEM and threat detection | Wazuh rules and decoders, Graylog Security for SIEM and anomaly detection, Security Onion for network-based detection | Sumo Logic Cloud SIEM content has no direct open-source rule set. Map each rule to a Wazuh or Graylog detection and confirm which content you can reproduce. |
| Compliance reporting | Wazuh compliance modules for PCI DSS and GDPR, plus OpenSearch reports for evidence collection | Wazuh supports these frameworks, but report formats and control mapping must be checked against your assessor's expectations. Tooling does not produce audit attestations. |
| Licensing and hosting | Graylog Open, Wazuh and OpenSearch are free to self-manage, with infrastructure and staff as the main cost | Confirm license terms for each product with the vendor, since Graylog Open uses the Server Side Public License and Security Onion's repository uses the Elastic License 2.0. |
What you give up when you leave Sumo Logic and the usual workarounds
Leaving a managed log platform trades vendor-run operations for work your team owns. The gaps below are the ones that tend to surprise teams during planning, and each has a workaround that depends on your scale, your data sources and how much in-house capacity you can staff.
Managed scaling and upgrades
Sumo Logic runs the search tier, ingestion capacity and platform upgrades for you. Self-hosted OpenSearch or Graylog moves capacity planning, node sizing, index lifecycle management and version upgrades to your team. Plan for a staging cluster to test upgrades before production, and confirm how your chosen platform handles rolling upgrades and shard rebalancing under peak ingestion. Ask whether your cloud or data center can absorb a sudden spike in log volume without dropping events.
Browser CSV export limit
Sumo Logic lets users with the Download Search Results capability export up to 100,000 rows per CSV from the browser, and larger exports need several searches over shorter time ranges. Self-hosted platforms do not impose that browser limit in the same way, but the practical ceiling is set by your query timeouts, result window settings and disk or network capacity. Confirm the limits in your own deployment before you promise auditors or analysts a full export. Scheduled exports through the REST API or a scripted query job are the usual workaround.
Vendor-managed content and threat intelligence
Sumo Logic ships parsers, dashboards and detection content that its own team maintains. Open-source replacements provide the building blocks, but the content is thinner and must be reviewed for your environment. Wazuh includes rules and compliance mappings for frameworks such as PCI DSS and GDPR, and Graylog offers content packs. Plan to inventory every Sumo Logic rule you rely on, then decide which to rebuild, which to adopt from community rules and which to retire. Threat intelligence feeds will need a separate subscription or open feed you select and maintain.
In-house on-call and incident response
A managed service spreads pager duty across the vendor's staff. Once you self-host, a failed indexer, a full disk or a stalled collector becomes your problem at any hour. Define who owns the platform, who responds to health alerts and what the escalation path looks like before cutover. Many teams add a retainer for after-hours support, or a vendor-supported edition, to cover gaps. Ask any partner to state response expectations in writing before you rely on them.
Collector and pipeline ownership
Sumo Logic collectors and their configuration live in the vendor console. Moving to self-hosted pipelines means you must maintain agents, parsers and forwarding rules yourself, and re-point every source. Confirm which sources your current collectors use, including cloud integrations and Kubernetes sources, and test each parser against sample events before you turn off the old path. Keep configuration in version control so changes are reviewed and reproducible.
Compliance evidence and retention
Sumo Logic has its own retention settings and audit trail features that your assessors may have accepted. A self-hosted platform gives you full control over retention and log integrity, but you must document how those controls work and produce evidence for them. Record retention periods per log source, access controls on the log store and backup procedures. Independent auditors decide whether your evidence is sufficient, so involve them early.
How to move log analytics from Sumo Logic to self-hosted OpenSearch or Graylog
This sequence moves log ingestion, historical search data, queries, dashboards and alerts from Sumo Logic into a self-hosted platform, with each stage verified before the next one starts so that detection coverage is never lost during cutover.
Inventory sources, collectors and detections
List every log source feeding Sumo Logic, the collectors and forwarders that ship it, and every saved search, dashboard, scheduled search and alert. Record the owner of each item, the data it depends on and the teams that receive its notifications. Export this inventory as a spreadsheet so that it becomes the checklist for the rest of the migration. The step is done when every source has a named owner and every dashboard and alert has a status of keep, rebuild or retire. Effort depends heavily on the number of dashboards and alerts, so ask your implementation partner to size this stage before committing to a scope.
