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Elastic APM vs Splunk Enterprise

Elastic APM logo

Elastic APM

Logging

Application Performance Monitoring from Elastic

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Splunk Enterprise logo

Splunk Enterprise

Logging

Enterprise Search, Monitoring, and Analytics

From
On request
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; Splunk Enterprise splunk Platform and Enterprise Security offerings carry no published rate and require contacting sales for a quote
  • They diverge on capability: Elastic APM covers Performance monitoring, Splunk Enterprise 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 Splunk Enterprise actually diverge.

Attributes where Elastic APM and Splunk Enterprise differ
AttributeElastic APMSplunk Enterprise
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelopen-sourceusage-based
Free tierYesNo
Founded20112003

Identical on both: 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 Splunk Enterprise

  • Log aggregation
  • Real-time monitoring
  • Advanced analytics
  • Compliance

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

Splunk Enterprise

  • Indexing and searching machine data and logs at enterprise scalenot Elastic APM
  • Security information and event management via Enterprise Securitynot Elastic APM
  • IT service intelligence and infrastructure observabilitynot 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

Splunk Enterprise

  • Splunk Platform and Enterprise Security offerings carry no published rate and require contacting sales for a quote
  • Four different pricing models are offered (activity, ingest, workload and entity based) and the applicable one depends on the product purchased
  • Published Observability Cloud rates start at $15 per host per month and are billed annually rather than monthly
  • Volume discounts are not published and require direct consultation with sales

Pricing, plan by plan

Elastic APM

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

Splunk Enterprise

On request
  • Starter$undefined/month
    • Log aggregation
    • Real-time monitoring
    • Advanced analytics

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 Splunk Enterprise if

  • You need log aggregation.
  • You work on Web, Api.
  • You also want real-time monitoring.
Splunk Enterprise review

Questions people ask

Is Elastic APM or Splunk Enterprise better?
Neither clearly leads. Elastic APM starts at Free and Splunk Enterprise at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Elastic APM or Splunk Enterprise?
Elastic APM has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Elastic APM and On request for Splunk Enterprise.
Does Elastic APM or Splunk Enterprise 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?
Yes. Elastic APM has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Splunk Enterprise starts at On request.
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 Splunk Enterprise is typically brought in for.
What can Elastic APM do that Splunk Enterprise cannot?
Elastic APM covers Performance monitoring, Error tracking, Transaction tracing, Custom metrics. Splunk Enterprise covers Log aggregation, Real-time monitoring, Advanced analytics, Compliance. 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
Splunk Enterprise: How much does Splunk Enterprise cost?

Splunk Enterprise pricing is not published online. Customers can try it free for 60 days without a credit card, but to obtain pricing for ongoing use, they must contact Splunk sales directly.

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
Splunk Enterprise: Does Splunk Enterprise offer a free trial?

Yes, Splunk Enterprise offers a 60-day free trial that does not require a credit card to begin.

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
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