Softwr

Software · head to head

Papertrail vs AppDynamics

Papertrail logo

Papertrail

Software

Cloud-Hosted Log Management

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
A

AppDynamics

Software

Enterprise Application Performance Management

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Papertrail log Observability starts at $5.00 per GB per month; AppDynamics appdynamics.com/pricing returns a 301 redirect to Splunk's observability pricing page; the product is now sold as Splunk AppDynamics
  • They diverge on capability: Papertrail covers Log aggregation, AppDynamics covers Application performance monitoring.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Papertrail and AppDynamics actually diverge.

Attributes where Papertrail and AppDynamics differ
AttributePapertrailAppDynamics
Pricing modelsubscriptionusage-based
Founded20112008

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 Papertrail

  • Log aggregation
  • Real-time tail
  • Saved searches
  • System alerts

Only in AppDynamics

  • Application performance monitoring
  • Distributed tracing
  • Real-time analytics
  • Alert management

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.

Papertrail

  • Aggregating syslog and application logs from many hosts into one searchable streamnot AppDynamics
  • Tail-and-search style troubleshooting during incidentsnot AppDynamics
  • Long-term log archiving to Amazon S3 for later analysisnot AppDynamics

AppDynamics

  • Application performance monitoring for Java, .NET and other enterprise application stacksnot Papertrail
  • Business transaction tracing across distributed application tiersnot Papertrail
  • Infrastructure monitoring priced per vCPUnot Papertrail

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Papertrail

  • Log Observability starts at $5.00 per GB per month
  • Usage beyond the plan volume is billed at a 30% higher price per GB and is capped at 200% extra
  • Transferred volume is measured as message length plus 50 bytes of metadata per message, so metadata counts against the quota

AppDynamics

  • appdynamics.com/pricing returns a 301 redirect to Splunk's observability pricing page; the product is now sold as Splunk AppDynamics
  • Infrastructure Edition starts at $6 per vCPU per month billed annually, so cost scales with core count rather than host count
  • Premium Edition starts at $33 per host per month and Enterprise Edition at $50 per host per month, both billed annually
  • The published figures are starting prices only, with volume pricing requiring a sales quote

Pricing, plan by plan

Papertrail

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Log aggregation
    • Real-time tail
    • Saved searches

AppDynamics

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Application performance monitoring
    • Distributed tracing
    • Real-time analytics

Which should you pick?

Choose Papertrail if

  • You need log aggregation.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Api.
  • You also want real-time tail.
Papertrail review

Choose AppDynamics if

  • You need application performance monitoring.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Api.
  • You also want distributed tracing.
AppDynamics review

Questions people ask

Is Papertrail or AppDynamics better?
Neither clearly leads. Papertrail starts at Free and AppDynamics at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Papertrail or AppDynamics?
Papertrail starts at Free and AppDynamics at Free.
Does Papertrail or AppDynamics run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, Api, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
Can I use Papertrail for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Papertrail best used for?
Papertrail is most often used for aggregating syslog and application logs from many hosts into one searchable stream, tail-and-search style troubleshooting during incidents, long-term log archiving to amazon s3 for later analysis. Of those, aggregating syslog and application logs from many hosts into one searchable stream and tail-and-search style troubleshooting during incidents are not what AppDynamics is typically brought in for.
What can Papertrail do that AppDynamics cannot?
Papertrail covers Log aggregation, Real-time tail, Saved searches, System alerts. AppDynamics covers Application performance monitoring, Distributed tracing, Real-time analytics, Alert management. Both handle API, Webhooks, REST, Web support.
ShareXLinkedInRedditWhatsAppEmail

Related pages

More on Papertrail

More on AppDynamics

Keep looking

Other head to heads