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AppDynamics vs Prometheus

A

AppDynamics

Software

Enterprise Application Performance Management

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Prometheus logo

Prometheus

Software

Open source monitoring and alerting toolkit for cloud native environments

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; Prometheus not suitable for per-request billing as collected data lacks 100% accuracy
  • They diverge on capability: AppDynamics covers Application performance monitoring, Prometheus covers Multi-dimensional Data Model.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which AppDynamics and Prometheus actually diverge.

Attributes where AppDynamics and Prometheus differ
AttributeAppDynamicsPrometheus
Pricing modelusage-basedopen-source
PlatformsWeb, ApiLinux, macOS, Windows
Founded20082015

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 Prometheus

  • Multi-dimensional Data Model
  • PromQL Query Language
  • Pull-based Collection
  • Service Discovery
  • Alerting Rules
  • Federation
  • Local Storage
  • Grafana

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 Prometheus
  • Business transaction tracing across distributed application tiersnot Prometheus
  • Infrastructure monitoring priced per vCPUnot Prometheus

Prometheus

  • Cloud-native monitoring and alertingnot AppDynamics
  • Time-series metrics collectionnot AppDynamics
  • Infrastructure monitoringnot 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

Prometheus

  • Not suitable for per-request billing as collected data lacks 100% accuracy
  • Hard limit on scrape body size; large responses cause scrape failure
  • Per-scrape sample limit enforced; exceeding limit marks targets as failed
  • Not designed for long-term durable storage; optimised for metrics collection

Pricing, plan by plan

AppDynamics

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

Prometheus

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Prometheus review.

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 Prometheus if

  • You need multi-dimensional data model.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, macOS, Windows.
  • You also want promql query language.
Prometheus review

Questions people ask

Is AppDynamics or Prometheus better?
Neither clearly leads. AppDynamics starts at Free and Prometheus at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, AppDynamics or Prometheus?
AppDynamics starts at Free and Prometheus at Free.
Does AppDynamics or Prometheus run on more platforms?
AppDynamics runs on Web, Api. Prometheus runs on Linux, macOS, Windows.
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 Prometheus is typically brought in for.
What can AppDynamics do that Prometheus cannot?
AppDynamics covers Application performance monitoring, Distributed tracing, Real-time analytics, Alert management. Prometheus covers Multi-dimensional Data Model, PromQL Query Language, Pull-based Collection, Service Discovery.
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