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Checkly vs Dynatrace

Checkly logo

Checkly

Logging

Active reliability platform combining uptime monitoring, API testing, and incident response

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Dynatrace logo

Dynatrace

Logging

Application Performance Management and Observability

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Checkly free tier has limited check allocations per month; Dynatrace pricing is commitment based: rates require an annual platform level commitment rather than month to month purchase
  • They diverge on capability: Checkly covers Uptime monitoring, Dynatrace covers AI-powered analytics.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Checkly and Dynatrace actually diverge.

Attributes where Checkly and Dynatrace differ
AttributeChecklyDynatrace
PlatformsWeb, CLI, APIWeb, Api
FoundedUnknown2005

Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (subscription), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Logging).

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 Checkly

  • Uptime monitoring
  • Synthetic browser testing
  • API monitoring
  • Heartbeat monitoring
  • Monitoring-as-Code
  • Status pages
  • Root cause analysis
  • Global locations

Only in Dynatrace

  • AI-powered analytics
  • APM
  • Infrastructure monitoring
  • Log analysis
  • API
  • Webhooks
  • REST
  • Web support

What people use each for

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

Checkly

  • Monitor API endpoints with custom assertionsnot Dynatrace
  • Test user journeys with browser automationnot Dynatrace
  • Detect performance degradation across regionsnot Dynatrace
  • Verify DNS and TCP connectivitynot Dynatrace
  • Ensure cron jobs and background tasks completenot Dynatrace

Dynatrace

  • Full stack application performance monitoring with automatic dependency discoverynot Checkly
  • Kubernetes and container platform observability priced per podnot Checkly
  • Log ingest, processing and query analyticsnot Checkly
  • Real user monitoring and session replay for web applicationsnot Checkly

Where each one falls short

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

Checkly

  • Free tier has limited check allocations per month
  • Overage charges can add up with high-volume workloads
  • Status pages require separate paid tier
  • Root cause analysis is separate billing component

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

Checkly

Free
  • HobbyFree
    • 10 uptime monitors
    • 1,000 browser checks monthly
    • 10,000 API checks monthly
  • Team$64/month
    • 75 uptime monitors
    • 12,000 browser checks monthly
    • 100,000 API checks monthly
  • Enterprise$undefined/custom
    • Custom monitor quantities
    • All 22 global locations
    • 1-second check frequency

Dynatrace

Free
  • FreeFree
    • AI-powered analytics
    • APM
    • Infrastructure monitoring

Which should you pick?

Choose Checkly if

  • You need uptime monitoring.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, CLI, API.
  • You also want synthetic browser testing.
Checkly review

Choose Dynatrace if

  • You need ai-powered analytics.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Api.
  • You also want apm.
Dynatrace review

Questions people ask

Is Checkly or Dynatrace better?
Neither clearly leads. Checkly 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, Checkly or Dynatrace?
Checkly starts at Free and Dynatrace at Free.
Does Checkly or Dynatrace run on more platforms?
Checkly runs on Web, CLI, API. Dynatrace runs on Web, Api.
Can I use Checkly for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Checkly best used for?
Checkly is most often used for monitor api endpoints with custom assertions, test user journeys with browser automation, detect performance degradation across regions, verify dns and tcp connectivity. Of those, monitor api endpoints with custom assertions and test user journeys with browser automation are not what Dynatrace is typically brought in for.
What can Checkly do that Dynatrace cannot?
Checkly covers Uptime monitoring, Synthetic browser testing, API monitoring, Heartbeat monitoring. Dynatrace covers AI-powered analytics, APM, Infrastructure monitoring, Log analysis.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Checkly: What is included in the free Checkly plan?

The free Hobby plan includes 10 uptime monitors, 1,000 monthly browser checks, 10,000 monthly API checks, 6 monitoring locations, and 2-minute minimum check frequency with email, Slack, and webhook alerts.

Source
Dynatrace: What is the pricing model for Dynatrace monitoring?

Dynatrace uses commitment-based platform subscription pricing with a minimum annual commitment at the platform level. You pay no per-capability or per-user fees. All capabilities are included day one and draw from your commitment at published rates.

Source
Checkly: Can I write monitoring checks in my preferred language?

Yes, Checkly uses TypeScript/JavaScript for monitoring-as-code, integrated with Playwright for browser testing and supporting REST API testing.

Source
Dynatrace: Is there an overage charge if I exceed my commitment?

No, there are no overage penalties. Excess usage continues at the same per-unit rates published on the rate card. The more you commit upfront, the deeper your discount.

Source
Checkly: How much does status page add to my bill?

Status pages cost between $0-$30/month depending on your plan tier, billed separately from core monitoring.

Source
Dynatrace: What is the cost for monitoring application infrastructure?

Application monitoring costs $7/month per host ($0.01/hour) for Foundation & Discovery, $29/month per host for Infrastructure Monitoring, or $58/month per 8 GiB of host memory for Full-Stack Monitoring.

Source
Checkly: What is the minimum check frequency?

The Hobby and Starter plans support 2-minute and 1-minute minimums respectively. The Team plan supports 30-second intervals, while Enterprise offers 1-second minimum frequency.

Source
Dynatrace: How much does log ingestion and querying cost?

Log Analytics pricing is $0.20/GiB for ingestion, then either $0.0007/GiB-day for retention with bundled queries (10-35 days retention included), or pay-per-query at $0.0007/GiB-day retention plus $0.0035 per GiB scanned.

Source
Dynatrace: Is there a free trial available?

Yes, Dynatrace offers a 15-day free trial plus a sandbox environment for hands-on exploration at no cost.

Source
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