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Log Management · head to head

Dynatrace vs Azure Monitor

Dynatrace logo

Dynatrace

Log Management

Application Performance Management and Observability

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Azure Monitor logo

Azure Monitor

Log Management

Azure's Monitoring and Diagnostics Service

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Dynatrace pricing is commitment based: rates require an annual platform level commitment rather than month to month purchase; Azure Monitor billed per GB ingested across three separate log plans, Auxiliary, Basic and Analytics, so the plan chosen changes the rate as much as the volume does
  • They diverge on capability: Dynatrace covers AI-powered analytics, Azure Monitor covers Log collection.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Dynatrace and Azure Monitor actually diverge.

Attributes where Dynatrace and Azure Monitor differ
AttributeDynatraceAzure Monitor
Pricing modelsubscriptionusage-based
Founded20052010

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

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

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

Only in Azure Monitor

  • Log collection
  • Metrics collection
  • Alerts and notifications
  • Custom dashboards

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

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

Azure Monitor

  • Collecting logs and metrics from Azure resourcesnot Dynatrace
  • Alerting on metric thresholds and log queriesnot Dynatrace
  • Application performance monitoring through Application Insightsnot Dynatrace
  • Long-term log retention for compliancenot Dynatrace
  • Querying operational data with KQLnot Dynatrace

Where each one falls short

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

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

Azure Monitor

  • Billed per GB ingested across three separate log plans, Auxiliary, Basic and Analytics, so the plan chosen changes the rate as much as the volume does
  • Only the first 5 GB a month of Analytics logs is free per billing account
  • Retention beyond the base period is charged per GB per month, up to 2 years interactive and 12 years long term
  • Log queries and search jobs are billed per GB scanned, so investigating an incident costs money
  • Alert rules are billed per time series for metrics and by execution frequency for logs
  • The pricing page shows placeholders rather than rates until a region and currency are chosen

Pricing, plan by plan

Dynatrace

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

Azure Monitor

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Log collection
    • Metrics collection
    • Alerts and notifications

Which should you pick?

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

Choose Azure Monitor if

  • You need log collection.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Api.
  • You also want metrics collection.
Azure Monitor review

Questions people ask

Is Dynatrace or Azure Monitor better?
Neither clearly leads. Dynatrace starts at Free and Azure Monitor at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Dynatrace or Azure Monitor?
Dynatrace starts at Free and Azure Monitor at Free.
Does Dynatrace or Azure Monitor 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?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Dynatrace best used for?
Dynatrace is most often used for full stack application performance monitoring with automatic dependency discovery, kubernetes and container platform observability priced per pod, log ingest, processing and query analytics, real user monitoring and session replay for web applications. Of those, full stack application performance monitoring with automatic dependency discovery and kubernetes and container platform observability priced per pod are not what Azure Monitor is typically brought in for.
What can Dynatrace do that Azure Monitor cannot?
Dynatrace covers AI-powered analytics, APM, Infrastructure monitoring, Log analysis. Azure Monitor covers Log collection, Metrics collection, Alerts and notifications, Custom dashboards. Both handle API, Webhooks, REST, Web support.
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