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Logging · head to head

Dynatrace Logs vs Elastic APM

Dynatrace Logs logo

Dynatrace Logs

Logging

Intelligent Log Analytics and Management

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Elastic APM logo

Elastic APM

Logging

Application Performance Monitoring from Elastic

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Dynatrace Logs log ingest and processing is billed at $0.20 per GiB, separately from retention and from query; Elastic APM pricing is not published on the product page; cost follows the underlying Elastic deployment rather than being quoted per host or per service
  • They diverge on capability: Dynatrace Logs covers Log analysis, Elastic APM covers Performance monitoring.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Dynatrace Logs and Elastic APM actually diverge.

Attributes where Dynatrace Logs and Elastic APM differ
AttributeDynatrace LogsElastic APM
Pricing modelsubscriptionopen-source
Founded20052011

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), platforms (Web, Api), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Logging).

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 Dynatrace Logs

  • Log analysis
  • AI-powered insights
  • Metrics integration
  • Automated root cause

Only in Elastic APM

  • Performance monitoring
  • Error tracking
  • Transaction tracing
  • Custom metrics

Both cover

  • API
  • Webhooks
  • REST
  • Web support
  • Api support

What people use each for

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

Dynatrace Logs

  • Ingesting and processing application and infrastructure logsnot Elastic APM
  • Querying logs alongside traces and metrics in one platformnot Elastic APM
  • Log driven alerting within an existing Dynatrace deploymentnot Elastic APM

Elastic APM

  • Distributed tracing across microservicesnot Dynatrace Logs
  • Auto-instrumenting Java, .NET, Python, Go, Node.js, Ruby, PHP and C++ servicesnot Dynatrace Logs
  • OpenTelemetry-native collection through the Elastic distributionsnot Dynatrace Logs
  • Correlating latency and errors with machine learningnot Dynatrace Logs
  • Monitoring LLM calls alongside application tracesnot Dynatrace Logs

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Dynatrace Logs

  • Log ingest and processing is billed at $0.20 per GiB, separately from retention and from query
  • Querying logs is charged in addition to ingest, either pay per query or as bundled queries
  • Log analytics requires the same annual platform commitment as the rest of the Dynatrace platform

Elastic APM

  • Pricing is not published on the product page; cost follows the underlying Elastic deployment rather than being quoted per host or per service
  • Self-managed deployment means running and scaling Elasticsearch yourself
  • Serverless does not carry every capability the hosted option does

Pricing, plan by plan

Dynatrace Logs

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Log analysis
    • AI-powered insights
    • Metrics integration

Elastic APM

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Performance monitoring
    • Error tracking
    • Transaction tracing

Which should you pick?

Choose Dynatrace Logs if

  • You need log analysis.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Api.
  • You also want ai-powered insights.
Dynatrace Logs review

Choose Elastic APM if

  • You need performance monitoring.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Api.
  • You also want error tracking.
Elastic APM review

Questions people ask

Is Dynatrace Logs or Elastic APM better?
Neither clearly leads. Dynatrace Logs starts at Free and Elastic APM at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Dynatrace Logs or Elastic APM?
Dynatrace Logs starts at Free and Elastic APM at Free.
Does Dynatrace Logs or Elastic APM run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, Api, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
Can I use Dynatrace Logs for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Dynatrace Logs best used for?
Dynatrace Logs is most often used for ingesting and processing application and infrastructure logs, querying logs alongside traces and metrics in one platform, log driven alerting within an existing dynatrace deployment. Of those, ingesting and processing application and infrastructure logs and querying logs alongside traces and metrics in one platform are not what Elastic APM is typically brought in for.
What can Dynatrace Logs do that Elastic APM cannot?
Dynatrace Logs covers Log analysis, AI-powered insights, Metrics integration, Automated root cause. Elastic APM covers Performance monitoring, Error tracking, Transaction tracing, Custom metrics. Both handle API, Webhooks, REST, Web support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Elastic APM: Is Elastic APM pricing published?

Elastic APM pricing is not published on the product page. Pricing is available through the main Elastic pricing page or by contacting Elastic sales directly.

Source
Elastic APM: Does Elastic APM offer a free trial?

Yes. Elastic APM offers a free trial through Elastic Cloud Serverless registration. A guided demo is also available in the Elastic demo gallery.

Source
Elastic APM: What deployment options are available for Elastic APM?

Elastic APM can be deployed on Elastic Cloud Serverless (zero operational overhead), Elastic Cloud Hosted (deploy on any cloud), or self-managed Elasticsearch.

Source
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