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Fluentd
Fluentd · founded 2011
What it is
Fluentd is a free, open-source data collector for creating a unified logging layer. It uses JSON to combine log collection, filtering, buffering, and output across different sources and destinations. More than 500 community plugins connect data sources and outputs, including Elasticsearch and Kibana, Splunk, AWS S3, Kafka, BigQuery, Datadog, and OpenTelemetry. Fluentd supports memory and file buffering, failover, and high availability to help prevent data loss between nodes. The project reports that a vanilla instance uses 30–40 MB of memory and processes 13,000 events per second per core. Fluentd v1 runs on Linux, Mac OSX, and Windows. Community distributions include Docker images, a Kubernetes DaemonSet, and Ruby gems. Deployment is self-hosted, and the components are available under the Apache 2 License. Fluentd is a CNCF graduated project with community help and commercial support from companies offering enterprise services. Its homepage lists vulnerabilities patched in Fluentd v1.19.3 and advises updating fluent-package to v6.0.4. The listed Fluentd plan costs nothing.
For and against
For
- Open source under the Apache 2 License
- 500+ community plugins are available
- Supports memory and file buffering
- Runs on Linux, Mac OSX, and Windows
- Offers self-hosted deployment
Against
- Requires self-hosted deployment
- Plugin quality and support may vary by community source
- Listed security guidance requires updating packages
The verdict
Fluentd provides a flexible, self-hosted foundation for collecting and routing logs. Its plugin ecosystem and buffering options are useful, while operators should follow the project’s stated update guidance.
Who it suits
It suits teams building self-hosted log pipelines across varied systems and destinations. Developers can use plugins, structured JSON processing, and deployment options across supported operating systems.
Plans and prices
Fluentd
Open source data collector · Apache 2 License
Read 11 Oct 2026 · fluentd.org
On the record
- Archive export
- Yesfluentd.org · read 20 Sep 2026
- Audience and scale
- The project says 5,000+ data-driven companies rely on Fluentd and its largest user collects logs from 50,000+ servers.fluentd.org · read 11 Oct 2026
- Data processing
- Fluentd uses JSON to unify log collection, filtering, buffering, and output across sources and destinations.fluentd.org · read 11 Oct 2026
- Deployment options
- self-hostedfluentd.org · read 20 Sep 2026
- History
- Fluentd was conceived in 2011 and open-sourced in October 2011.fluentd.org · read 11 Oct 2026
- Integrations
- Listed outputs include Elasticsearch and Kibana, Splunk, AWS S3, Kafka, BigQuery, Datadog, and OpenTelemetry.fluentd.org · read 11 Oct 2026
- License and governance
- Fluentd is a CNCF graduated project and its components are available under the Apache 2 License.fluentd.org · read 11 Oct 2026
- Live log tailing
- Yesfluentd.org · read 20 Sep 2026
- Log pipelines
- Yesfluentd.org · read 20 Sep 2026
- Plugins
- Fluentd has 500+ community plugins connecting dozens of data sources and outputs.fluentd.org · read 11 Oct 2026
- Purpose
- Fluentd is an open source data collector for a unified logging layer.fluentd.org · read 11 Oct 2026
- Reliability
- Fluentd supports memory and file buffering, failover, and high availability to help prevent inter-node data loss.fluentd.org · read 11 Oct 2026
- Resource use
- A vanilla Fluentd instance runs on 30–40 MB of memory and can process 13,000 events per second per core.fluentd.org · read 11 Oct 2026
- Security
- The Fluentd homepage says vulnerabilities CVE-2026-44024, CVE-2026-44025, CVE-2026-44160, and CVE-2026-44161 were patched in Fluentd v1.19.3 and advises updating fluent-package to v6.0.4.fluentd.org · read 11 Oct 2026
- Structured log parsing
- Yesfluentd.org · read 20 Sep 2026
- Support
- The project lists community help and commercial support from companies offering Fluentd enterprise services.fluentd.org · read 11 Oct 2026
- Supported systems
- Fluentd v1 is available for Linux, Mac OSX, and Windows; community distributions also include Docker images, Kubernetes DaemonSet, and Ruby gems.fluentd.org · read 11 Oct 2026