Export historical data within the row limit
Sumo Logic lets users with the Download Search Results capability export up to 100,000 rows of search results as a CSV file from the browser, and larger exports require several searches over shorter time ranges. Plan a script or a documented manual procedure that divides each target period into windows small enough to stay under that limit, then loads the resulting files into the new platform's archive or index. Confirm with Sumo Logic which retention obligations apply to the data before you decide how far back to export. The step is complete when row counts for each window are reconciled against the source searches and any gaps are logged.
Map queries, fields and dashboards
Translate each retained query from Sumo Logic's query language into OpenSearch Query DSL or Graylog's search syntax, and map source field names, parsing rules and time zones to the target schema. Rebuild dashboards on the target platform using the same panels and filters that the inventory recorded. Where a Sumo Logic function has no direct equivalent, document the substitute and the reason for it. The step is complete when each mapped query returns results that match the original on a sample time range agreed with the data owner.
Re-point collectors and forwarders
Reconfigure the Sumo Logic collectors, agents or forwarders so that they send events to the new OpenSearch or Graylog ingestion endpoints, and confirm the required parsing, TLS and authentication settings with the platform team. Keep the Sumo Logic configuration in place but disabled so that it can be restored if needed. The step is complete when each re-pointed source shows events arriving in the new platform with correct timestamps and field values.
Pilot on one log source
Choose a single, low-risk log source and run it end to end through the new pipeline, including its dashboards and alerts. Test each alert by generating or replaying a known event and confirming that the notification reaches the intended recipient. Record any missing fields, latency or false positives and fix them before expanding the scope. The pilot is done when the owner of the source signs off on alert behavior and data completeness in writing.
Run both platforms in parallel
Feed the remaining sources to both Sumo Logic and the new platform for an agreed overlap period, and compare alert firing, event counts and dashboard values daily. Investigate every mismatch, because a missed alert in the new platform is the main risk at this stage. The parallel run is complete when the agreed comparison criteria are met and the open discrepancy list is empty or formally accepted by the security owner.
Cut over and switch alert routing
Move alert notifications, on-call routing and incident workflows to the new platform, then disable the duplicate Sumo Logic alerts in a controlled change. Keep a rollback procedure documented and tested before the switch. The cutover is complete when the new platform is the only source of production alerts and the change record shows the approvals and the time of the switch.
Decommission Sumo Logic after retention obligations
Once the retention obligations confirmed earlier are met and the exported archive has been verified, stop collectors, remove stored credentials and request account closure through your Sumo Logic contract. Confirm with your legal and compliance teams which records must be kept and where. The step is complete when the archive is accessible in the new platform, the Sumo Logic account is closed in writing and the decommissioning evidence is filed with the compliance owner.
Choosing between OpenSearch, Graylog and Wazuh by situation
When the main driver is the bill for ingestion and retention, OpenSearch is usually the most direct fit because it is a general search and analytics engine under the Apache 2.0 license, with no per-GB license component. Graylog Open is also free to self-manage under the Server Side Public License with no ingestion caps, which makes it a practical second option if your team wants a log management interface out of the box.
- Shift the cost to infrastructure: Your recurring spend moves to compute, storage, network and staff time. Model these before you commit.
- Watch hot and cold storage: Retention periods, replica counts and index lifecycle choices will drive most of the storage bill.
- Count the people: Someone must patch, upgrade and tune the cluster. Ask any implementation partner for a written scope covering that support.
- Compare total cost: Include licensing for any paid tier you may need later, such as Graylog Enterprise or Graylog Security.
First validate: a sample of your real daily volume, retention and query load on a test cluster. Confirm with the vendor whether a paid tier is needed for the features you depend on.
When the requirement is that logs stay in a specific country, cloud account or on-premises facility, any of the three platforms can run inside your own infrastructure, including air-gapped networks. The choice then depends on the data pipeline and the team that will operate it. OpenSearch suits teams that want to build their own index and dashboard layer, while Graylog gives a ready pipeline with ingestion, search and alerting in one product.
- Keep every tier local: Collectors, brokers, indexes, snapshots and backups must all sit in the approved location. Map each hop.
- Plan snapshot storage: Backups of OpenSearch indexes need a repository in the same jurisdiction. Confirm where Graylog stores its journal and archives.
- Check support boundaries: Confirm which vendor handles which component when the platform runs in a restricted network.
- Document data flows: Auditors and data protection officers will ask where each log source lands and who can read it.
