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Datadog vs Snowflake

Datadog logo

Datadog

Software

Modern monitoring & security

From
$15/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Snowflake logo

Snowflake

Software

The AI Data Cloud for enterprise data warehousing

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Snowflake 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; Snowflake no flat subscription price is published - cost varies by edition, cloud provider, and region and requires a separate calculator or credit-consumption table
  • They diverge on capability: Datadog covers Infrastructure monitoring, Snowflake covers Separated Compute/Storage.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Datadog and Snowflake actually diverge.

Attributes where Datadog and Snowflake differ
AttributeDatadogSnowflake
Starting price$15/monthFree
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, Linux, Windows, macOSWeb, API
Founded20102012

Identical on both: pricing model (Unknown), 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 Snowflake

  • Separated Compute/Storage
  • Near-zero Maintenance
  • Data Sharing
  • Time Travel
  • Cloning
  • Multi-cluster Warehouse
  • Semi-structured Data
  • dbt

What people use each for

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

Datadog

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

Snowflake

  • Cloud data warehousing and SQL analyticsnot Datadog
  • Data engineering and ELT pipelinesnot Datadog
  • Data sharing and marketplacenot Datadog
  • AI/ML workloads via Snowpark and Cortexnot Datadog
  • BI backend for tools such as Tableau and Power BInot 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

Snowflake

  • No flat subscription price is published - cost varies by edition, cloud provider, and region and requires a separate calculator or credit-consumption table
  • Free trial is capped at $400 in credits or 30 days, whichever comes first, not a perpetual free tier
  • During the trial, certain features (external network access, hybrid tables, Openflow) are capped at 10 credits/day until a payment method is added
  • Total cost combines compute credits, storage, and data transfer billed separately

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

Snowflake

Free
  • Standard$undefined/mo
    • Consumption-based, per-credit pricing
  • Enterprise$undefined/mo
    • Consumption-based, per-credit pricing
  • Business Critical$undefined/mo
    • Consumption-based, per-credit pricing
  • Virtual Private Snowflake$undefined/mo
    • Consumption-based, per-credit pricing

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 Snowflake if

  • You need separated compute/storage.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, API.
  • You also want near-zero maintenance.
Snowflake review

Questions people ask

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

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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