Software · head to head
AppDynamics vs ELK Stack
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; ELK Stack the free Basic self managed subscription excludes machine learning, alerting, single sign on via SAML or OpenID Connect, LDAP and Active Directory authentication, field and document level security, searchable snapshots and cross cluster replication
- They diverge on capability: AppDynamics covers Application performance monitoring, ELK Stack covers Full-text search.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which AppDynamics and ELK Stack actually diverge.
| Attribute | AppDynamics | ELK Stack |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | usage-based | open-source |
| Founded | 2008 | 2011 |
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 ELK Stack
- Full-text search
- Data visualization
- Log aggregation
- Time-series analytics
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 ELK Stack
- Business transaction tracing across distributed application tiersnot ELK Stack
- Infrastructure monitoring priced per vCPUnot ELK Stack
ELK Stack
- Centralised log search and analytics over Elasticsearchnot AppDynamics
- Dashboards and visualisation of machine data in Kibananot AppDynamics
- Self managing a search and observability cluster on your own hardwarenot 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
ELK Stack
- The free Basic self managed subscription excludes machine learning, alerting, single sign on via SAML or OpenID Connect, LDAP and Active Directory authentication, field and document level security, searchable snapshots and cross cluster replication
- Cross cluster operations require the same subscription tier on every cluster involved
- The 99.95 percent monthly uptime SLA applies only to the Platinum and Enterprise subscription tiers
- Three deployment models are priced on three different bases: resource based for Cloud Hosted, usage based for Serverless and licence based on nodes and RAM for self managed
- Elastic Cloud Serverless does not yet support traffic filtering, cross project search or bring your own key
- The pricing page publishes no rate for any tier
Pricing, plan by plan
AppDynamics
Free- FreeFree
- Application performance monitoring
- Distributed tracing
- Real-time analytics
ELK Stack
Free- FreeFree
- Full-text search
- Data visualization
- Log aggregation
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 ELK Stack if
- You need full-text search.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, Api.
- You also want data visualization.
Questions people ask
- Is AppDynamics or ELK Stack better?
- Neither clearly leads. AppDynamics starts at Free and ELK Stack at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, AppDynamics or ELK Stack?
- AppDynamics starts at Free and ELK Stack at Free.
- Does AppDynamics or ELK Stack 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 ELK Stack is typically brought in for.
- What can AppDynamics do that ELK Stack cannot?
- AppDynamics covers Application performance monitoring, Distributed tracing, Real-time analytics, Alert management. ELK Stack covers Full-text search, Data visualization, Log aggregation, Time-series analytics. Both handle API, Webhooks, REST, Web support.