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Elastic APM vs Elasticsearch

Elastic APM logo

Elastic APM

Software

Application Performance Monitoring from Elastic

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Elasticsearch logo

Elasticsearch

Software

The heart of the Elastic Stack for search and analytics

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; Elasticsearch eventual consistency model with 1-second default refresh interval, not suitable for real-time transactional requirements
  • They diverge on capability: Elastic APM covers Performance monitoring, Elasticsearch covers Full-text Search.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where Elastic APM and Elasticsearch differ
AttributeElastic APMElasticsearch
Pricing modelopen-sourceUnknown
PlatformsWeb, ApiLinux, Windows, macOS, Docker, Kubernetes
Founded20112010

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), 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
  • API
  • Webhooks
  • REST
  • Api support

Only in Elasticsearch

  • Full-text Search
  • Real-time Analytics
  • Distributed Architecture
  • RESTful API
  • Schema-free JSON
  • Aggregations
  • Machine Learning
  • Kibana

Both cover

  • Web support

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Elastic APM

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

Elasticsearch

  • Real-time applicationsnot Elastic APM
  • Content managementnot Elastic APM
  • User profilesnot Elastic APM
  • Mobile backendsnot Elastic APM
  • Cachingnot 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

Elasticsearch

  • Eventual consistency model with 1-second default refresh interval, not suitable for real-time transactional requirements
  • No support for ACID transactions or rollbacks; updates delete and re-insert documents
  • JVM-dependent architecture requires careful memory management and monitoring to prevent garbage collection issues at scale

Pricing, plan by plan

Elastic APM

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

Elasticsearch

Free
  • Self-ManagedFree
    • Open source
    • Self-hosted
  • Elasticsearch Cloud$16.4/month
    • Managed service
    • 14-day free trial

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 Elasticsearch if

  • You need full-text search.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Windows, macOS, Docker, Kubernetes.
  • You also want real-time analytics.
Elasticsearch review

Questions people ask

Is Elastic APM or Elasticsearch better?
Neither clearly leads. Elastic APM starts at Free and Elasticsearch at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Elastic APM or Elasticsearch?
Elastic APM starts at Free and Elasticsearch at Free.
Does Elastic APM or Elasticsearch run on more platforms?
Elastic APM runs on Web, Api. Elasticsearch runs on Linux, Windows, macOS, Docker, Kubernetes.
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 Elasticsearch is typically brought in for.
What can Elastic APM do that Elasticsearch cannot?
Elastic APM covers Performance monitoring, Error tracking, Transaction tracing, Custom metrics. Elasticsearch covers Full-text Search, Real-time Analytics, Distributed Architecture, RESTful API. Both handle Web support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Elasticsearch: Is Elasticsearch free?

Yes, Elasticsearch can be deployed as free and open-source software for self-managed installations. Elastic Cloud managed service starts at $16.40 per month, with a free 14-day trial available.

Source
Elasticsearch: Can I use Elasticsearch without Kibana?

Yes, Elasticsearch is a search engine independent of Kibana. Kibana is a visualization and analytics tool that works with Elasticsearch but is optional. You can use the Elasticsearch API directly for searching.

Source
Elasticsearch: Does Elasticsearch support real-time indexing?

Elasticsearch indexes data with a refresh interval, typically 1 second. Data becomes searchable after the refresh cycle, making it near-real-time but not instantaneous. This can be configured but impacts performance.

Source
Elasticsearch: What are Elasticsearch's scaling limitations?

Elasticsearch requires careful operational management at scale, including shard balancing, heap sizing, and monitoring. Large clusters can suffer from garbage collection issues and become expensive to operate.

Source
Elasticsearch: Does Elasticsearch support transactions and rollbacks?

No, Elasticsearch does not support ACID transactions or rollbacks. Updates are expensive operations that delete and re-insert documents, making it unsuitable for transactional workloads.

Source
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