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Software · head to head

AppDynamics vs Consul

A

AppDynamics

Software

Enterprise Application Performance Management

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Consul logo

Consul

Software

Service discovery, networking, and security

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: AppDynamics appdynamics.com/pricing returns a 301 redirect to Splunk's observability pricing page; the product is now sold as Splunk AppDynamics; Consul namespaces, admin partitions and other multi tenancy controls are Consul Enterprise only
  • They diverge on capability: AppDynamics covers Application performance monitoring, Consul covers Service discovery.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which AppDynamics and Consul actually diverge.

Attributes where AppDynamics and Consul differ
AttributeAppDynamicsConsul
Pricing modelusage-basedopen-source
PlatformsWeb, ApiLinux, Windows, Mac, Cloud
Founded20082014

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in AppDynamics

  • Application performance monitoring
  • Distributed tracing
  • Real-time analytics
  • Alert management
  • API
  • Webhooks
  • REST
  • Web support

Only in Consul

  • Service discovery
  • Health checking
  • Key/value store
  • Multi-datacenter
  • DNS interface
  • Service mesh
  • Load balancing
  • Configuration management

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

AppDynamics

  • Application performance monitoring for Java, .NET and other enterprise application stacksnot Consul
  • Business transaction tracing across distributed application tiersnot Consul
  • Infrastructure monitoring priced per vCPUnot Consul

Consul

  • Service discovery and health checking across dynamic infrastructurenot AppDynamics
  • Running a service mesh with mutual TLS between servicesnot AppDynamics
  • Distributed key value configuration storage for applicationsnot AppDynamics

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

AppDynamics

  • appdynamics.com/pricing returns a 301 redirect to Splunk's observability pricing page; the product is now sold as Splunk AppDynamics
  • Infrastructure Edition starts at $6 per vCPU per month billed annually, so cost scales with core count rather than host count
  • Premium Edition starts at $33 per host per month and Enterprise Edition at $50 per host per month, both billed annually
  • The published figures are starting prices only, with volume pricing requiring a sales quote

Consul

  • Namespaces, admin partitions and other multi tenancy controls are Consul Enterprise only
  • Audit logging, OIDC authentication and FIPS 140-2 builds require Consul Enterprise, so compliance driven deployments cannot use the free edition
  • Automated backups, redundancy zones, read replicas and automated server upgrades are Enterprise only
  • Long Term Support releases are Enterprise only, so community users must upgrade to stay supported
  • Service mesh and advanced traffic management sit in the Premium Enterprise tier above Standard Enterprise
  • HashiCorp does not publish a Consul rate on its pricing page, which lists per resource prices for Terraform instead

Pricing, plan by plan

AppDynamics

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Application performance monitoring
    • Distributed tracing
    • Real-time analytics

Consul

Free
  • Open SourceFree
    • Service discovery
    • Health checking
    • KV store

Which should you pick?

Choose AppDynamics if

  • You need application performance monitoring.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Api.
  • You also want distributed tracing.
AppDynamics review

Choose Consul if

  • You need service discovery.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Windows, Mac, Cloud.
  • You also want health checking.
Consul review

Questions people ask

Is AppDynamics or Consul better?
Neither clearly leads. AppDynamics starts at Free and Consul at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, AppDynamics or Consul?
AppDynamics starts at Free and Consul at Free.
Does AppDynamics or Consul run on more platforms?
AppDynamics runs on Web, Api. Consul runs on Linux, Windows, Mac, Cloud.
Can I use AppDynamics for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is AppDynamics best used for?
AppDynamics is most often used for application performance monitoring for java, .net and other enterprise application stacks, business transaction tracing across distributed application tiers, infrastructure monitoring priced per vcpu. Of those, application performance monitoring for java, .net and other enterprise application stacks and business transaction tracing across distributed application tiers are not what Consul is typically brought in for.
What can AppDynamics do that Consul cannot?
AppDynamics covers Application performance monitoring, Distributed tracing, Real-time analytics, Alert management. Consul covers Service discovery, Health checking, Key/value store, Multi-datacenter.
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