Software · head to head
Kibana vs Elastic APM
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Kibana requires Elasticsearch; it is a front end for data held there rather than a standalone analytics tool; 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
- They diverge on capability: Kibana covers Data visualization, Elastic APM covers Performance monitoring.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Kibana and Elastic APM actually diverge.
| Attribute | Kibana | Elastic APM |
|---|
Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (open-source), free tier (Yes), platforms (Web, Api), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown), founded (2011).
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 Kibana
- Data visualization
- Dashboard creation
- Log discovery
- Alerting
Only in Elastic APM
- Performance monitoring
- Error tracking
- Transaction tracing
- Custom metrics
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.
Kibana
- Querying and visualising data held in Elasticsearchnot Elastic APM
- Dashboards over log and metric datanot Elastic APM
- Anomaly detection with machine learning jobsnot Elastic APM
- Geospatial analysis on indexed location datanot Elastic APM
- Alerting on query thresholdsnot Elastic APM
Elastic APM
- Distributed tracing across microservicesnot Kibana
- Auto-instrumenting Java, .NET, Python, Go, Node.js, Ruby, PHP and C++ servicesnot Kibana
- OpenTelemetry-native collection through the Elastic distributionsnot Kibana
- Correlating latency and errors with machine learningnot Kibana
- Monitoring LLM calls alongside application tracesnot Kibana
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Kibana
- Requires Elasticsearch; it is a front end for data held there rather than a standalone analytics tool
- Self-managed means running and scaling the Elastic stack yourself
- Cost is not Kibana's own; it follows whichever Elastic deployment sits underneath
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
Pricing, plan by plan
Kibana
Free- FreeFree
- Data visualization
- Dashboard creation
- Log discovery
Elastic APM
Free- FreeFree
- Performance monitoring
- Error tracking
- Transaction tracing
Which should you pick?
Choose Kibana if
- You need data visualization.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, Api.
- You also want dashboard creation.
Choose Elastic APM if
- You need performance monitoring.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, Api.
- You also want error tracking.
Questions people ask
- Is Kibana or Elastic APM better?
- Neither clearly leads. Kibana starts at Free and Elastic APM at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Kibana or Elastic APM?
- Kibana starts at Free and Elastic APM at Free.
- Does Kibana or Elastic APM run on more platforms?
- Both run on Web, Api, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
- Can I use Kibana for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is Kibana best used for?
- Kibana is most often used for querying and visualising data held in elasticsearch, dashboards over log and metric data, anomaly detection with machine learning jobs, geospatial analysis on indexed location data. Of those, querying and visualising data held in elasticsearch and dashboards over log and metric data are not what Elastic APM is typically brought in for.
- What can Kibana do that Elastic APM cannot?
- Kibana covers Data visualization, Dashboard creation, Log discovery, Alerting. Elastic APM covers Performance monitoring, Error tracking, Transaction tracing, Custom metrics. Both handle API, Webhooks, REST, Web support.