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Shreya Srivastava
Shreya Srivastava

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Top 5 Audit Logging Libraries Every Startup Should Consider in 2025

#javascript #startup #security #tooling

Audit logs are no longer optional. They’re essential for:

  • Security
  • Debugging
  • Product analytics
  • Compliance
  • Customer transparency
  • Billing disputes

Whether you're building a SaaS or a dev-tool, proper audit logging saves you hours of debugging and thousands in support costs.

Here are the top 5 audit log libraries for startups in 2025.

LogMint — Best for Startups & Indie Hackers

LogMint is a developer-first auditing library built especially for startups.

⭐ Why startups love it:

  • Super-simple SDK
  • JSON-based event model
  • Usage-based pricing
  • Works with PostgreSQL
  • Ideal for devtools, SaaS apps, marketplaces

Example:

await log({
  event_type: "user.paid.first.order",
  actor_name: "shreya",
  actor_id: "1",
  resource_id: "#186",
  resource_type: "mobile app",
  metadata: { order_id: "#ord_12" },
});
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Best for:
Startups, solo founders, projects with < 10k to 5M events/month.

WorkOS Audit Logs — Best for Enterprise

WorkOS provides a fully-enterprise SSO + Directory Sync + Audit Logs suite.

Pros:

  • Enterprise-grade
  • SOC2 & compliance friendly
  • Tight integration with WorkOS ecosystem

Cons:

  • Expensive
  • Not friendly for small startups
  • Requires enterprise identity infrastructure

OpenAudit(open-source)

A simple, lightweight open-source audit logger.

Pros:

  • Free
  • SQL-based storage
  • Simple schema

Cons:

  • No dashboard
  • No UI
  • No hosted service or alerts
  • Good for self-hosted apps.

Axiom

(Logging platform, not strictly audit logs, but useful)

Pros:

  • Good developer tooling
  • Realtime dashboards
  • Structured log ingestion

Cons:

  • Not focused on “who did what”
  • Not a pure audit log system
  • Works well if you already use Axiom.

Ory Keto + Kratos (advanced)

More complex identity & permission management with audit support.

Pros:

  • Extremely flexible
  • Open-source
  • Rich identity management

Cons:

  • Too complex for most startups
  • Overkill unless you need advanced RBAC + logging

Which one should YOU choose?

If you’re a startup

→ Use LogMint
Fastest setup + startup-friendly pricing.

If you’re enterprise

→ Use WorkOS

If you’re open source

→ OpenAudit / Ory

Final Thoughts

Audit logs are often ignored until something breaks.
But a solid audit system makes your product more secure, trustworthy, and easier to debug.

If you're shipping a new SaaS in 2025, adding proper audit trails is one of the highest-ROI features you can build.

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