Software · head to head
Azure Monitor vs Elastic APM
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; Elastic APM pricing is not published on the product page; cost follows the underlying Elastic deployment rather than being quoted per host or per service
- They diverge on capability: Azure Monitor covers Log collection, Elastic APM covers Performance monitoring.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Azure Monitor and Elastic APM actually diverge.
| Attribute | Azure Monitor | Elastic APM |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | usage-based | open-source |
| Founded | 2010 | 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 Azure Monitor
- Log collection
- Metrics collection
- Alerts and notifications
- Custom dashboards
Only in Elastic APM
- Performance monitoring
- Error tracking
- Transaction tracing
- Custom metrics
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 Elastic APM
- Alerting on metric thresholds and log queriesnot Elastic APM
- Application performance monitoring through Application Insightsnot Elastic APM
- Long-term log retention for compliancenot Elastic APM
- Querying operational data with KQLnot Elastic APM
Elastic APM
- Distributed tracing across microservicesnot Azure Monitor
- Auto-instrumenting Java, .NET, Python, Go, Node.js, Ruby, PHP and C++ servicesnot Azure Monitor
- OpenTelemetry-native collection through the Elastic distributionsnot Azure Monitor
- Correlating latency and errors with machine learningnot Azure Monitor
- Monitoring LLM calls alongside application tracesnot 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
Elastic APM
- Pricing is not published on the product page; cost follows the underlying Elastic deployment rather than being quoted per host or per service
- Self-managed deployment means running and scaling Elasticsearch yourself
- Serverless does not carry every capability the hosted option does
Pricing, plan by plan
Azure Monitor
Free- FreeFree
- Log collection
- Metrics collection
- Alerts and notifications
Elastic APM
Free- FreeFree
- Performance monitoring
- Error tracking
- Transaction tracing
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 Elastic APM if
- You need performance monitoring.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, Api.
- You also want error tracking.
Questions people ask
- Is Azure Monitor or Elastic APM better?
- Neither clearly leads. Azure Monitor starts at Free and Elastic APM at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Azure Monitor or Elastic APM?
- Azure Monitor starts at Free and Elastic APM at Free.
- Does Azure Monitor or Elastic APM 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 Elastic APM is typically brought in for.
- What can Azure Monitor do that Elastic APM cannot?
- Azure Monitor covers Log collection, Metrics collection, Alerts and notifications, Custom dashboards. Elastic APM covers Performance monitoring, Error tracking, Transaction tracing, Custom metrics. Both handle API, Webhooks, REST, Web support.