Softwr

Networking · head to head

Catchpoint vs Splunk

Catchpoint logo

Catchpoint

Networking

Internet and digital experience monitoring, with a genuinely published entry price through its WebPageTest product line

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Splunk logo

Splunk

Networking

Turn Data Into Doing

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Catchpoint has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Catchpoint its flagship enterprise Internet Performance Monitoring product reverts to custom Enterprise pricing beyond the Quick Start package, so full-scale deployment cost is not knowable from the public site; Splunk no prices are published on any plan; every model requires contacting sales for an estimate
  • They diverge on capability: Catchpoint covers Global vantage point network, Splunk covers Log aggregation.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Catchpoint and Splunk actually diverge.

Attributes where Catchpoint and Splunk differ
AttributeCatchpointSplunk
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelFree tier plus published entry tiers, enterprise quote-onlyquote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWebWeb, Api
FoundedUnknown2003

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Networking).

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 Catchpoint

  • Global vantage point network
  • WebPageTest integration
  • BGP and DNS monitoring
  • Real user monitoring
  • Token-based points model

Only in Splunk

  • Log aggregation
  • Real-time monitoring
  • Data visualization
  • Full-text search
  • Custom dashboards
  • Alert management
  • Anomaly detection
  • Log parsing

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Catchpoint

  • A web performance engineer wanting a fuller-featured, paid version of WebPageTest with longer retention and more locationsnot Splunk
  • An enterprise SRE or network team monitoring internet-dependent application delivery, DNS and CDN performance at scalenot Splunk
  • An organisation wanting BGP-level visibility into internet routing issues affecting its servicesnot Splunk
  • A team wanting real user monitoring with session replay alongside synthetic testing from one vendornot Splunk

Splunk

  • Log search and analysis across infrastructurenot Catchpoint
  • SIEM, SOAR and UEBA for a security operations teamnot Catchpoint
  • Application performance and infrastructure monitoringnot Catchpoint
  • Cloud, private cloud or on-premises deploymentnot Catchpoint

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Catchpoint

  • Its flagship enterprise Internet Performance Monitoring product reverts to custom Enterprise pricing beyond the Quick Start package, so full-scale deployment cost is not knowable from the public site
  • The token-based points model, while flexible, requires understanding point consumption per test type to budget usage accurately, which is not always intuitive upfront
  • The IPM Quick Start Package carries a 12-month minimum commitment, so there is no genuinely short-term way to trial the enterprise product at scale
  • WebPageTest's published tiers are aimed at web performance testing specifically; the broader enterprise IPM feature set (BGP, DNS, CDN monitoring) is not available at those lower published prices
  • As with ThousandEyes, meaningful internet path visibility depends on a large distributed vantage point network that only the vendor controls, so coverage gaps in specific regions are not something a buyer can fix themselves
  • Session replay and RUM features are gated to the Expert tier and above, so lower tiers give synthetic testing only, without the real user data many teams actually want

Splunk

  • No prices are published on any plan; every model requires contacting sales for an estimate
  • Three separate pricing models, workload, ingest and entity, so the same deployment costs different amounts depending on which was signed
  • Ingest pricing bills on data volume, so cost tracks how much you log rather than how much value you get from it
  • Security, observability and platform are priced separately

Pricing, plan by plan

Catchpoint

Free
  • WebPageTest StarterFree
    • 150 monthly test runs
    • 60-day retention
    • 30 global locations
  • WebPageTest Professional$180/year
    • 1,000-20,000 monthly test runs
    • 13-month retention
    • 40 global locations
  • WebPageTest Expert$11988/year
    • Real user monitoring with session replay
    • Unlimited users with SSO
    • 3,000+ agents across 300+ cities
  • IPM Quick Start$10000/year
    • Single end-to-end journey monitoring
    • DNS, SSL, CDN and API monitoring

Splunk

On request
  • Observability Cloud - Infrastructure$15/month
    • Infrastructure monitoring for per host/month pricing
    • Unlimited users and ability to scale to petabytes of data
  • Observability Cloud - App & Infra$60/month
    • App and infrastructure monitoring for per host/month pricing billed annually
  • Observability Cloud - End-to-End$75/month
    • End-to-end observability for per host/month pricing billed annually
  • On-Call$5/month
    • On-call management for per user per month pricing billed annually
    • Covers up to 10 seats

Which should you pick?

Choose Catchpoint if

  • You need global vantage point network.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want webpagetest integration.
Catchpoint review

Choose Splunk if

  • You need log aggregation.
  • You work on Web, Api.
  • You also want real-time monitoring.
Splunk review

Questions people ask

Is Catchpoint or Splunk better?
Neither clearly leads. Catchpoint starts at Free and Splunk at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Catchpoint or Splunk?
Catchpoint has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Catchpoint and On request for Splunk.
Does Catchpoint or Splunk run on more platforms?
Catchpoint runs on Web. Splunk runs on Web, Api.
Can I use Catchpoint for free?
Yes. Catchpoint has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Splunk starts at On request.
What is Catchpoint best used for?
Catchpoint is most often used for a web performance engineer wanting a fuller-featured, paid version of webpagetest with longer retention and more locations, an enterprise sre or network team monitoring internet-dependent application delivery, dns and cdn performance at scale, an organisation wanting bgp-level visibility into internet routing issues affecting its services, a team wanting real user monitoring with session replay alongside synthetic testing from one vendor. Of those, a web performance engineer wanting a fuller-featured, paid version of webpagetest with longer retention and more locations and an enterprise sre or network team monitoring internet-dependent application delivery, dns and cdn performance at scale are not what Splunk is typically brought in for.
What can Catchpoint do that Splunk cannot?
Catchpoint covers Global vantage point network, WebPageTest integration, BGP and DNS monitoring, Real user monitoring. Splunk covers Log aggregation, Real-time monitoring, Data visualization, Full-text search.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Catchpoint: Is there a free tier?

Yes, WebPageTest Starter is free with 150 monthly test runs.

Splunk: What is Splunk's pricing model?

Splunk offers activity-based, ingest, or workload pricing options depending on the product. Splunk Observability Cloud and AppDynamics use per-host or per-vCPU monthly pricing billed annually. Splunk Cloud Platform and Splunk Enterprise require custom quotes from sales.

Source
Catchpoint: Is enterprise IPM pricing published?

Only the entry Quick Start Package at $10,000/year with a 12-month minimum; full Enterprise pricing is custom.

Splunk: How much does Splunk Enterprise cost?

Splunk Enterprise pricing requires contact with sales. The vendor offers data-ingest or workload pricing options, supports unlimited users, and can scale to petabytes of data, but specific rates are not published online.

Source
Catchpoint: Does Catchpoint own WebPageTest?

Yes, Catchpoint operates WebPageTest as a productised offering with its own tiered pricing.

Splunk: What are the differences between Splunk's pricing options?

Splunk offers multiple pricing models: ingest-based pricing charges according to data volume brought into the system; workload-based pricing charges based on computing resources consumed by workloads. Both models apply to Splunk Enterprise and Splunk Cloud Platform. Standard support is included with product purchases; premium support is available as an add-on.

Source
Share

Related pages

More on Catchpoint

More on Splunk

Keep looking

Other head to heads