Software · head to head
Azure Monitor vs Dynatrace
Dynatrace
Software
Application Performance Management and Observability
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Azure Monitor billed per GB ingested across three separate log plans, Auxiliary, Basic and Analytics, so the plan chosen changes the rate as much as the volume does; Dynatrace pricing is commitment based: rates require an annual platform level commitment rather than month to month purchase
- They diverge on capability: Azure Monitor covers Log collection, Dynatrace covers AI-powered analytics.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Azure Monitor and Dynatrace actually diverge.
| Attribute | Azure Monitor | Dynatrace |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | usage-based | subscription |
| Founded | 2010 | 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 Azure Monitor
- Log collection
- Metrics collection
- Alerts and notifications
- Custom dashboards
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.
Azure Monitor
- Collecting logs and metrics from Azure resourcesnot Dynatrace
- Alerting on metric thresholds and log queriesnot Dynatrace
- Application performance monitoring through Application Insightsnot Dynatrace
- Long-term log retention for compliancenot Dynatrace
- Querying operational data with KQLnot Dynatrace
Dynatrace
- Full stack application performance monitoring with automatic dependency discoverynot Azure Monitor
- Kubernetes and container platform observability priced per podnot Azure Monitor
- Log ingest, processing and query analyticsnot Azure Monitor
- Real user monitoring and session replay for web applicationsnot Azure Monitor
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Azure Monitor
- Billed per GB ingested across three separate log plans, Auxiliary, Basic and Analytics, so the plan chosen changes the rate as much as the volume does
- Only the first 5 GB a month of Analytics logs is free per billing account
- Retention beyond the base period is charged per GB per month, up to 2 years interactive and 12 years long term
- Log queries and search jobs are billed per GB scanned, so investigating an incident costs money
- Alert rules are billed per time series for metrics and by execution frequency for logs
- The pricing page shows placeholders rather than rates until a region and currency are chosen
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
Azure Monitor
Free- FreeFree
- Log collection
- Metrics collection
- Alerts and notifications
Dynatrace
Free- FreeFree
- AI-powered analytics
- APM
- Infrastructure monitoring
Which should you pick?
Choose Azure Monitor if
- You need log collection.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, Api.
- You also want metrics collection.
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 Azure Monitor or Dynatrace better?
- Neither clearly leads. Azure Monitor 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, Azure Monitor or Dynatrace?
- Azure Monitor starts at Free and Dynatrace at Free.
- Does Azure Monitor or Dynatrace run on more platforms?
- Both run on Web, Api, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
- Can I use Azure Monitor for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is Azure Monitor best used for?
- Azure Monitor is most often used for collecting logs and metrics from azure resources, alerting on metric thresholds and log queries, application performance monitoring through application insights, long-term log retention for compliance. Of those, collecting logs and metrics from azure resources and alerting on metric thresholds and log queries are not what Dynatrace is typically brought in for.
- What can Azure Monitor do that Dynatrace cannot?
- Azure Monitor covers Log collection, Metrics collection, Alerts and notifications, Custom dashboards. Dynatrace covers AI-powered analytics, APM, Infrastructure monitoring, Log analysis. Both handle API, Webhooks, REST, Web support.