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Datadog vs McAfee Total Protection

Datadog logo

Datadog

Software

Modern monitoring & security

From
$15/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
McAfee Total Protection logo

McAfee Total Protection

Software

Award-winning antivirus trusted by millions

From
$29.99/year
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Datadog consumption-based pricing model makes costs hard to predict and can scale quickly; McAfee Total Protection significant renewal price increase after first year (from $29.99 to $84.99/year)
  • They diverge on capability: Datadog covers Infrastructure monitoring, McAfee Total Protection covers Real-time antivirus.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Datadog and McAfee Total Protection actually diverge.

Attributes where Datadog and McAfee Total Protection differ
AttributeDatadogMcAfee Total Protection
Starting price$15/month$29.99/year
PlatformsWeb, Linux, Windows, macOSWindows, macOS, iOS, Android
Founded20101987

Identical on both: pricing model (Unknown), free tier (No), 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

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

Only in McAfee Total Protection

  • Real-time antivirus
  • Firewall
  • Safe browsing
  • Password manager
  • Secure VPN
  • Identity monitoring
  • Protection Score
  • Parental controls

What people use each for

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

Datadog

  • Infrastructure monitoringnot McAfee Total Protection
  • Application performancenot McAfee Total Protection
  • Security monitoringnot McAfee Total Protection
  • Log analysisnot McAfee Total Protection
  • Cloud monitoringnot McAfee Total Protection

McAfee Total Protection

  • Antivirusnot Datadog
  • Internet Securitynot Datadog
  • Identity Protectionnot 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

McAfee Total Protection

  • Significant renewal price increase after first year (from $29.99 to $84.99/year)
  • Customer support responsiveness issues reported as reason for switching
  • Renewal billing can be aggressive with auto-renewal defaults

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

McAfee Total Protection

$29.99/year
  • Basic$29.99/year
    • Antivirus
    • Firewall
    • 1 device
  • Plus$39.99/year
    • Antivirus
    • Firewall
    • 5 devices
  • Premium$49.99/year
    • Antivirus
    • Firewall
    • VPN
  • Advanced$74.99/year
    • Antivirus
    • Firewall
    • VPN

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 McAfee Total Protection if

  • You need real-time antivirus.
  • You work on Windows, macOS, iOS, Android.
  • You also want firewall.
McAfee Total Protection review

Questions people ask

Is Datadog or McAfee Total Protection better?
Neither clearly leads. Datadog starts at $15/month and McAfee Total Protection at $29.99/year, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Datadog or McAfee Total Protection?
Datadog starts at $15/month and McAfee Total Protection at $29.99/year.
Does Datadog or McAfee Total Protection run on more platforms?
Datadog runs on Web, Linux, Windows, macOS. McAfee Total Protection runs on Windows, macOS, iOS, Android.
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 McAfee Total Protection is typically brought in for.
What can Datadog do that McAfee Total Protection cannot?
Datadog covers Infrastructure monitoring, Application performance monitoring, Log management, Real user monitoring. McAfee Total Protection covers Real-time antivirus, Firewall, Safe browsing, Password manager.

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
McAfee Total Protection: How much does McAfee Total Protection cost?

McAfee Total Protection introductory pricing ranges from $29.99/year (Basic) to $74.99/year (Advanced), but renewal costs jump to $84.99/year after the first year.

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
McAfee Total Protection: What is the trial period for McAfee Total Protection?

McAfee offers a 60-day money-back guarantee, allowing you to try the service risk-free for two months.

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
McAfee Total Protection: How many devices can I protect with one McAfee Total Protection subscription?

Device coverage varies by plan: Basic covers 1 device, while other plans protect 5 to unlimited devices depending on the tier selected.

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
McAfee Total Protection: Does McAfee Total Protection include VPN?

VPN is included in higher-tier McAfee plans if you opt for auto-renewal.

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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