pino vs winston
Which should you use? A side-by-side look at what each one does, who it suits, what it costs, how hard it is to set up, and where each falls short.
Open source · MIT
A fast JSON logger for Node.js that writes structured log lines.
Open source · MIT
A Node.js logging library that sends logs to multiple places like the console or files.
The short answer
Choose pino if you need…
- Node.js backend developers who want structured JSON logs
- Teams running web servers that log many requests per second
- Projects that need to forward logs to other systems through transports
- Developers who want a simple logger with child loggers for adding context
Choose winston if you need…
- Node.js developers who need structured or file-based application logs
- Teams that want different log levels sent to different destinations
- Projects that need custom log formats or custom transports
- Services that want per-request metadata via child loggers
Side-by-side
| pino | winston | |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Library | Library |
| Price | Free and open source | Free and open source |
| Licence | MIT | MIT |
| GitHub stars | 18.3k | 24.5k |
| Setup difficulty | Beginner | Intermediate |
| How you get it | Install with a package manager | Install with a package manager |
| Main language | JavaScript | JavaScript |
| Last code update | 30 days ago | 4 months ago |
What each one is
pino
Pino is a logging library for JavaScript that writes each log message as a single JSON object. Structured logs are easier for software and log services to search and filter than plain text. The README describes it as very low overhead, so it is meant to add little cost to a running application.
winston
winston is a JavaScript logging library for Node.js. It records messages from your program and sends them to one or more destinations, called transports, such as the console or a log file. You can set severity levels and formats so that, for example, errors go to a file while everything goes to the console.
Best for
pino
- Node.js backend developers who want structured JSON logs
- Teams running web servers that log many requests per second
- Projects that need to forward logs to other systems through transports
- Developers who want a simple logger with child loggers for adding context
winston
- Node.js developers who need structured or file-based application logs
- Teams that want different log levels sent to different destinations
- Projects that need custom log formats or custom transports
- Services that want per-request metadata via child loggers
Strengths
pino
- The README reports that Pino is often over 5x faster than alternatives, with benchmarks linked for verification
- Output is standard JSON, which works with most log tools
- Has documented integrations for many web frameworks and supports bundling with webpack or esbuild
winston
- Supports multiple transports at different log levels
- Formats can be combined and customized
- MIT license and widely used, with 24,527 GitHub stars
Not ideal for
pino
- People who only want plain-text console output with no setup (the JSON output is hard to read without a formatter like pino-pretty)
- Non-JavaScript projects, since the library is built for Node.js
- Users who need a full log management platform; Pino writes and routes logs but does not store or visualize them
winston
- Browser-only front-end code, since the README describes a Node.js library (reason: no browser usage is documented)
- People who only need a quick console.log replacement for a tiny script (reason: setup involves creating a logger and transports)
- Projects needing a hosted log-search service (reason: winston is a library and does not provide a server or dashboard)
Trade-offs
pino
- Log processing such as sending or reformatting should be moved to transports, which adds setup complexity
- Output is raw JSON by default, so readability requires an extra tool during development
- Speed claims come from the project's own benchmarks, so results will vary by workload
winston
- The README warns that .child may be buggy if you extend the Logger class
- The default logger has no transports, and the README says leaving it that way may cause high memory usage
- Documentation applies to winston@3; 2.x docs are separate
Getting started
pino
Install with NPM
npm install pinoInstall with Yarn
yarn add pinoFrequently asked questions
What is the difference between pino and winston?
pino: A fast JSON logger for Node.js that writes structured log lines. winston: A Node.js logging library that sends logs to multiple places like the console or files. pino suits node.js backend developers who want structured json logs, while winston suits node.js developers who need structured or file-based application logs.
Are pino and winston free?
pino: Free and open source. winston: Free and open source.
Which is easier to set up, pino or winston?
pino is easier to get started with (rated beginner); winston is rated intermediate and usually needs more setup.
Is pino or winston more popular?
winston has more GitHub stars (24.5k) than pino (18.3k). Popularity isn't the same as fit — check which one matches your use case above.
What are other alternatives to pino and winston?
Other options people compare them with include Monolog, Fiber, Loguru.
Keep comparing
Built from our catalogue entries for both products: open-source details come from each project's README (AI-assisted, refreshed weekly) and GitHub data; AI-tool details are editorial. Spotted something wrong? Let us know from either product's page.