When a small app breaks in production, the difference between a ten-minute fix and a three-hour mystery is usually logs: can you find the error, see what happened before it, and trace it to one user or one request? Enterprise logging platforms charge by volume, which makes them expensive for exactly the apps that generate the most logs. Fortunately, two free approaches cover most small apps well.

This guide compares self-hosted Grafana Loki with Better Stack's free log tier, and explains the logging habits that matter more than the tool you choose.