- Consider Wazuh agents: If endpoint telemetry is in scope, confirm that agent traffic and the Wazuh indexer stay in the same region.
First validate: a data flow diagram from each Sumo Logic source to its destination. Confirm with the vendor how each product handles support in an air-gapped setup.
When the team wants search, dashboards, alerts and correlation working early without assembling many components, Graylog is usually the better fit. Graylog Open provides the core log management and search experience, and Graylog Security adds SIEM, threat detection and anomaly detection for teams that need those features as a paid add-on. OpenSearch can reach similar results, but you assemble more of the stack yourself.
- Start with the interface: Search, streams and alert conditions map closely to the Sumo Logic workflow most analysts already know.
- Compare detection content: Sumo Logic ships with its own content. Ask each vendor what detection rules come included and what must be written in-house.
- Plan the query rewrite: Sumo Logic query syntax will not carry over directly. Budget time to rewrite saved searches and alerts.
- Choose the add-on deliberately: Graylog Security is a separate offering, so confirm its licensing and feature list before scoping.
- Train the analysts: Even a familiar interface needs time for new query and alert logic.
First validate: the ten most used saved searches and alerts, and whether each can be rebuilt on the chosen platform. Confirm with the vendor which SIEM features are in Graylog Open and which need Graylog Security.
When the work centers on endpoint visibility, file integrity and compliance evidence, Wazuh is the most direct fit. It is a free, open-source XDR and SIEM platform under the GPLv2 license, built from the Wazuh indexer, server, dashboard and lightweight agents. It provides log analysis, file integrity monitoring, vulnerability detection and compliance support for PCI DSS and GDPR, so it covers more of the endpoint and audit use case than a general search engine does.
- Deploy agents: Lightweight agents on endpoints and servers replace or complement existing Sumo Logic collectors. Plan the rollout by asset group.
- Map compliance controls: Identify which controls your assessor expects, then confirm which Wazuh rules and reports support them. Wazuh supports compliance work, but it does not certify your environment.
- Keep evidence intact: Define retention and access controls for alerts and integrity records that auditors will sample.
- Plan the indexer capacity: Agent counts and event rates drive indexer sizing, so test with realistic volumes.
- Review the ruleset: Tune default rules to reduce noise before you rely on them for alerting.
First validate: the endpoint inventory, the controls in scope and which Sumo Logic dashboards provide the evidence today. Confirm with the vendor which compliance rule sets are included and how they are maintained.
Questions teams ask before moving off Sumo Logic
How much does a migration off Sumo Logic cost?
The cost depends on the components you pay for, and no supplied fact gives a total, so get one from a written scope. Software is the smallest line for Graylog Open and OpenSearch, since both are free to self-manage under their licenses. The recurring costs are infrastructure for storage and search nodes, staff time to operate the platform, and any paid support or enterprise tier you choose. The one-time costs are the migration itself: rebuilding dashboards and alerts, re-pointing collectors and validating detections. Ask for a quote that separates these lines, states what is one-time and what recurs, and shows how retention and daily ingestion volume change the storage figure. Compare that against your current Sumo Logic invoice for the same retention period.
How long does it take to move from Sumo Logic to OpenSearch or Graylog?
The timeline is set by the number of sources, the number of dashboards and alerts, and how long you must run both platforms in parallel. No supplied fact gives a duration, so treat any figure as something to confirm in writing. Collector re-pointing is usually quick per source, while rebuilding detections takes longer because each one needs validation against real events. Compliance-driven retention and the historical export plan also add time. Ask for a phased schedule with milestones, the acceptance criteria for each cutover step, and the dependencies on your change windows and staff availability.
What does the internal team need to provide during the migration?
Your team supplies the knowledge of what the logs mean and which alerts matter, and the access to make changes. Expect to name owners for each log source, provide the current Sumo Logic queries and dashboards, and approve detection changes before they go live. You also need someone who can approve network paths from collectors to the new cluster, and someone who owns the platform after handover. Without these owners, the migration stalls at validation. Confirm these responsibilities in the scope document so they are not discovered mid-project.
Can our own team migrate off Sumo Logic without outside help?
