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Datadog vs Harness

Datadog logo

Datadog

Technology

Modern monitoring & security

From
$15/month
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite
Harness logo

Harness

Developer Tools

Software delivery platform across CI, CD, security testing and cost management

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Harness 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; Harness essentials and Enterprise pricing requires sales contact; no published rates
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Datadog and Harness actually diverge.

Attributes where Datadog and Harness differ
AttributeDatadogHarness
Starting price$15/monthFree
Pricing modelUnknownfreemium
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, Linux, Windows, macOSWeb
CategoryTechnologyDeveloper Tools
Founded2010Unknown

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

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 Harness

Nothing recorded that Datadog does not also cover.

What people use each for

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

Datadog

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

Harness

  • Deploying apps to AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud with rollbacksnot Datadog
  • Integrating security scanners throughout build pipelines before productionnot Datadog
  • Automating cloud cost reduction and tracking unit-level expensesnot Datadog
  • Enabling developers to provision infrastructure without operations bottlenecksnot Datadog
  • Assessing deployment frequency and lead time productivity metricsnot 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

Harness

  • Essentials and Enterprise pricing requires sales contact; no published rates
  • DevOps Essentials has no on-premises deployment option
  • Internal Developer Portal requires minimum 20 developer licenses
  • Pipeline execution history retention 6 months (Essentials) vs 25 months as add-on (Enterprise)

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

Harness

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Starter platform for software delivery lifecycle
    • Open source options available (Harness Open Source, Litmus Chaos)
  • Essentials$null/month
    • Growing organizations with small to mid-size teams
    • Packaged DevOps Essentials bundle
    • Continuous software delivery capabilities
  • Enterprise$null/month
    • Large-scale organizations
    • Pick any modules based on needs
    • Advanced features

Which should you pick?

Choose Datadog if

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

Choose Harness if

  • You want to start without paying.
Harness review

Questions people ask

Is Datadog or Harness better?
Neither clearly leads. Datadog starts at $15/month and Harness at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Datadog or Harness?
Harness has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $15/month for Datadog and Free for Harness.
Does Datadog or Harness run on more platforms?
Datadog runs on Web, Linux, Windows, macOS. Harness runs on Web.
Can I use Harness for free?
Yes. Harness 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 Harness is typically brought in for.
What can Datadog do that Harness cannot?
Datadog covers Infrastructure monitoring, Application performance monitoring, Log management, Real user 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
Harness: Is there a free Harness plan?

Yes, Harness offers a free plan for individual developers and small teams with open source options including Harness Open Source and Litmus Chaos.

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
Harness: What are Harness's paid pricing tiers?

Harness offers Essentials for growing teams and Enterprise for large-scale organizations. Both require contacting sales for custom pricing. Pricing is based on modules and features selected.

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
Harness: Can Harness be deployed on-premises?

Enterprise plans include self-managed platform deployment option. DevOps Essentials bundle does not offer on-premises deployment.

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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