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Datadog vs Dynatrace

Datadog logo

Datadog

Software

Modern monitoring & security

From
$15/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Dynatrace logo

Dynatrace

Software

Application Performance Management and Observability

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Dynatrace 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; Dynatrace pricing is commitment based: rates require an annual platform level commitment rather than month to month purchase
  • They diverge on capability: Datadog covers Application performance monitoring, Dynatrace covers AI-powered analytics.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Datadog and Dynatrace actually diverge.

Attributes where Datadog and Dynatrace differ
AttributeDatadogDynatrace
Starting price$15/monthFree
Pricing modelUnknownsubscription
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, Linux, Windows, macOSWeb, Api
Founded20102005

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 Datadog

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

Only in Dynatrace

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

Both cover

  • Infrastructure monitoring

What people use each for

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

Datadog

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

Dynatrace

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

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

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

Dynatrace

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

Which should you pick?

Choose Datadog if

  • You need application performance monitoring.
  • You work on Web, Linux, Windows, macOS.
  • You also want log management.
Datadog 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 Datadog or Dynatrace better?
Neither clearly leads. Datadog starts at $15/month and Dynatrace at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Datadog or Dynatrace?
Dynatrace has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $15/month for Datadog and Free for Dynatrace.
Does Datadog or Dynatrace run on more platforms?
Datadog runs on Web, Linux, Windows, macOS. Dynatrace runs on Web, Api.
Can I use Dynatrace for free?
Yes. Dynatrace 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 Dynatrace is typically brought in for.
What can Datadog do that Dynatrace cannot?
Datadog covers Application performance monitoring, Log management, Real user monitoring, Synthetic monitoring. Dynatrace covers AI-powered analytics, APM, Log analysis, API. Both handle Infrastructure monitoring.

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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