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Elastic APM vs PlanetScale

Elastic APM logo

Elastic APM

Software

Application Performance Monitoring from Elastic

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
PlanetScale logo

PlanetScale

Software

The MySQL-compatible serverless database

From
$15/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; PlanetScale eBS High Availability requires 3-node configuration with replication overhead
  • They diverge on capability: Elastic APM covers Performance monitoring, PlanetScale covers Database Branching.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where Elastic APM and PlanetScale differ
AttributeElastic APMPlanetScale
Starting priceFree$15/month
Pricing modelopen-sourcesubscription
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, ApiCloud-hosted (AWS, GCP, Azure)
Founded20112018

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
  • API
  • Webhooks
  • REST
  • Api support

Only in PlanetScale

  • Database Branching
  • Non-blocking Schema Changes
  • Insights
  • Horizontal Scaling
  • Connection Pooling
  • Query Caching
  • Automatic Backups
  • Global Replication

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

PlanetScale

  • MySQL database hosting with automatic failover and replicationnot Elastic APM
  • Vitess-based sharding for horizontal scaling across large datasetsnot Elastic APM
  • Cloud provider flexibility across AWS, GCP, Azure with 60+ regionsnot Elastic APM
  • Cost-effective database clusters using ARM64 architecture optionsnot 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

PlanetScale

  • EBS High Availability requires 3-node configuration with replication overhead
  • EBS Non-HA single-node option lacks redundancy and automatic failover
  • Pricing varies by cloud provider and region, requiring queries for specific rates
  • ARM64 architecture only available on EBS tier, not Metal deployments

Pricing, plan by plan

Elastic APM

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

PlanetScale

$15/month

No published plan breakdown. See the PlanetScale 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 PlanetScale if

  • You need database branching.
  • You work on Cloud-hosted (AWS, GCP, Azure).
  • You also want non-blocking schema changes.
PlanetScale review

Questions people ask

Is Elastic APM or PlanetScale better?
Neither clearly leads. Elastic APM starts at Free and PlanetScale at $15/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Elastic APM or PlanetScale?
Elastic APM has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Elastic APM and $15/month for PlanetScale.
Does Elastic APM or PlanetScale run on more platforms?
Elastic APM runs on Web, Api. PlanetScale runs on Cloud-hosted (AWS, GCP, Azure).
Can I use Elastic APM for free?
Yes. Elastic APM has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. PlanetScale starts at $15/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 PlanetScale is typically brought in for.
What can Elastic APM do that PlanetScale cannot?
Elastic APM covers Performance monitoring, Error tracking, Transaction tracing, Custom metrics. PlanetScale covers Database Branching, Non-blocking Schema Changes, Insights, Horizontal Scaling. Both handle Web support.
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