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Elastic APM vs Datadog APM Comparison

Last updated:

Elastic APM

Starting at $95 /month

  • Free Trial
  • Large Enterprises
  • Medium Business

Elastic APM is a robust Application Performance Management (APM) solution designed to provide real-time visibility into the performance of applications across microservices, serverless, and monolithic architectures. It e…

View PricingRead Reviews

Datadog APM

4.0(382 reviews)

Starting at Contact for pricing

  • Free Trial
  • Freelancers / Consultants
  • Large Enterprises

Datadog APM provides team with visibility into the health and performance of applications across multiple clouds and on-premises environments. Datadog APM helps business get faster visibility into new application availab…

View PricingRead Reviews

Datadog APM leads on user satisfaction with a 4.0-star rating across 382 reviews.

Elastic APM vs Datadog APM — at a glance

FeatureElastic APMDatadog APM
Rating—4.0 / 5
Reviews—382
Starting price$95 /monthContact for pricing
Free trial Yes Yes
Free version No No
Best forLarge Enterprises, Medium BusinessFreelancers / Consultants, Large Enterprises, Medium Business
CategoryApplication Performance Monitoring (APM) ToolsApplication Performance Monitoring (APM) Tools
PlatformsSaaS/Web/CloudSaaS/Web/Cloud
API—Available
Support modes—Business Hours, Online
Certifications—SOC 2, HIPAA, GDPR, ISO 27001
Data residency—Global

Key differences between Elastic APM and Datadog APM

  • Pricing: Elastic APM starts at $95 /month. Datadog APM pricing is not publicly listed.
  • Target audience: Elastic APM is built for Large Enterprises and Medium Business, while Datadog APM targets Freelancers / Consultants and Large Enterprises.
  • Deployment: Elastic APM supports SaaS/Web/Cloud; Datadog APM supports SaaS/Web/Cloud.

Elastic APM vs Datadog APM — find the better fit before you commit.

01

Which tool fits your team best

02

Which is actually cheaper for your team size

03

Where each product wins, per real buyers

Most Application Performance Monitoring (APM) Tools tools look identical on paper. This comparison cuts to the differences that matter — pricing structure, team fit, and what real buyers found after signing up.

Biggest differences

Features

Pricing

Buying details

Security

Buyer feedback

Integrations

Product tour

Other options

Logo

Elastic APM

Talk to an expert
Talk to an expert
Datadog APM - Application Performance Monitoring (APM) Tools

Datadog APM

(153)
Talk to an expert
Talk to an expert

Biggest differences

Affiliate Disclosure

Start here before you go deeper into features.

Elastic APM

Best for

Large Enterprises, Medium Business

Datadog APM

Best for deep, real-time monitoring of complex multi-cloud applications.

Choose if
  • You need powerful end-to-end tracing and root cause analysis dashboards.
  • Your team requires real-time alerts to respond immediately to issues.
  • You operate complex distributed systems across cloud and on-premises environments.
Consider alternatives if
  • You are a small business with limited budget due to high pricing.
  • Your team lacks capacity to manage complex configurations and data filtering.

Elastic APM typically suits Large Enterprises and Medium Business. Datadog APM tends to fit Freelancers / Consultants and Large Enterprises better. The right choice depends on your team size, workflow, and whether a free trial matters.

Description

Elastic APM is a robust Application Performance Management (APM) solution designed to provide real-time visibility into the performance of applications across microservices, serverless, and ... Read More about Elastic APM

Datadog APM provides team with visibility into the health and performance of applications across multiple clouds and on-premises environments. Datadog APM helps business get faster ... Read More about Datadog APM

Entry Level Pricing

  • Starts from $95 , monthly
  • Not Available

Free Trial Availability

Spotsaas Score

What's this? ↗

Not Available

9.8/10

User Ratings

Based on verified Spotsaas reviews

4

(382)

Best Company Size

—
200-5000 employeesLarge Enterprises
Get pricing help
Get pricing help

Where each option fits best

See where each product is strongest, which teams it fits, and what causes buyers to keep looking — before you commit.

Based on buyer reviews and verified product data collected by Spotsaas.

