Softwr

Software · head to head

Elastic APM vs Sumo Logic

Elastic APM logo

Elastic APM

Software

Application Performance Monitoring from Elastic

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Sumo Logic logo

Sumo Logic

Software

Cloud Monitoring, Logging, and Security Analytics

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; Sumo Logic neither the Essentials nor the Enterprise Suite package lists a price on the pricing page; both link to Contact Sales
  • They diverge on capability: Elastic APM covers Performance monitoring, Sumo Logic covers Log aggregation.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Elastic APM and Sumo Logic actually diverge.

Attributes where Elastic APM and Sumo Logic differ
AttributeElastic APMSumo Logic
Pricing modelopen-sourceusage-based
Founded20112010

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

Only in Sumo Logic

  • Log aggregation
  • Metrics collection
  • Real-time analytics
  • Custom dashboards

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

Sumo Logic

  • Cloud-native log analytics across applications and infrastructurenot Elastic APM
  • Running a SIEM with MITRE ATT&CK mapped detections and UEBAnot Elastic APM
  • Compliance and audit readiness reporting from log datanot 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

Sumo Logic

  • Neither the Essentials nor the Enterprise Suite package lists a price on the pricing page; both link to Contact Sales
  • Quoted per GB figures assume an annual commitment, an average of 1 GB of log ingest per day and a US deployment region
  • Pricing varies by the AWS deployment region chosen, so the same volume costs differently in Dublin, Frankfurt, Sydney or Tokyo
  • Flex pricing bills per TB scanned rather than per GB ingested, so query activity drives the bill
  • Feature activation is subject to minimum volume, minimum user counts and service requirements confirmed at the time of the transaction
  • The API is limited to four calls per section, ten concurrent in-flight requests, and query processing times out after two minutes
  • Self-serve credit card purchase is capped at $25,000; larger purchases must go through sales or a reseller

Pricing, plan by plan

Elastic APM

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

Sumo Logic

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Log aggregation
    • Metrics collection
    • Real-time 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 Sumo Logic if

  • You need log aggregation.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Api.
  • You also want metrics collection.
Sumo Logic review

Questions people ask

Is Elastic APM or Sumo Logic better?
Neither clearly leads. Elastic APM starts at Free and Sumo Logic at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Elastic APM or Sumo Logic?
Elastic APM starts at Free and Sumo Logic at Free.
Does Elastic APM or Sumo Logic 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 Sumo Logic is typically brought in for.
What can Elastic APM do that Sumo Logic cannot?
Elastic APM covers Performance monitoring, Error tracking, Transaction tracing, Custom metrics. Sumo Logic covers Log aggregation, Metrics collection, Real-time analytics, Custom dashboards. Both handle API, Webhooks, REST, Web support.
ShareXLinkedInRedditWhatsAppEmail

Related pages

More on Elastic APM

More on Sumo Logic

Keep looking

Other head to heads