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Elastic APM vs Sematext

Elastic APM logo

Elastic APM

Logging

Application Performance Monitoring from Elastic

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Sematext logo

Sematext

Logging

Full Stack Observability Platform

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; Sematext the $5 Basic plan caps ingestion at 500 MB a day and retains logs for 7 days
  • They diverge on capability: Elastic APM covers Performance monitoring, Sematext covers Log aggregation.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where Elastic APM and Sematext differ
AttributeElastic APMSematext
Pricing modelopen-sourceusage-based
Founded20112007

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), platforms (Web, Api), 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

Only in Sematext

  • Log aggregation
  • APM
  • Metrics monitoring
  • Anomaly detection

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

Sematext

  • Centralised log management and search across servicesnot Elastic APM
  • Infrastructure and application monitoring alongside logsnot 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

Sematext

  • The $5 Basic plan caps ingestion at 500 MB a day and retains logs for 7 days
  • Ingestion and storage are billed on separate meters, at $0.10 per GB received and $0.15 per GB stored
  • Retention is a plan property rather than a setting, so keeping logs longer means moving tier
  • The published pricing page renders Standard and Pro figures from unresolved template placeholders, so only the Basic numbers are actually readable

Pricing, plan by plan

Elastic APM

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

Sematext

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Log aggregation
    • APM
    • Metrics monitoring

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 Sematext if

  • You need log aggregation.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Api.
  • You also want apm.
Sematext review

Questions people ask

Is Elastic APM or Sematext better?
Neither clearly leads. Elastic APM starts at Free and Sematext at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Elastic APM or Sematext?
Elastic APM starts at Free and Sematext at Free.
Does Elastic APM or Sematext run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, Api, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
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 Sematext is typically brought in for.
What can Elastic APM do that Sematext cannot?
Elastic APM covers Performance monitoring, Error tracking, Transaction tracing, Custom metrics. Sematext covers Log aggregation, APM, Metrics monitoring, Anomaly detection. Both handle API, Webhooks, REST, Web support.

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
Sematext: How much does Sematext cost?

Sematext uses a transparent usage-based pricing model. Customers can set a Max Daily Volume for automatic rejection of excess data to prevent unexpected charges and keep costs predictable. Specific tier pricing is available through their cost calculator tool.

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
Sematext: How does Sematext's pricing compare to competitors?

Sematext is positioned as +3x cheaper than Datadog, with potential annual savings of $800,000 for customers logging more than 200TB/month and a reported 75% decrease in price per GB compared to alternatives.

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
Sematext: Does Sematext offer a free trial?

Yes, Sematext offers a 14-day free trial with no credit card required, allowing you to test the platform before committing to a paid plan.

Source
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