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Elastic APM vs Datadog Logs

Elastic APM logo

Elastic APM

Software

Application Performance Monitoring from Elastic

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Datadog Logs logo

Datadog Logs

Software

Log Management and Analytics

From
$0.1/per GB ingested per month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Elastic APM has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • 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; Datadog Logs complex, multi-tiered pricing model based on ingestion, indexing, and storage; can become expensive at scale
  • They diverge on capability: Elastic APM covers Performance monitoring, Datadog Logs covers Log ingestion.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Elastic APM and Datadog Logs actually diverge.

Attributes where Elastic APM and Datadog Logs differ
AttributeElastic APMDatadog Logs
Starting priceFree$0.1/per GB ingested per month
Pricing modelopen-sourceusage-based
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, ApiCloud (AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, Oracle Cloud)
Founded20112010

Identical on both: 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 Datadog Logs

  • Log ingestion
  • Full-text search
  • Custom dashboards
  • Log-based metrics

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

Datadog Logs

  • Centralised log aggregation and analysisnot Elastic APM
  • Multi-source log correlation with metrics and tracesnot Elastic APM
  • Root cause analysis and troubleshootingnot Elastic APM
  • Security monitoring and threat detectionnot 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

Datadog Logs

  • Complex, multi-tiered pricing model based on ingestion, indexing, and storage; can become expensive at scale
  • Ingestion pricing of $0.10/GB can accumulate rapidly for high-volume logging environments

Pricing, plan by plan

Elastic APM

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

Datadog Logs

$0.1/per GB ingested per month

No published plan breakdown. See the Datadog Logs review.

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 Datadog Logs if

  • You need log ingestion.
  • You work on Cloud (AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, Oracle Cloud).
  • You also want full-text search.
Datadog Logs review

Questions people ask

Is Elastic APM or Datadog Logs better?
Neither clearly leads. Elastic APM starts at Free and Datadog Logs at $0.1/per GB ingested per month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Elastic APM or Datadog Logs?
Elastic APM has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Elastic APM and $0.1/per GB ingested per month for Datadog Logs.
Does Elastic APM or Datadog Logs run on more platforms?
Elastic APM runs on Web, Api. Datadog Logs runs on Cloud (AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, Oracle Cloud).
Can I use Elastic APM for free?
Yes. Elastic APM has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Datadog Logs starts at $0.1/per GB ingested per month.
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 Datadog Logs is typically brought in for.
What can Elastic APM do that Datadog Logs cannot?
Elastic APM covers Performance monitoring, Error tracking, Transaction tracing, Custom metrics. Datadog Logs covers Log ingestion, Full-text search, Custom dashboards, Log-based metrics. Both handle API, Webhooks, REST, Web support.
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