Yes, a capable platform team can do it, provided they have time, experience with log pipelines and search tooling, and a plan for parallel running. The harder parts are translating Sumo Logic query logic into the new query language, validating that detections fire on the same events, and designing storage and retention. Teams that have not run these systems before often underestimate the validation work. An outside partner can take fixed-scope pieces, such as the platform build or the detection rebuild, while your staff keep ownership. DeployOpen plans, implements, integrates, hardens, backs up and documents self-hosted platforms in your own environment, under a written scope agreed before work starts.
How do we handle the 100,000-row export limit for historical data?
Sumo Logic lets users with the Download Search Results capability export up to 100,000 rows of search results as a CSV file from the browser, and larger exports need multiple searches over shorter time ranges. For a migration, that limit makes browser CSV a poor tool for archives. Plan the historical move as a separate workstream: decide which data must move (often only the retention needed for active investigations and compliance) and which can be retired or kept in a cold archive. Export in time slices that stay under the limit, record row counts for each slice so you can check completeness, and load the data into the new platform with timestamps preserved. Confirm the current export and retention options in the Sumo Logic export documentation before you design the process.
Is Graylog Open or OpenSearch suitable for compliance evidence?
Either can hold the logs and reports that compliance work needs, but suitability depends on your controls, retention rules and how auditors will sample evidence. Graylog Open is free to self-manage under the Server Side Public License with no ingestion caps, and OpenSearch is licensed under Apache 2.0. Neither license makes the platform compliant. Compliance comes from how you configure access control, retention, integrity protection, backups and monitoring, and that evidence has to be gathered for the assessment. DeployOpen prepares systems, controls and evidence for compliance assessments, but it does not issue audit reports or certifications; independent auditors and certification bodies do that. Ask your assessor which logs and retention periods they expect before you commit to a platform.
Should we pick Graylog Open or OpenSearch for a Sumo Logic replacement?
Choose Graylog Open if you want a log management interface, search and alerting in one product with a fixed set of workflows, and choose OpenSearch if you want a general search and analytics engine that you build dashboards and detections on top of. Both are free to self-manage, so the difference is the operational model and the skills you have. Graylog Enterprise and Graylog Security are paid options with support, data lake and threat detection features, so check which of these you would need. Run a short proof of concept with three or four of your real alert use cases before you decide.
How DeployOpen scopes, migrates and supports a Sumo Logic replacement
A Sumo Logic exit touches collectors, retention, dashboards, alerts and evidence at once, so the work is best scoped as a whole before any system is built. The cards below cover how DeployOpen defines that scope, what it delivers inside your infrastructure, and how support continues after cutover.
Fixed scope agreed in writing
Most engagements are fixed-scope, so the scope, deliverables and timelines are agreed in writing before work starts. For a Sumo Logic replacement, the written scope should list the sources to re-point, the dashboards and alerts to rebuild, the historical export approach and the target platform, either OpenSearch or Graylog. Ask for the exclusions as clearly as the inclusions, since unlisted log sources are the most common source of cost growth after kickoff.
Platform build inside your environment
DeployOpen plans and implements the self-hosted platform in your own cloud accounts, data centers or air-gapped network, so log data does not leave your control. The build covers installation, integration with identity and collectors, and sizing of storage for your retention targets. Confirm where the platform will run, who holds administrator access, and which parts of the build your own engineers will own after handover.
Collector re-pointing and cutover
Re-pointing means changing the destinations of existing agents, forwarders and cloud log pipelines so events land in the new platform without gaps. Plan a period where both systems receive the same events, and compare event counts by source before disabling the Sumo Logic side. Ask for a rollback step for each source group so a failed collector can be restored quickly.
Rebuilt dashboards and alerts
Sumo Logic queries do not transfer unchanged, so each dashboard and alert must be translated and tested against the same historical data. DeployOpen rebuilds them as part of the agreed scope and documents what each one detects. Ask for a list of rebuilt items with the owner and the test evidence for each, so alert coverage can be checked against your previous rule set.
Hardening, backup and documentation
The platform is hardened to your baseline, with access control, encryption settings and audit logging configured during the build. Backup and restore are tested, not only configured, and the runbooks for upgrades and incidents are written for your operations team. Confirm the restore test scope and who signs off the runbooks before the engagement closes.
Retainers and compliance evidence
Ongoing support, upgrades and continuous testing are available as retainers, which suit teams that want a vendor-neutral operator after go-live. For compliance assessments, DeployOpen prepares systems, controls and evidence, but it does not issue audit reports, attestations or certifications; independent auditors and certification bodies do that. Ask your assessor which evidence formats they accept before the build begins.
