Log Management · head to head
Fluentd vs Dynatrace
Dynatrace
Log Management
Application Performance Management and Observability
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Fluentd fluentd needs more than 60 MB of memory at runtime, against roughly 450 KB for Fluent Bit; Dynatrace pricing is commitment based: rates require an annual platform level commitment rather than month to month purchase
- They diverge on capability: Fluentd covers Log collection, Dynatrace covers AI-powered analytics.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Fluentd and Dynatrace actually diverge.
Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), platforms (Web, Api), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Log Management).
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 Fluentd
- Log collection
- Data parsing
- Filtering and buffering
- Event routing
Only in Dynatrace
- AI-powered analytics
- APM
- Infrastructure monitoring
- Log analysis
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.
Fluentd
- Unified log collection and routing from many sources to many destinationsnot Dynatrace
- Parsing and transforming log records before forwardingnot Dynatrace
- Aggregating logs from containers into Elasticsearch, S3 or a SIEMnot Dynatrace
Dynatrace
- Full stack application performance monitoring with automatic dependency discoverynot Fluentd
- Kubernetes and container platform observability priced per podnot Fluentd
- Log ingest, processing and query analyticsnot Fluentd
- Real user monitoring and session replay for web applicationsnot Fluentd
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Fluentd
- Fluentd needs more than 60 MB of memory at runtime, against roughly 450 KB for Fluent Bit
- Fluentd is built as a Ruby gem and depends on other gems, so a Ruby runtime is required
- Its capability comes from over 1,000 external plugins rather than built in functionality, so each added input or output is a separate dependency
- The Fluent Bit documentation states that cloud providers have switched from Fluentd to Fluent Bit for performance and compatibility and calls Fluent Bit the next generation solution
Dynatrace
- Pricing is commitment based: rates require an annual platform level commitment rather than month to month purchase
- Full-Stack Monitoring is priced at $58 per month per 8 GiB of host memory, so a 64 GiB host counts as eight units
- Infrastructure Monitoring at $29 per host per month excludes code level tracing, which requires Full-Stack
- Session Replay doubles Real User Monitoring cost from $2.25 to $4.50 per 1,000 sessions
- Runtime Vulnerability Analytics and Runtime Application Protection are each charged separately at $13 per month per 8 GiB host on top of monitoring
Pricing, plan by plan
Fluentd
Free- FreeFree
- Log collection
- Data parsing
- Filtering and buffering
Dynatrace
Free- FreeFree
- AI-powered analytics
- APM
- Infrastructure monitoring
Which should you pick?
Choose Fluentd if
- You need log collection.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, Api.
- You also want data parsing.
Choose Dynatrace if
- You need ai-powered analytics.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, Api.
- You also want apm.
Questions people ask
- Is Fluentd or Dynatrace better?
- Neither clearly leads. Fluentd starts at Free and Dynatrace at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Fluentd or Dynatrace?
- Fluentd starts at Free and Dynatrace at Free.
- Does Fluentd or Dynatrace run on more platforms?
- Both run on Web, Api, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
- Can I use Fluentd for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is Fluentd best used for?
- Fluentd is most often used for unified log collection and routing from many sources to many destinations, parsing and transforming log records before forwarding, aggregating logs from containers into elasticsearch, s3 or a siem. Of those, unified log collection and routing from many sources to many destinations and parsing and transforming log records before forwarding are not what Dynatrace is typically brought in for.
- What can Fluentd do that Dynatrace cannot?
- Fluentd covers Log collection, Data parsing, Filtering and buffering, Event routing. Dynatrace covers AI-powered analytics, APM, Infrastructure monitoring, Log analysis. Both handle API, Webhooks, REST, Web support.