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Elastic APM vs Rootly

Elastic APM logo

Elastic APM

Logging

Application Performance Monitoring from Elastic

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Rootly logo

Rootly

Logging

AI-native incident management with automation, on-call, and root cause analysis

From
$20/user-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; Rootly pricing higher than some competitors for basic features
  • They diverge on capability: Elastic APM covers Performance monitoring, Rootly covers AI SRE automation.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where Elastic APM and Rootly differ
AttributeElastic APMRootly
Starting priceFree$20/user-month
Pricing modelopen-sourcesubscription
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, ApiWeb, Mobile, Slack, Microsoft Teams
Founded20112020

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Logging).

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
  • Web support

Only in Rootly

  • AI SRE automation
  • Alert routing
  • On-call management
  • Incident response
  • Call routing
  • AI meeting bot
  • Status pages

What people use each for

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

Elastic APM

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

Rootly

  • Automate on-call and incident response workflowsnot Elastic APM
  • Run root cause analysis with AI assistancenot Elastic APM
  • Track and improve Mean Time to Mitigation (MTTR)not Elastic APM
  • Coordinate response across distributed teamsnot Elastic APM
  • Learn from post-incident retrospectivesnot 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

Rootly

  • Pricing higher than some competitors for basic features
  • AI SRE features require separate contact-sales engagement
  • Learning curve for advanced automation features
  • Per-user pricing increases costs as team grows

Pricing, plan by plan

Elastic APM

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

Rootly

$20/user-month
  • Incident Response Essentials$20/user-month
    • Response with Slack integration
    • @Rootly AI Chat
    • AI Similar Incidents detection
  • Incident Response Enterprise$undefined/custom
    • All Essentials features
    • Custom forms and incident types
    • Private incidents
  • On-Call Essentials$20/user-month
    • Alert grouping and routing
    • Live call routing (1 phone number)
    • Schedules and escalation policies
  • On-Call Enterprise$undefined/custom
    • All Essentials features
    • 5 phone numbers for call routing
    • Unlimited schedules

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 Rootly if

  • You need ai sre automation.
  • You work on Web, Mobile, Slack, Microsoft Teams.
  • You also want alert routing.
Rootly review

Questions people ask

Is Elastic APM or Rootly better?
Neither clearly leads. Elastic APM starts at Free and Rootly at $20/user-month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Elastic APM or Rootly?
Elastic APM has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Elastic APM and $20/user-month for Rootly.
Does Elastic APM or Rootly run on more platforms?
Elastic APM runs on Web, Api. Rootly runs on Web, Mobile, Slack, Microsoft Teams.
Can I use Elastic APM for free?
Yes. Elastic APM has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Rootly starts at $20/user-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 Rootly is typically brought in for.
What can Elastic APM do that Rootly cannot?
Elastic APM covers Performance monitoring, Error tracking, Transaction tracing, Custom metrics. Rootly covers AI SRE automation, Alert routing, On-call management, Incident response.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Elastic APM: Is Elastic APM pricing published?

Elastic APM pricing is not published on the product page. Pricing is available through the main Elastic pricing page or by contacting Elastic sales directly.

Source
Rootly: How much does Rootly cost?

Rootly charges $20/user/month for both Incident Response and On-Call Essentials plans. Enterprise plans require contacting sales. Startups under 100 employees with less than $50M raised get up to 50% discount.

Source
Elastic APM: Does Elastic APM offer a free trial?

Yes. Elastic APM offers a free trial through Elastic Cloud Serverless registration. A guided demo is also available in the Elastic demo gallery.

Source
Rootly: What is Rootly AI SRE?

AI SRE is an advanced feature that provides automated root cause analysis, alert correlation with system changes, impact analysis, and remediation suggestions. Pricing requires contact with sales.

Source
Elastic APM: What deployment options are available for Elastic APM?

Elastic APM can be deployed on Elastic Cloud Serverless (zero operational overhead), Elastic Cloud Hosted (deploy on any cloud), or self-managed Elasticsearch.

Source
Rootly: Does Rootly integrate with Slack?

Yes, Rootly natively integrates with Slack for incident response workflows, allowing teams to manage incidents directly in Slack.

Source
Rootly: Are there discounts for small companies?

Yes, startups under 100 employees or less than 25 employees can get special pricing up to 50% discount. Contact Rootly sales for details.

Source
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