Technology · head to head
Datadog vs Amplitude
Amplitude
Technology
The digital analytics platform to understand your users
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Only Amplitude has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
- Each has a real cost: Datadog consumption-based pricing model makes costs hard to predict and can scale quickly; Amplitude metered on event volume, so instrumenting more of a product raises the bill even if the audience does not grow
- They diverge on capability: Datadog covers Infrastructure monitoring, Amplitude covers Event tracking.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Datadog and Amplitude actually diverge.
Identical on both: pricing model (Unknown), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Technology).
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 Datadog
- Infrastructure monitoring
- Application performance monitoring
- Log management
- Real user monitoring
- Synthetic monitoring
- Security monitoring
- Network monitoring
- Serverless monitoring
Only in Amplitude
- Event tracking
- User segmentation
- Funnel analysis
- Retention analysis
- Cohort analysis
- A/B testing
- Revenue analytics
- Predictive analytics
Both cover
- Slack
- SOC2
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Datadog
- Infrastructure monitoringnot Amplitude
- Application performancenot Amplitude
- Security monitoringnot Amplitude
- Log analysisnot Amplitude
- Cloud monitoringnot Amplitude
Amplitude
- User behavior analysisnot Datadog
- Feature adoption trackingnot Datadog
- Conversion rate optimizationnot Datadog
- Customer journey mappingnot Datadog
- Retention improvementnot Datadog
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
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
Amplitude
- Metered on event volume, so instrumenting more of a product raises the bill even if the audience does not grow
- The free plan covers 2M events a month
- The Plus plan scales to 70M events, above which pricing is custom
- Growth and Enterprise pricing is not published
Pricing, plan by plan
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
Amplitude
Free- StarterFree
- 2 million events per month
- Plus$49/month
- $0.049 per MTU
- Up to 300k MTUs
- Advanced analytics
- GrowthFree
- Causal insights
- Feature experimentation
- Real-time streaming
- EnterpriseFree
- Cross-product analysis
- Advanced permissions
- Dedicated account manager
Which should you pick?
Choose Datadog if
- You need infrastructure monitoring.
- You work on Web, Linux, Windows, macOS.
- You also want application performance monitoring.
Choose Amplitude if
- You need event tracking.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, Ios, Android, Api.
- You also want user segmentation.
Questions people ask
- Is Datadog or Amplitude better?
- Neither clearly leads. Datadog starts at $15/month and Amplitude at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Datadog or Amplitude?
- Amplitude has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $15/month for Datadog and Free for Amplitude.
- Does Datadog or Amplitude run on more platforms?
- Datadog runs on Web, Linux, Windows, macOS. Amplitude runs on Web, Ios, Android, Api.
- Can I use Amplitude for free?
- Yes. Amplitude has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Datadog starts at $15/month.
- What is Datadog best used for?
- Datadog is most often used for infrastructure monitoring, application performance, security monitoring, log analysis. Of those, infrastructure monitoring and application performance are not what Amplitude is typically brought in for.
- What can Datadog do that Amplitude cannot?
- Datadog covers Infrastructure monitoring, Application performance monitoring, Log management, Real user monitoring. Amplitude covers Event tracking, User segmentation, Funnel analysis, Retention analysis. Both handle Slack, SOC2.
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.
SourceAmplitude: Does Amplitude have a free plan?
Yes, Amplitude offers a free Starter plan with 2 million events per month and access to the entire platform including analytics, session replay, and experimentation features.
SourceDatadog: 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.
SourceAmplitude: What is Amplitude's pricing based on?
Amplitude's pricing is based on the number of monthly tracked users (MTUs), data volume, and advanced features selected. The Plus plan starts at $49 per month with a rate of $0.049 per MTU.
SourceDatadog: What integrations does Datadog support?
Datadog offers 1000+ built-in integrations including AWS, Kubernetes, Docker, Azure, GCP, and most major cloud platforms and services.
SourceAmplitude: What analytics features does every Amplitude plan include?
Every plan includes access to the full platform: analytics, session replay, feature experimentation, web experimentation, guides and surveys, activation, and AI tools like AI Feedback and AI Assistant.
SourceDatadog: 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.
SourceDatadog: 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