Strengths

Key strengths

Datadog APM

  • Datadog APM gives our team clear, actionable insights into application performance, helping us pinpoint bottlenecks and resolve issues faster—so we're always ahead of the curve.
  • With powerful end-to-end tracing and intuitive dashboards, Datadog simplifies complex performance data, enabling administrators to identify root causes of problems quickly and accurately.
  • As an analyst, I appreciate how seamlessly Datadog integrates with our existing infrastructure. It reduces setup time significantly and allows us to monitor everything from one centralized place.
Best fit

Best fit

Datadog APM

  • 200 - 5000 employees
  • SaaS, Fintech, Martech, Revtech, E-commerce, Gaming, Healthcare, Media and Entertainment, Consulting
  • DevOps Engineers, Application Developers, Software Engineers, IT Operations Managers, Site Reliability Engineers (SREs), Technical Leads, Application Performance Analysts
Watchouts

Reasons buyers look elsewhere

Datadog APM

  • Users may seek alternatives if Datadog APM's pricing becomes prohibitive, especially for smaller teams or startups needing cost-effective solutions with clearer pricing structures.
  • Organizations requiring deeper customization and flexibility in monitoring configurations might find Datadog APM restrictive and prefer more adaptable platforms.
  • Teams already invested in specific technology ecosystems (e.g., Microsoft Azure, AWS) may opt for native monitoring tools to ensure seamless integration and simplified management.

Software Demo

Demo

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How do Elastic APM and Datadog APM Compare on Features?

Total Features

15 Features

9 Features

Unique Features

No unique features

No unique features

Get Quote
Get Quote

Compare Elastic APM and Datadog APM on pricing

Review starting price, plan structure, and free-trial access side by side so you can see which option fits your budget and buying process.

Pricing Option

      Starting From

      • $95 , monthly
      • Not Available

      Pricing Plans

      • Standard

        $95

        /month

        Get Started

        • Core Elastic Stack features : including security

        • field statistics

        Show more +

      • Gold

        $109

        /month

        Get Started

        • Everything in Standard plus:

        • Reporting

        • Third-party alerting actions

        Show more +

      • Platinum

        $125

        /month

        Get Started

        • Everything in Gold plus:

        • Advanced Elastic Stack security features

        • Machine learning (ML)

        Show more +

        • Browse all pricing plans
      • Not Available

      Pricing Page

      Elastic APM pricing
      Datadog APM pricing
      View detailed pricing
      View detailed pricing

      Other Details

      Organization Types supported

      • Individuals
      • Medium Business
      • Small Business
      • Freelancers
      • Large Enterprises
      • Individuals
      • Medium Business
      • Small Business
      • Freelancers
      • Large Enterprises

      Platforms Supported

      • Browser Based (Cloud)
      • Mobile - Android
      • Mobile - iOS
      • Installed - Windows
      • Installed - Mac
      • Browser Based (Cloud)
      • Browser Based (Cloud)
      • Mobile - Android
      • Mobile - iOS
      • Installed - Windows
      • Installed - Mac
      • Browser Based (Cloud)

      Modes of support

      • 24/7 (Live rep)
      • Business Hours
      • Online
      • 24/7 (Live rep)
      • Business Hours
      • Online

      API Support

      • Not Available
      • Available
      Get help choosing
      Get help choosing

      Security & Compliance

      Certifications, data handling, and security controls for IT and compliance evaluators.

      SOC 2

      —
      ✓ Yes

      HIPAA

      —
      ✓ Yes

      GDPR

      —
      ✓ Yes

      ISO 27001

      —
      ✓ Yes

      Single Sign-On (SSO)

      —
      ✓ Yes

      Multi-Factor Auth (MFA)

      —
      ✓ Yes

      Data Encryption

      —
      ✓ Yes

      Audit Logs

      —
      ✓ Yes

      Data Residency

      —
      🌐 Global

      Elastic APM User Reviews & Rating Comparison

      User Ratings

      No reviews available for the product

      4

      (based on 382 reviews)

      Rating Distribution

      No reviews available for this product

      77

      62

      5

      3

      6

      Spotsaas Editor’s POV generated by AI

      What buyers like

      • Elastic APM integrates with CI/CD pipelines, providing continuous visibility during deployments. Teams can track performance regressions tied to specific releases, versions, or nodes, helping catch issues early in the development lifecycle.
      • Using machine learning, Elastic APM offers smarter sampling and anomaly detection, enabling faster identification of performance issues, even in complex and intermittent scenarios. This leads to quicker root cause analysis and resolution.
      • Elastic APM supports a wide range of popular programming languages, including Java, .NET, Python, PHP, and Go. This ensures that teams can use the platform for various tech stacks without needing additional tools or integrations.

