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AppDynamics vs Dynatrace

AppDynamics logo

AppDynamics

Logging

Enterprise Application Performance Management

From
$6/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Dynatrace logo

Dynatrace

Logging

Application Performance Management and Observability

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Dynatrace has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: AppDynamics appdynamics.com/pricing returns a 301 redirect to Splunk's observability pricing page; the product is now sold as Splunk AppDynamics; Dynatrace pricing is commitment based: rates require an annual platform level commitment rather than month to month purchase
  • They diverge on capability: AppDynamics covers Application performance monitoring, Dynatrace covers AI-powered analytics.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which AppDynamics and Dynatrace actually diverge.

Attributes where AppDynamics and Dynatrace differ
AttributeAppDynamicsDynatrace
Starting price$6/monthFree
Free tierNoYes
Founded20082005

Identical on both: pricing model (subscription), 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 AppDynamics

  • Application performance monitoring
  • Distributed tracing
  • Real-time analytics
  • Alert management

Only in Dynatrace

  • AI-powered analytics
  • APM
  • Infrastructure monitoring
  • Log analysis

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.

AppDynamics

  • Application performance monitoring for Java, .NET and other enterprise application stacksnot Dynatrace
  • Business transaction tracing across distributed application tiersnot Dynatrace
  • Infrastructure monitoring priced per vCPUnot Dynatrace

Dynatrace

  • Full stack application performance monitoring with automatic dependency discoverynot AppDynamics
  • Kubernetes and container platform observability priced per podnot AppDynamics
  • Log ingest, processing and query analyticsnot AppDynamics
  • Real user monitoring and session replay for web applicationsnot AppDynamics

Where each one falls short

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

AppDynamics

  • appdynamics.com/pricing returns a 301 redirect to Splunk's observability pricing page; the product is now sold as Splunk AppDynamics
  • Infrastructure Edition starts at $6 per vCPU per month billed annually, so cost scales with core count rather than host count
  • Premium Edition starts at $33 per host per month and Enterprise Edition at $50 per host per month, both billed annually
  • The published figures are starting prices only, with volume pricing requiring a sales quote

Dynatrace

  • Pricing is commitment based: rates require an annual platform level commitment rather than month to month purchase
  • Full-Stack Monitoring is priced at $58 per month per 8 GiB of host memory, so a 64 GiB host counts as eight units
  • Infrastructure Monitoring at $29 per host per month excludes code level tracing, which requires Full-Stack
  • Session Replay doubles Real User Monitoring cost from $2.25 to $4.50 per 1,000 sessions
  • Runtime Vulnerability Analytics and Runtime Application Protection are each charged separately at $13 per month per 8 GiB host on top of monitoring

Pricing, plan by plan

AppDynamics

$6/month
  • Infrastructure Edition$6/month
    • Infrastructure monitoring
  • Premium Edition$33/month
    • Infrastructure monitoring
    • Applications
    • APM
  • Enterprise Edition$50/month
    • Premium Edition features
    • Business Analytics

Dynatrace

Free
  • FreeFree
    • AI-powered analytics
    • APM
    • Infrastructure monitoring

Which should you pick?

Choose AppDynamics if

  • You need application performance monitoring.
  • You work on Web, Api.
  • You also want distributed tracing.
AppDynamics review

Choose Dynatrace if

  • You need ai-powered analytics.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Api.
  • You also want apm.
Dynatrace review

Questions people ask

Is AppDynamics or Dynatrace better?
Neither clearly leads. AppDynamics starts at $6/month and Dynatrace at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, AppDynamics or Dynatrace?
Dynatrace has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $6/month for AppDynamics and Free for Dynatrace.
Does AppDynamics or Dynatrace run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, Api, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
Can I use Dynatrace for free?
Yes. Dynatrace has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. AppDynamics starts at $6/month.
What is AppDynamics best used for?
AppDynamics is most often used for application performance monitoring for java, .net and other enterprise application stacks, business transaction tracing across distributed application tiers, infrastructure monitoring priced per vcpu. Of those, application performance monitoring for java, .net and other enterprise application stacks and business transaction tracing across distributed application tiers are not what Dynatrace is typically brought in for.
What can AppDynamics do that Dynatrace cannot?
AppDynamics covers Application performance monitoring, Distributed tracing, Real-time analytics, Alert management. Dynatrace covers AI-powered analytics, APM, Infrastructure monitoring, Log analysis. Both handle API, Webhooks, REST, Web support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

AppDynamics: How is AppDynamics priced?

AppDynamics uses a subscription model based on vCPU usage, billed annually. Infrastructure Edition starts at $6 per vCPU/month, Premium Edition at $33 per vCPU/month, and Enterprise Edition at $50 per vCPU/month. Additional capabilities like Secure Application, Real User Monitoring, and Synthetics have separate per-unit pricing.

Source
Dynatrace: What is the pricing model for Dynatrace monitoring?

Dynatrace uses commitment-based platform subscription pricing with a minimum annual commitment at the platform level. You pay no per-capability or per-user fees. All capabilities are included day one and draw from your commitment at published rates.

Source
AppDynamics: What add-on costs does AppDynamics charge?

Secure Application costs $13.75 per CPU core per month (billed annually). Real User Monitoring is $0.06 per 1000 tokens per month. Browser Synthetics costs $12 per test location per month. SAP Solutions monitoring is $95 per CPU core per month.

Source
Dynatrace: Is there an overage charge if I exceed my commitment?

No, there are no overage penalties. Excess usage continues at the same per-unit rates published on the rate card. The more you commit upfront, the deeper your discount.

Source
Dynatrace: What is the cost for monitoring application infrastructure?

Application monitoring costs $7/month per host ($0.01/hour) for Foundation & Discovery, $29/month per host for Infrastructure Monitoring, or $58/month per 8 GiB of host memory for Full-Stack Monitoring.

Source
Dynatrace: How much does log ingestion and querying cost?

Log Analytics pricing is $0.20/GiB for ingestion, then either $0.0007/GiB-day for retention with bundled queries (10-35 days retention included), or pay-per-query at $0.0007/GiB-day retention plus $0.0035 per GiB scanned.

Source
Dynatrace: Is there a free trial available?

Yes, Dynatrace offers a 15-day free trial plus a sandbox environment for hands-on exploration at no cost.

Source
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