Softwr

Log Management · head to head

Dynatrace vs Grafana

Dynatrace logo

Dynatrace

Log Management

Application Performance Management and Observability

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Grafana logo

Grafana

Network & Connectivity

Observability and Data Visualization

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; Grafana the free tier retains metrics, logs and traces for 14 days only
  • They diverge on capability: Dynatrace covers AI-powered analytics, Grafana covers Dashboard creation.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Dynatrace and Grafana actually diverge.

Attributes where Dynatrace and Grafana differ
AttributeDynatraceGrafana
Pricing modelsubscriptionopen-source
CategoryLog ManagementNetwork & Connectivity
Founded20052014

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), platforms (Web, Api), 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 Dynatrace

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

Only in Grafana

  • Dashboard creation
  • Alerting
  • Data source integration
  • Visualization plugins

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 Grafana
  • Kubernetes and container platform observability priced per podnot Grafana
  • Log ingest, processing and query analyticsnot Grafana
  • Real user monitoring and session replay for web applicationsnot Grafana

Grafana

  • Dashboards and visualisation over metrics, logs and tracesnot Dynatrace
  • Running observability across infrastructure and applicationsnot 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

Grafana

  • The free tier retains metrics, logs and traces for 14 days only
  • Free is capped at 10,000 active metric series and 50 GB each of logs and traces a month
  • The Pro plan carries a $19 a month platform fee before any usage charges
  • Logs and traces are billed on three separate meters, at $0.050 per GB processed, $0.400 per GB written and $0.100 per GB retained
  • Retaining data is an ongoing charge rather than a one off, so historical data costs every month it exists

Pricing, plan by plan

Dynatrace

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

Grafana

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Dashboard creation
    • Alerting
    • Data source integration

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 Grafana if

  • You need dashboard creation.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Api.
  • You also want alerting.
Grafana review

Questions people ask

Is Dynatrace or Grafana better?
Neither clearly leads. Dynatrace starts at Free and Grafana at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Dynatrace or Grafana?
Dynatrace starts at Free and Grafana at Free.
Does Dynatrace or Grafana 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 Grafana is typically brought in for.
What can Dynatrace do that Grafana cannot?
Dynatrace covers AI-powered analytics, APM, Infrastructure monitoring, Log analysis. Grafana covers Dashboard creation, Alerting, Data source integration, Visualization plugins. Both handle API, Webhooks, REST, Web support.
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