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Technology · head to head

Datadog vs Rootly

Datadog logo

Datadog

Technology

Modern monitoring & security

From
$15/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Rootly logo

Rootly

Logging

AI-native incident management with automation, on-call, and root cause analysis

From
$20/user-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; Rootly pricing higher than some competitors for basic features
  • They diverge on capability: Datadog covers Infrastructure monitoring, Rootly covers AI SRE automation.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Datadog and Rootly actually diverge.

Attributes where Datadog and Rootly differ
AttributeDatadogRootly
Starting price$15/month$20/user-month
Pricing modelUnknownsubscription
PlatformsWeb, Linux, Windows, macOSWeb, Mobile, Slack, Microsoft Teams
CategoryTechnologyLogging
Founded20102020

Identical on both: free tier (No), 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 Rootly

  • AI SRE automation
  • Alert routing
  • On-call management
  • Incident response
  • Call routing
  • AI meeting bot
  • Status pages

What people use each for

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

Datadog

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

Rootly

  • Automate on-call and incident response workflowsnot Datadog
  • Run root cause analysis with AI assistancenot Datadog
  • Track and improve Mean Time to Mitigation (MTTR)not Datadog
  • Coordinate response across distributed teamsnot Datadog
  • Learn from post-incident retrospectivesnot 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

Rootly

  • Pricing higher than some competitors for basic features
  • AI SRE features require separate contact-sales engagement
  • Learning curve for advanced automation features
  • Per-user pricing increases costs as team grows

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

Rootly

$20/user-month
  • Incident Response Essentials$20/user-month
    • Response with Slack integration
    • @Rootly AI Chat
    • AI Similar Incidents detection
  • Incident Response Enterprise$undefined/custom
    • All Essentials features
    • Custom forms and incident types
    • Private incidents
  • On-Call Essentials$20/user-month
    • Alert grouping and routing
    • Live call routing (1 phone number)
    • Schedules and escalation policies
  • On-Call Enterprise$undefined/custom
    • All Essentials features
    • 5 phone numbers for call routing
    • Unlimited schedules

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 Rootly if

  • You need ai sre automation.
  • You work on Web, Mobile, Slack, Microsoft Teams.
  • You also want alert routing.
Rootly review

Questions people ask

Is Datadog or Rootly better?
Neither clearly leads. Datadog starts at $15/month and Rootly at $20/user-month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Datadog or Rootly?
Datadog starts at $15/month and Rootly at $20/user-month.
Does Datadog or Rootly run on more platforms?
Datadog runs on Web, Linux, Windows, macOS. Rootly runs on Web, Mobile, Slack, Microsoft Teams.
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 Rootly is typically brought in for.
What can Datadog do that Rootly cannot?
Datadog covers Infrastructure monitoring, Application performance monitoring, Log management, Real user monitoring. Rootly covers AI SRE automation, Alert routing, On-call management, Incident response.

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
Rootly: How much does Rootly cost?

Rootly charges $20/user/month for both Incident Response and On-Call Essentials plans. Enterprise plans require contacting sales. Startups under 100 employees with less than $50M raised get up to 50% discount.

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
Rootly: What is Rootly AI SRE?

AI SRE is an advanced feature that provides automated root cause analysis, alert correlation with system changes, impact analysis, and remediation suggestions. Pricing requires contact with sales.

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
Rootly: Does Rootly integrate with Slack?

Yes, Rootly natively integrates with Slack for incident response workflows, allowing teams to manage incidents directly in Slack.

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
Rootly: Are there discounts for small companies?

Yes, startups under 100 employees or less than 25 employees can get special pricing up to 50% discount. Contact Rootly sales for details.

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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