      Common complaints

      • Elastic APM’s pricing model might be a concern for smaller organizations or teams with limited budgets. The cost increases with scale and usage, which may be restrictive for those requiring extensive monitoring across many services.
      • The real-time monitoring and distributed tracing features can introduce some overhead on system performance, particularly if not optimized. This could affect the system's overall resource usage, especially for highly dynamic and scalable applications.
      • While powerful, Elastic APM’s setup and configuration process may be complex, particularly for large-scale or highly distributed environments. Teams may need specialized knowledge to properly set up and tune the platform.

      Buyer sentiment

      Users appreciate Datadog APM's powerful monitoring and alerting capabilities but note challenges with pricing and complexity for smaller teams.

      What buyers like

      • Ease of troubleshooting
      • Real-time alerting
      • Integration with existing systems

      Common complaints

      • Complexity and learning curve
      • Pricing and cost scalability

      Pros and Cons

      • Elastic APM integrates with CI/CD pipelines, providing continuous visibility during deployments. Teams can track performance regressions tied to specific releases, versions, or nodes, helping catch issues early in the development lifecycle.

      • Using machine learning, Elastic APM offers smarter sampling and anomaly detection, enabling faster identification of performance issues, even in complex and intermittent scenarios. This leads to quicker root cause analysis and resolution.

      • Elastic APM supports a wide range of popular programming languages, including Java, .NET, Python, PHP, and Go. This ensures that teams can use the platform for various tech stacks without needing additional tools or integrations.

      • Elastic APM’s pricing model might be a concern for smaller organizations or teams with limited budgets. The cost increases with scale and usage, which may be restrictive for those requiring extensive monitoring across many services.

      • The real-time monitoring and distributed tracing features can introduce some overhead on system performance, particularly if not optimized. This could affect the system's overall resource usage, especially for highly dynamic and scalable applications.

      • Powerful end-to-end tracing and intuitive dashboards for root cause analysis

      • Real-time alerts enabling immediate response to issues

      • Proactive monitoring of complex distributed systems to prevent downtime

      • High volume of data can overwhelm teams lacking proper filtering

      • Pricing can be expensive and scale quickly with usage

      Positive Reviews

      No reviews available for the product

      No reviews available for the product

      Negative Reviews

      No reviews available for the product

      No reviews available for the product

      Read reviews

      List of Customers

      Customers

      Hexaware

      Hexaware

      Waitrose

      Waitrose

      Kpn

      Kpn

      Samsung

      Samsung

      Comcast

      Comcast

      nginx

      nginx

      Media and Screenshots

      Screenshots

      Elastic APM

      4 Screenshots

      Datadog APM screenshot

      3 Screenshots

      Videos

      video-0

      1 Videos

      video-0

      1 Videos

      Top Alternatives to Elastic APM and Datadog APM in 2026

      Alternatives

      Raygun - Application Performance Monitoring (APM) Tools
      Raygun

      4.4

      IDERA Precise - Application Performance Monitoring (APM) Tools
      IDERA Precise

      4.2

      Datadog APM - Application Performance Monitoring (APM) Tools
      Datadog APM

      4

      Retrace - Application Performance Monitoring (APM) Tools
      Retrace

      4.1

      Scout APM - Application Performance Monitoring (APM) Tools
      Scout APM

      4.7

      New Relic APM - Application Performance Monitoring (APM) Tools
      New Relic APM

      4.5

      Expand your shortlist

      Add another option to compare side by side

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      Disclaimer: This research has been collated from a variety of authoritative sources. We welcome your feedback at [email protected].

      Frequently asked questions

      Which is better, Elastic APM or Datadog APM?
      Datadog APM edges out the other on user ratings (4.0 vs -1.0). That said, the best pick depends on your use case — use the comparison tables above to evaluate each dimension.
      Do Elastic APM and Datadog APM offer a free trial?
      Yes, both Elastic APM and Datadog APM offer a free trial.
      What is the starting price of Elastic APM vs Datadog APM?
      Elastic APM starts at $95 /month. Datadog APM starts at Contact for pricing.
      What are the top alternatives to Elastic APM?
      Top alternatives to Elastic APM include Raygun, IDERA Precise, Datadog APM, Serverless360, Qualetics.
      What are the top alternatives to Datadog APM?
      Top alternatives to Datadog APM include Retrace, Scout APM, New Relic APM, Nastel AutoPilot, AppDynamics.

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