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Log Management · head to head

Elastic APM vs Retrace

Elastic APM logo

Elastic APM

Log Management

Application Performance Monitoring from Elastic

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Retrace logo

Retrace

Log Management

Application Performance Monitoring and Logs

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; Retrace end of Life scheduled for March 31, 2027; the product is being discontinued
  • They diverge on capability: Elastic APM covers Performance monitoring, Retrace covers Log management.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where Elastic APM and Retrace differ
AttributeElastic APMRetrace
Pricing modelopen-sourcesubscription
PlatformsWeb, ApiWeb, .NET, Java, PHP, Node.js, Python
Founded20112012

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), 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 Retrace

  • Log management
  • Application performance tracking
  • Error detection
  • Code profiling
  • Performance baselines

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

Retrace

  • Log monitoringnot Elastic APM
  • Application performancenot Elastic APM
  • Security analyticsnot Elastic APM
  • Troubleshootingnot 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

Retrace

  • End of Life scheduled for March 31, 2027; the product is being discontinued
  • Costs escalate quickly with per-server billing model, expensive at scale
  • User interface and dashboard criticisms; UI is outdated and difficult to use
  • Logging latency; logs can take time to appear and are not instant
  • Less mature support for Node.js, Python, and newer ecosystems
  • Reporting issues where process restarts provide only timeline without root cause data
  • Reliability concerns; monitoring has stopped collecting traces with no warning

Pricing, plan by plan

Elastic APM

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

Retrace

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Log management
    • Application performance tracking
    • Error detection

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 Retrace if

  • You need log management.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, .NET, Java, PHP, Node.js, Python.
  • You also want application performance tracking.
Retrace review

Questions people ask

Is Elastic APM or Retrace better?
Neither clearly leads. Elastic APM starts at Free and Retrace at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Elastic APM or Retrace?
Elastic APM starts at Free and Retrace at Free.
Does Elastic APM or Retrace run on more platforms?
Elastic APM runs on Web, Api. Retrace runs on Web, .NET, Java, PHP, Node.js, Python.
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 Retrace is typically brought in for.
What can Elastic APM do that Retrace cannot?
Elastic APM covers Performance monitoring, Error tracking, Transaction tracing, Custom metrics. Retrace covers Log management, Application performance tracking, Error detection, Code profiling. Both handle API, Webhooks, REST, Web support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Retrace: What does Retrace monitor?

Retrace provides application performance monitoring (APM), centralized log management, error tracking, code profiling, and real user monitoring (RUM). It aggregates logs from applications and servers in one place.

Source
Retrace: What programming languages does Retrace support?

Retrace supports .NET, .NET Core, PHP, Node.js, Ruby, Python, and Java applications. Support for Node.js, Python, and newer ecosystems is noted as less mature.

Source
Retrace: Is Retrace being discontinued?

Yes. Retrace will reach End of Life on March 31, 2027. Users should plan to migrate to alternative solutions.

Source
Retrace: What databases and services does Retrace integrate with?

Retrace supports SQL Server, Oracle, PostgreSQL, MySQL, Redis, MongoDB, Elasticsearch, and cloud platforms like AWS and Azure.

Source
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