Software · head to head
AppDynamics vs Elasticsearch Service
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; Elasticsearch Service the 99.95 percent monthly uptime SLA applies only to the Platinum and Enterprise subscription tiers
- They diverge on capability: AppDynamics covers Application performance monitoring, Elasticsearch Service covers Full-text search.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which AppDynamics and Elasticsearch Service actually diverge.
| Attribute | AppDynamics | Elasticsearch Service |
|---|---|---|
| Founded | 2008 | 2011 |
Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (usage-based), 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 Elasticsearch Service
- Full-text search
- Scalability
- High availability
- Security
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 Elasticsearch Service
- Business transaction tracing across distributed application tiersnot Elasticsearch Service
- Infrastructure monitoring priced per vCPUnot Elasticsearch Service
Elasticsearch Service
- Managed Elasticsearch without running the clusternot AppDynamics
- Log and observability data storage and searchnot AppDynamics
- Full-text search behind an applicationnot AppDynamics
- Deployments needing a specific cloud region across AWS, Azure or GCPnot 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
Elasticsearch Service
- The 99.95 percent monthly uptime SLA applies only to the Platinum and Enterprise subscription tiers
- Serverless does not yet support traffic filtering, cross-project search or bring-your-own-key encryption
- Serverless runs on AWS, GCP and Azure only, against 60 regions for the hosted option
- Per-unit prices are not published; hosted is resource-based and serverless usage-based
Pricing, plan by plan
AppDynamics
Free- FreeFree
- Application performance monitoring
- Distributed tracing
- Real-time analytics
Elasticsearch Service
Free- FreeFree
- Full-text search
- Scalability
- High availability
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 Elasticsearch Service if
- You need full-text search.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, Api.
- You also want scalability.
Questions people ask
- Is AppDynamics or Elasticsearch Service better?
- Neither clearly leads. AppDynamics starts at Free and Elasticsearch Service at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, AppDynamics or Elasticsearch Service?
- AppDynamics starts at Free and Elasticsearch Service at Free.
- Does AppDynamics or Elasticsearch Service 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 Elasticsearch Service is typically brought in for.
- What can AppDynamics do that Elasticsearch Service cannot?
- AppDynamics covers Application performance monitoring, Distributed tracing, Real-time analytics, Alert management. Elasticsearch Service covers Full-text search, Scalability, High availability, Security. Both handle API, Webhooks, REST, Web support.