Papertrail is SolarWinds' cloud log management tool for real-time log aggregation and search. Compare pricing, features and alternatives for 2026.
Category
DevOps
Pricing
Freemium, from Free (50MB/month); paid plans from $7/month
Verified
Not yet
Last updated
July 19, 2026
Founded
2011
Headquarters
Austin, Texas, United States (part of SolarWinds; Papertrail was originally founded in Seattle, Washington)
Free PlanWeb AppFreemium
Overview
Papertrail is a cloud-hosted log management service founded in 2011 in Seattle by Troy Davis and Eric Lindvall. It was acquired by SolarWinds in 2015 for $41 million and now operates as a product within SolarWinds' broader IT management portfolio.
The service aggregates logs from servers, applications, network devices and cloud platforms into a single searchable, real-time stream, prioritizing fast setup and simplicity over the broader feature set of full observability platforms.
Key Features
Papertrail offers live tailing so engineers can watch logs arrive in real time, instant full-text search across recent and archived logs, and saved searches paired with alerting on specific patterns or thresholds.
Logs can be forwarded via syslog or a lightweight agent, and access controls let teams share visibility into the same log stream. An API and command-line tools support programmatic access, and logs can be archived to external storage for longer-term retention.
Pricing
Papertrail's free plan covers 50MB of logs per month with 48-hour searchable retention. Paid plans scale by volume: Small is about $7/month for 1GB, Medium is $40/month for 10GB, and Large is $230/month for 100GB.
Enterprise pricing is custom for organizations logging from 500GB up to several terabytes per month. Most paid plans include seven-day searchable retention, with options to archive older logs to external storage for compliance or historical analysis.
Key Features
Real-time log aggregation — Collect logs from servers, apps, network devices and cloud services into one stream.
Live tail streaming — Watch logs arrive in real time as they are generated.
Instant full-text search — Search across recent and archived logs quickly through the web console.
Saved searches and alerting — Get notified when logs match specific patterns or exceed thresholds.
Team access controls — Share log visibility across a team with role-based access.
Syslog and agent-based forwarding — Get logs flowing within minutes using standard syslog or a lightweight agent.
API and CLI access — Query and manage logs programmatically for automation.
Configurable archiving — Send older logs to external storage such as S3 for longer-term retention.
Pros & Cons
Pros
Very fast, simple setup compared to full observability stacks
Affordable entry-level pricing for small teams and single applications
Backed by SolarWinds' infrastructure and reliability
Real-time live tail and search are fast and intuitive
Free plan available for very light logging needs
Cons
Feature set is narrower than full observability platforms like Datadog or Splunk, with no built-in APM or metrics
Pricing scales quickly with log volume for growing applications
Default searchable retention (7 days) is short without add-on archiving
Less advanced analytics and dashboarding than competitors like Sumo Logic
Primarily log-focused, so teams needing unified metrics and traces will need additional tools
Pricing
Free $0 monthly
Small $7/month monthly
Medium $40/month monthly
Large $230/month monthly
Enterprise Custom (contact sales) annual contract
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Papertrail used for?
Aggregating, searching and monitoring log data from servers, applications and cloud services in real time.
Who owns Papertrail?
SolarWinds, which acquired Papertrail in 2015 for $41 million.
Is Papertrail free?
Yes, a free plan offers 50MB/month with 48-hour retention; paid plans start at about $7/month.
When was Papertrail founded?
2011, in Seattle, by Troy Davis and Eric Lindvall.
Does Papertrail support alerting?
Yes, alerts can be configured based on log patterns or thresholds.
How is Papertrail different from Datadog or Splunk?
Papertrail focuses specifically on simple, fast log aggregation and search, while Datadog and Splunk offer broader observability suites including metrics, traces and APM.
How long does Papertrail retain logs?
Most plans include 7-day searchable retention, with longer-term archiving options available.
Does Papertrail have an API?
Yes, it offers an API and command-line tools for programmatic access to log data.