Softwr

Software · head to head

Elastic APM vs CloudWatch

Elastic APM logo

Elastic APM

Software

Application Performance Monitoring from Elastic

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
CloudWatch logo

CloudWatch

Software

AWS Monitoring and Observability

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; CloudWatch the free tier covers 5 GB of log ingestion and 10 custom metrics a month, after which log ingestion is $0.50 per GB from 5 to 30 GB
  • They diverge on capability: Elastic APM covers Performance monitoring, CloudWatch covers Metrics collection.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where Elastic APM and CloudWatch differ
AttributeElastic APMCloudWatch
Pricing modelopen-sourceusage-based
Founded20112006

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

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 CloudWatch

  • Metrics collection
  • Log aggregation
  • Dashboards
  • Alarms and notifications

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

CloudWatch

  • Metrics and log collection for AWS workloadsnot Elastic APM
  • Alarming on thresholds across AWS servicesnot Elastic APM
  • Querying logs with Logs Insightsnot Elastic APM
  • Live tailing logs during an incidentnot Elastic APM
  • Distributed tracing alongside X-Raynot 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

CloudWatch

  • The free tier covers 5 GB of log ingestion and 10 custom metrics a month, after which log ingestion is $0.50 per GB from 5 to 30 GB
  • Custom metrics are $0.30 each for the first 10,000, so instrumenting broadly gets expensive before volume discounts apply
  • Each custom dashboard beyond the free three is $3 a month
  • Alarms are billed at $0.10 per alarm metric a month, with high-resolution alarms costing more
  • Log storage beyond the free 5 GB is $0.03 per GB per month on top of the ingestion charge

Pricing, plan by plan

Elastic APM

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

CloudWatch

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Metrics collection
    • Log aggregation
    • Dashboards

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 CloudWatch if

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

Questions people ask

Is Elastic APM or CloudWatch better?
Neither clearly leads. Elastic APM starts at Free and CloudWatch at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Elastic APM or CloudWatch?
Elastic APM starts at Free and CloudWatch at Free.
Does Elastic APM or CloudWatch 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 CloudWatch is typically brought in for.
What can Elastic APM do that CloudWatch cannot?
Elastic APM covers Performance monitoring, Error tracking, Transaction tracing, Custom metrics. CloudWatch covers Metrics collection, Log aggregation, Dashboards, Alarms and notifications. Both handle API, Webhooks, REST, Web support.
ShareXLinkedInRedditWhatsAppEmail

Related pages

More on Elastic APM

More on CloudWatch

Keep looking

Other head to heads