Why consider an alternative to Papertrail?
- Variable cost tied to log size: Papertrail charges $0.25 – $1 per million messages; in chatty environments the bill climbs quickly.
- Data residency: logs are hosted in the USA (SolarWinds)—an obstacle for organisations bound by GDPR or local‑data clauses.
- Limited retention: even “Business” plans include only 2 weeks of instant search.
- Advanced features cost extra: rich alerting or SIEM integrations often require additional Observability add‑ons.
LogCentral.io: the next‑generation platform
LogCentral inherits Papertrail’s greatest strengths—live tail, full‑text search, syslog aggregation—and layers on top:
Key features
- Sovereign EU storage (France & Germany): perfect for GDPR and ANSSI requirements.
- Flat per‑node pricing: no billing per GB or query.
- Smart retention: automatic one‑year data retention.
Quick comparison: LogCentral vs Papertrail
| Criteria | Papertrail | LogCentral |
|---|---|---|
| Real‑time live tail | Yes (> 35 msg/s recommended) | Yes (> 100 msg/s with zero latency) |
| Search over ≥ 30 days | Max 14 days, plan‑dependent | Coming soon |
| 1‑year archiving | Optional add‑on | Native |
| Pricing model | By log volume | Per node & log volume, with aggressive rates |
| Data residency | USA (SolarWinds) | EU — France/DE |
| GDPR compliance | 🟠 (SCC) | 🟢 (EU‑hosted data) |
| Alerting / AI | Observability modules (optional) | Included, AI‑powered log insights |
Use cases covered
Network monitoring
LogCentral ingests syslogs from all major platforms: Meraki, UniFi, PfSense, HPE, Aruba, and more.
Compliance & forensic
Field experience shows that long‑term retention and WORM exports are indispensable for major incident analysis.
FinOps optimisation
The pay‑per‑node approach avoids unexpected billing spikes—a common complaint about volume‑based logging services.
How to migrate to LogCentral
- Configure a syslog endpoint in LogCentral.
- Update your agents (rsyslog, log‑agent, Fluent Bit) to point to the new destination.
- Validate continuity: check the live tail and compare incoming volumes.
- Automate alerting.
- Disable Papertrail forwarding once duplication is complete.
Conclusion
Papertrail popularised “frustration‑free” log collection, but LogCentral.io is redefining the market with sovereign hosting, predictable pricing, and native AI capabilities. Ready to see it in action? Request your free demo ▼
LogCentral is listed on Alternative.to.
This post is also available in fr_FR.