Software · head to head
AppDynamics vs Dynatrace
Dynatrace
Software
Application Performance Management and Observability
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
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; Dynatrace pricing is commitment based: rates require an annual platform level commitment rather than month to month purchase
- They diverge on capability: AppDynamics covers Application performance monitoring, Dynatrace covers AI-powered analytics.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which AppDynamics and Dynatrace actually diverge.
| Attribute | AppDynamics | Dynatrace |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | usage-based | subscription |
| Founded | 2008 | 2005 |
Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), platforms (Web, Api), 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
Only in Dynatrace
- AI-powered analytics
- APM
- Infrastructure monitoring
- Log analysis
Both cover
- API
- Webhooks
- REST
- Web support
- Api support
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 Dynatrace
- Business transaction tracing across distributed application tiersnot Dynatrace
- Infrastructure monitoring priced per vCPUnot Dynatrace
Dynatrace
- Full stack application performance monitoring with automatic dependency discoverynot AppDynamics
- Kubernetes and container platform observability priced per podnot AppDynamics
- Log ingest, processing and query analyticsnot AppDynamics
- Real user monitoring and session replay for web 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
Dynatrace
- Pricing is commitment based: rates require an annual platform level commitment rather than month to month purchase
- Full-Stack Monitoring is priced at $58 per month per 8 GiB of host memory, so a 64 GiB host counts as eight units
- Infrastructure Monitoring at $29 per host per month excludes code level tracing, which requires Full-Stack
- Session Replay doubles Real User Monitoring cost from $2.25 to $4.50 per 1,000 sessions
- Runtime Vulnerability Analytics and Runtime Application Protection are each charged separately at $13 per month per 8 GiB host on top of monitoring
Pricing, plan by plan
AppDynamics
Free- FreeFree
- Application performance monitoring
- Distributed tracing
- Real-time analytics
Dynatrace
Free- FreeFree
- AI-powered analytics
- APM
- Infrastructure monitoring
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.
Choose Dynatrace if
- You need ai-powered analytics.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, Api.
- You also want apm.
Questions people ask
- Is AppDynamics or Dynatrace better?
- Neither clearly leads. AppDynamics starts at Free and Dynatrace at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, AppDynamics or Dynatrace?
- AppDynamics starts at Free and Dynatrace at Free.
- Does AppDynamics or Dynatrace run on more platforms?
- Both run on Web, Api, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
- 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 Dynatrace is typically brought in for.
- What can AppDynamics do that Dynatrace cannot?
- AppDynamics covers Application performance monitoring, Distributed tracing, Real-time analytics, Alert management. Dynatrace covers AI-powered analytics, APM, Infrastructure monitoring, Log analysis. Both handle API, Webhooks, REST, Web support.