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Elastic APM vs Telegraf

Elastic APM logo

Elastic APM

Logging

Application Performance Monitoring from Elastic

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Telegraf logo

Telegraf

Logging

The Plugin-Driven Server Agent for Collecting and Reporting Metrics

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; Telegraf telegraf's core is open source and free, and InfluxData names a separate Telegraf Enterprise tier for teams running it at scale with no price published
  • They diverge on capability: Elastic APM covers Performance monitoring, Telegraf covers Metrics collection.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where Elastic APM and Telegraf differ
AttributeElastic APMTelegraf
Founded20112013

Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (open-source), 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 Telegraf

  • Metrics collection
  • System monitoring
  • Application monitoring
  • Plugin architecture

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

Telegraf

  • 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

Telegraf

  • Telegraf's core is open source and free, and InfluxData names a separate Telegraf Enterprise tier for teams running it at scale with no price published

Pricing, plan by plan

Elastic APM

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

Telegraf

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Metrics collection
    • System monitoring
    • Application 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 Telegraf if

  • You need metrics collection.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Api.
  • You also want system monitoring.
Telegraf review

Questions people ask

Is Elastic APM or Telegraf better?
Neither clearly leads. Elastic APM starts at Free and Telegraf at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Elastic APM or Telegraf?
Elastic APM starts at Free and Telegraf at Free.
Does Elastic APM or Telegraf 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 Telegraf is typically brought in for.
What can Elastic APM do that Telegraf cannot?
Elastic APM covers Performance monitoring, Error tracking, Transaction tracing, Custom metrics. Telegraf covers Metrics collection, System monitoring, Application monitoring, Plugin architecture. 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
Telegraf: Is Telegraf free to use?

Yes, Telegraf OSS is free and open source. It can be downloaded and used at no cost for collecting metrics from infrastructure, applications, and devices using over 400 community-tested plugins.

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
Telegraf: What is Telegraf Enterprise and how much does it cost?

Telegraf Enterprise is a commercial offering for managing Telegraf at scale. It is licensed annually with entry-level packages starting at $18,000 per year, and pricing scales based on the total number of Telegraf agents under management.

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
Telegraf: Can I try Telegraf Enterprise before purchasing?

Yes, a free tier of Telegraf Controller is available for evaluation. It allows you to store up to 20 configurations and manage up to 100 reporting agents.

Source
Telegraf: Can Telegraf OSS be used for commercial purposes?

Telegraf OSS is free and available as open source software, suitable for commercial deployments without licensing fees. For large-scale enterprise needs, Telegraf Enterprise is the commercial offering.

Source
Telegraf: How many plugins does Telegraf support?

Telegraf includes over 400 community-tested plugins that can connect to various data sources and destinations including Kubernetes, Docker, AWS, Google Cloud, Azure, Kafka, and many databases.

Source
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