# Elastic Agent vs Beats **URL:** \ **Category:** Community Ecosystem\ **Created:** [May 23, 2024, 1:10pm UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/elastic-agent-vs-beats/360078 "2024-05-23T13:10:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 3\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![NasrJBr](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/elastic/user_avatar/discuss.elastic.co/nasrjbr/32/134034_2.png) [@NasrJBr](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/NasrJBr)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2024, 1:10pm UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/elastic-agent-vs-beats/360078/1 "2024-05-23T13:10:12Z")
Hello, please i want to know, what are the differences between elastic agent and Beats and which one to use ? ---
**Author:** ![leandrojmp](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/elastic/user_avatar/discuss.elastic.co/leandrojmp/32/107231_2.png) [@leandrojmp](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/leandrojmp)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2024, 2:24pm UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/elastic-agent-vs-beats/360078/2 "2024-05-23T14:24:17Z")
Check this [documentation](https://www.elastic.co/guide/en/fleet/current/beats-agent-comparison.html#beats-agent-comparison), it explains the main difference between beats and elastic agent. Basically with Elastic Agent you can have one single installation to collect any type of data you want and centrally manage it from Kibana. With individual beats you would need to install each beat, create configuration files, and manage it yourself. Unless there is a need to use an individual beat I would stick with using Elastic Agents managed by Fleet. ---
**Author:** ![system](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/elastic/original/3X/1/a/1ac57faf039f6b580b3f104ef42a2a89e41014de.png) [@system](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/system)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2024, 2:24pm UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/elastic-agent-vs-beats/360078/3 "2024-06-20T14:24:42Z")
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