Skip to content

Comparison

Jump to bottom
LunarEC's AI edited this page Feb 24, 2026 · 4 revisions

LunarLog vs Other C++ Logging Libraries

This page compares LunarLog with commonly used alternatives:

The goal is practical trade-off analysis, not marketing.

Feature matrix

Feature LunarLog spdlog v1.x spdlog v2.x Boost.Log glog
Header-only ✅ ✅ ✅ ❌ ❌
Minimum C++ standard C++11 C++11 C++17 C++11 C++14
External dependencies 0 fmt (or bundled) fmt Boost gflags (optional)
Structured logging ✅ (JSON / CLEF / XML) ❌ ❌ Partial ❌
Message templates ✅ ❌ ❌ ❌ ❌
Named parameters ✅ ❌ ❌ ❌ ❌
Pipe transforms ✅ (18 built-in) ❌ ❌ ❌ ❌
Filter DSL ✅ ❌ ❌ ❌ ❌
Async logging ✅ (AsyncSink decorator) ✅ (async_logger) ✅ (async_sink) ✅ ❌
Enrichers ✅ ❌ ❌ ❌ ❌
Scoped context ✅ ❌ ❌ ✅ (attributes) ❌
Sub-logger / nested pipeline ✅ (SubLoggerSink) ❌ (manual multi-logger) ❌ ✅ (channel-based routing) ❌
Dynamic log level (runtime) ✅ (LevelSwitch + watchConfig) ✅ (set_level()) ✅ (set_level()) ✅ (severity threshold) ✅ (FLAGS_minloglevel)

Where LunarLog is strong

  • Structured-first design: message templates + named parameters + structured formatters are built in.
  • Composable sinks: async and batched behavior are decorators/base abstractions instead of one fixed path.
  • Filtering expressiveness: level filters, predicate filters, DSL rules, and compact syntax.
  • Context and enrichment model: enrichers + scoped context make correlation fields easier to keep consistent.

Where LunarLog is weaker (honest view)

  • Raw throughput: spdlog is generally faster in many real-world scenarios (fmt-focused optimization). LunarLog pays some overhead for richer structured features.
  • Community / ecosystem size: spdlog has a much larger user base and broader third-party ecosystem.
  • Learning resources: spdlog has more external tutorials, blog posts, and Q&A content.

Which one should you choose?

  • Choose LunarLog when structured logging, template semantics, context enrichment, and filter expressiveness matter more than maximum raw throughput.
  • Choose spdlog when you primarily need high-performance classic logging with a very mature ecosystem. Note: spdlog v2.x requires C++17 and uses fmt as the formatting backend.
  • Choose Boost.Log when your project is already deeply integrated with Boost and its attribute model.
  • Choose glog when you need a minimal Google-style logging workflow and its conventions fit your codebase. Note: glog is deprecated (archived 2025-06-30); consider ng-log (API-compatible fork) or Abseil Logging instead.

Clone this wiki locally