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Databricks vs Datadog

Databricks logo

Databricks

Software

Unified analytics platform for data engineering and data science

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Datadog logo

Datadog

Software

Modern monitoring & security

From
$15/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Databricks has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Databricks cloud compute is billed separately by the cloud provider on top of Databricks DBU charges; Datadog consumption-based pricing model makes costs hard to predict and can scale quickly
  • They diverge on capability: Databricks covers Delta Lake, Datadog covers Infrastructure monitoring.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Databricks and Datadog actually diverge.

Attributes where Databricks and Datadog differ
AttributeDatabricksDatadog
Starting priceFree$15/month
Pricing modelusage-basedUnknown
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, Aws, Azure, GcpWeb, Linux, Windows, macOS
Founded20132010

Identical on both: 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 Databricks

  • Delta Lake
  • Apache Spark
  • MLflow
  • Unity Catalog
  • Photon Engine
  • Collaborative Notebooks
  • Auto-scaling
  • GCP

Only in Datadog

  • Infrastructure monitoring
  • Application performance monitoring
  • Log management
  • Real user monitoring
  • Synthetic monitoring
  • Security monitoring
  • Network monitoring
  • Serverless monitoring

Both cover

  • AWS
  • Azure

What people use each for

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

Databricks

  • Running Spark data engineering pipelines on managed clustersnot Datadog
  • Building a lakehouse over data in cloud object storagenot Datadog
  • Training and serving machine learning models alongside the datanot Datadog

Datadog

  • Infrastructure monitoringnot Databricks
  • Application performancenot Databricks
  • Security monitoringnot Databricks
  • Log analysisnot Databricks
  • Cloud monitoringnot Databricks

Where each one falls short

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

Databricks

  • Cloud compute is billed separately by the cloud provider on top of Databricks DBU charges
  • The free trial lasts 14 days
  • Discounts require a Committed Use Contract, with larger commitments needed for larger discounts
  • Azure Databricks pricing is set by Microsoft rather than by Databricks
  • Security and compliance capabilities are sold as separate platform add ons rather than included in the base rate

Datadog

  • Consumption-based pricing model makes costs hard to predict and can scale quickly
  • Add-on modules significantly increase costs: custom metrics, indexed spans, extended retention
  • No free tier for production monitoring
  • High costs for organizations with large amounts of log data or high-cardinality metrics

Pricing, plan by plan

Databricks

Free
  • Community EditionFree
    • Limited cluster
    • Notebook environment
    • Community support
  • Standard$0.07/DBU
    • Jobs compute
    • SQL compute
    • Standard support

Datadog

$15/month
  • Infrastructure Monitoring$15/month
    • Host monitoring
    • Basic dashboards
  • APM$31/month
    • Application performance monitoring
    • Trace collection
  • Log Management$0.1/gb
    • Log indexing
    • Search and filter

Which should you pick?

Choose Databricks if

  • You need delta lake.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Aws, Azure, Gcp.
  • You also want apache spark.
Databricks review

Choose Datadog if

  • You need infrastructure monitoring.
  • You work on Web, Linux, Windows, macOS.
  • You also want application performance monitoring.
Datadog review

Questions people ask

Is Databricks or Datadog better?
Neither clearly leads. Databricks starts at Free and Datadog at $15/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Databricks or Datadog?
Databricks has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Databricks and $15/month for Datadog.
Does Databricks or Datadog run on more platforms?
Databricks runs on Web, Aws, Azure, Gcp. Datadog runs on Web, Linux, Windows, macOS.
Can I use Databricks for free?
Yes. Databricks has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Datadog starts at $15/month.
What is Databricks best used for?
Databricks is most often used for running spark data engineering pipelines on managed clusters, building a lakehouse over data in cloud object storage, training and serving machine learning models alongside the data. Of those, running spark data engineering pipelines on managed clusters and building a lakehouse over data in cloud object storage are not what Datadog is typically brought in for.
What can Databricks do that Datadog cannot?
Databricks covers Delta Lake, Apache Spark, MLflow, Unity Catalog. Datadog covers Infrastructure monitoring, Application performance monitoring, Log management, Real user monitoring. Both handle AWS, Azure.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Datadog: How is Datadog pricing structured?

Datadog uses consumption-based pricing tied to data volume ingested, hosts monitored, and products enabled. Infrastructure Monitoring starts at $15/host/month, APM at $31/host/month, and Log Management at $0.10/GB for indexed logs.

Source
Datadog: Does Datadog offer a free tier?

Datadog offers a free trial but not a permanent free tier for production monitoring. Pricing begins with paid plans only.

Source
Datadog: What integrations does Datadog support?

Datadog offers 1000+ built-in integrations including AWS, Kubernetes, Docker, Azure, GCP, and most major cloud platforms and services.

Source
Datadog: Can Datadog monitor Kubernetes clusters?

Yes. The Datadog Agent runs as a DaemonSet to provide real-time visibility into pods, nodes, deployments, and control-plane health across major Kubernetes distributions including EKS, AKS, GKE, OpenShift, and others.

Source
Datadog: How can I reduce Datadog costs?

Datadog bills based on indexed logs, custom metrics, and high-cardinality tags. Costs can be unpredictable and may run 2-3x estimates. Prepaying annually can secure 5-15% discounts.

Source
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