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Log Management · head to head

Elastic APM vs AppDynamics

Elastic APM logo

Elastic APM

Log Management

Application Performance Monitoring from Elastic

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
A

AppDynamics

Log Management

Enterprise Application Performance Management

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: 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; AppDynamics appdynamics.com/pricing returns a 301 redirect to Splunk's observability pricing page; the product is now sold as Splunk AppDynamics
  • They diverge on capability: Elastic APM covers Performance monitoring, AppDynamics covers Application performance monitoring.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Elastic APM and AppDynamics actually diverge.

Attributes where Elastic APM and AppDynamics differ
AttributeElastic APMAppDynamics
Pricing modelopen-sourceusage-based
Founded20112008

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 Elastic APM

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

Only in AppDynamics

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

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.

Elastic APM

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

AppDynamics

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

Where each one falls short

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

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

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

Pricing, plan by plan

Elastic APM

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

AppDynamics

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Application performance monitoring
    • Distributed tracing
    • Real-time analytics

Which should you pick?

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

Choose AppDynamics if

  • You need application performance monitoring.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Api.
  • You also want distributed tracing.
AppDynamics review

Questions people ask

Is Elastic APM or AppDynamics better?
Neither clearly leads. Elastic APM starts at Free and AppDynamics at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Elastic APM or AppDynamics?
Elastic APM starts at Free and AppDynamics at Free.
Does Elastic APM or AppDynamics run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, Api, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
Can I use Elastic APM for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Elastic APM best used for?
Elastic APM is most often used for distributed tracing across microservices, auto-instrumenting java, .net, python, go, node.js, ruby, php and c++ services, opentelemetry-native collection through the elastic distributions, correlating latency and errors with machine learning. Of those, distributed tracing across microservices and auto-instrumenting java, .net, python, go, node.js, ruby, php and c++ services are not what AppDynamics is typically brought in for.
What can Elastic APM do that AppDynamics cannot?
Elastic APM covers Performance monitoring, Error tracking, Transaction tracing, Custom metrics. AppDynamics covers Application performance monitoring, Distributed tracing, Real-time analytics, Alert management. Both handle API, Webhooks, REST, Web support.
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