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Datadog vs Rippling

Datadog logo

Datadog

Software

Modern monitoring & security

From
$15/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Rippling logo

Rippling

Software

Manage HR, IT, and Finance in one place

From
$8/month
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; Rippling the Internet Archive's capture of Rippling's homepage on 10 January 2021 named distinct product modules, Employee Platform, Payroll, Benefits, Talent Management, App Management, Device Management, and a PEO offering, all sold via 'Request Demo' with no price figure published.
  • They diverge on capability: Datadog covers Infrastructure monitoring, Rippling covers Payroll.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Datadog and Rippling actually diverge.

Attributes where Datadog and Rippling differ
AttributeDatadogRippling
Starting price$15/month$8/month
Pricing modelUnknownsubscription
PlatformsWeb, Linux, Windows, macOSWeb, Ios, Android
Founded20102016

Identical on both: 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 Rippling

  • Payroll
  • Benefits Administration
  • Device Management
  • App Management
  • Time Tracking
  • Learning Management
  • Microsoft 365
  • Google Workspace

Both cover

  • Slack

What people use each for

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

Datadog

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

Rippling

No use cases recorded yet. See the Rippling review.

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

Rippling

  • The Internet Archive's capture of Rippling's homepage on 10 January 2021 named distinct product modules, Employee Platform, Payroll, Benefits, Talent Management, App Management, Device Management, and a PEO offering, all sold via 'Request Demo' with no price figure 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

Rippling

$8/month
  • Core$8/month
    • Employee Management
    • Onboarding
    • Offboarding
  • Pro$12/month
    • All Core features
    • Advanced Analytics
    • Custom Reports

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 Rippling if

  • You need payroll.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android.
  • You also want benefits administration.
Rippling review

Questions people ask

Is Datadog or Rippling better?
Neither clearly leads. Datadog starts at $15/month and Rippling at $8/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Datadog or Rippling?
Datadog starts at $15/month and Rippling at $8/month.
Does Datadog or Rippling run on more platforms?
Datadog runs on Web, Linux, Windows, macOS. Rippling runs on Web, 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 Rippling is typically brought in for.
What can Datadog do that Rippling cannot?
Datadog covers Infrastructure monitoring, Application performance monitoring, Log management, Real user monitoring. Rippling covers Payroll, Benefits Administration, Device Management, App Management. Both handle Slack.

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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