Software · head to head
AppDynamics vs InfluxDB

InfluxDB
Software
Purpose-built time series database for metrics and events
- 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; InfluxDB high-cardinality data causes memory pressure and performance degradation
- They diverge on capability: AppDynamics covers Application performance monitoring, InfluxDB covers Time-series Storage.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which AppDynamics and InfluxDB actually diverge.
| Attribute | AppDynamics | InfluxDB |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | usage-based | Unknown |
| Platforms | Web, Api | Cloud, Docker, Linux, macOS, Windows, AWS, Google Cloud, Azure |
| Founded | 2008 | 2012 |
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
- Api support
Only in InfluxDB
- Time-series Storage
- Flux Query Language
- High Write Throughput
- Data Compression
- Retention Policies
- Continuous Queries
- Built-in Dashboards
- Telegraf
Both cover
- Web 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 InfluxDB
- Business transaction tracing across distributed application tiersnot InfluxDB
- Infrastructure monitoring priced per vCPUnot InfluxDB
InfluxDB
- Monitoringnot AppDynamics
- IoT datanot AppDynamics
- Financial datanot AppDynamics
- Log analyticsnot AppDynamics
- Observabilitynot 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 $50 per host per month, both billed annually
- The published figures are starting prices only, with volume pricing requiring a sales quote
InfluxDB
- High-cardinality data causes memory pressure and performance degradation
- No support for joins or transactions like relational databases
- Queries limited to 72-hour window in InfluxDB 3 OSS Core
- Clustering and authentication features absent from community version
Pricing, plan by plan
AppDynamics
Free- FreeFree
- Application performance monitoring
- Distributed tracing
- Real-time analytics
InfluxDB
Free- Cloud Serverless FreeFree
- 5 MB writes per 5 minutes
- 300 MB queries per 5 minutes
- 30 day retention
- Cloud Serverless Usage-Based$null/mo
- 0.0025 USD per MB ingested
- 0.012 USD per 100 queries
- 0.002 USD per GB-hour storage
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 InfluxDB if
- You need time-series storage.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Cloud, Docker, Linux, macOS, Windows, AWS, Google Cloud, Azure.
- You also want flux query language.
Questions people ask
- Is AppDynamics or InfluxDB better?
- Neither clearly leads. AppDynamics starts at Free and InfluxDB at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, AppDynamics or InfluxDB?
- AppDynamics starts at Free and InfluxDB at Free.
- Does AppDynamics or InfluxDB run on more platforms?
- AppDynamics runs on Web, Api. InfluxDB runs on Cloud, Docker, Linux, macOS, Windows, AWS, Google Cloud, Azure.
- 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 InfluxDB is typically brought in for.
- What can AppDynamics do that InfluxDB cannot?
- AppDynamics covers Application performance monitoring, Distributed tracing, Real-time analytics, Alert management. InfluxDB covers Time-series Storage, Flux Query Language, High Write Throughput, Data Compression. Both handle Web support.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
InfluxDB: Is there a free tier and what are the limits?
InfluxDB 3 Core OSS is free forever for local development and prototyping. Cloud Serverless free tier includes 5 MB writes per 5 minutes, 300 MB queries per 5 minutes, 30 day retention, and 2 databases.
SourceInfluxDB: Can I self-host InfluxDB?
Yes, InfluxDB 3 Core is fully open source and can be self-hosted with no license required. InfluxDB 3 Enterprise is self-managed and includes a 30-day free trial.
SourceInfluxDB: What are the series cardinality limitations?
InfluxDB is sensitive to high-cardinality data. High cardinality increases RAM usage and can trigger out-of-memory errors, making it unsuitable for some workloads with many unique tag combinations.
SourceInfluxDB: Does InfluxDB support SQL queries?
InfluxDB has limited SQL support. Full SQL is available in InfluxDB 3, but earlier versions support only specific SQL commands and use InfluxQL as the primary query language.
SourceInfluxDB: Can I export my data from InfluxDB?
Yes, data can be exported from InfluxDB using query results. However, the process and supported formats depend on the version and deployment type you are using.
SourceRelated pages
More on AppDynamics
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