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Difference between AWS Cloudwatch and AWS Cloudtrail

Last Updated : 2 Jun, 2026

To understand AWS monitoring and auditing services, it is important to know the difference between AWS CloudWatch and AWS CloudTrail. Both are used to monitor and manage AWS environments, but they differ in functionality and purpose.

  • AWS CloudWatch: It is a monitoring service used to track the performance and health of AWS resources and applications.
  • AWS CloudTrail: It is an auditing service used to record and monitor activities and events in an AWS account. 

Key Differences

Feature

AWS CloudWatchAWS CloudTrail
PurposeUsed for monitoring AWS resources and applicationsUsed for auditing and tracking AWS account activity
FunctionTracks performance and health metricsRecords user activities and API calls
AlertsSupports alarms and notificationsDoes not provide alarms directly
Data TypeCollects metrics, logs and eventsCollects event history and account actions
Use CasePerformance monitoring and issue detectionSecurity, compliance and auditing
Services MonitoredMonitors AWS resources like EC2, RDS and S3Tracks actions performed across AWS services
Real-Time Monitoring Supports real-time monitoringMainly used for activity logging and tracking
Main BenefitHelps improve system performance and availabilityHelps maintain security and compliance

When to Use Which?

Use AWS CloudWatch

  • Performance monitoring of EC2, RDS, Lambda, and other AWS resources.
  • Tracking metrics, logs, and application health.
  • Real-time dashboards and monitoring.
  • Automatic alerts through CloudWatch Alarms.
  • Troubleshooting performance issues and outages.

Use AWS CloudTrail

  • Auditing AWS account activity.
  • Tracking user actions and API calls.
  • Security investigations and incident analysis.
  • Compliance and governance requirements.
  • Monitoring resource creation, modification, and deletion.

Using CloudWatch and CloudTrail Together

  • You want complete visibility into your AWS environment.
  • CloudWatch helps monitor system performance and detect operational issues.
  • CloudTrail helps track user actions and account-level events for security and auditing.
  • Together, they provide monitoring, troubleshooting, security, and compliance capabilities.
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