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Retrace vs Elastic APM

Retrace logo

Retrace

Software

Application Performance Monitoring and Logs

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Elastic APM logo

Elastic APM

Software

Application Performance Monitoring from Elastic

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Retrace end of Life scheduled for March 31, 2027; the product is being discontinued; 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: Retrace covers Log management, Elastic APM covers Performance monitoring.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where Retrace and Elastic APM differ
AttributeRetraceElastic APM
Pricing modelsubscriptionopen-source
PlatformsWeb, .NET, Java, PHP, Node.js, PythonWeb, Api
Founded20122011

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), 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 Retrace

  • Log management
  • Application performance tracking
  • Error detection
  • Code profiling
  • Performance baselines

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.

Retrace

  • Log monitoringnot Elastic APM
  • Application performancenot Elastic APM
  • Security analyticsnot Elastic APM
  • Troubleshootingnot Elastic APM

Elastic APM

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

Where each one falls short

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

Retrace

  • End of Life scheduled for March 31, 2027; the product is being discontinued
  • Costs escalate quickly with per-server billing model, expensive at scale
  • User interface and dashboard criticisms; UI is outdated and difficult to use
  • Logging latency; logs can take time to appear and are not instant
  • Less mature support for Node.js, Python, and newer ecosystems
  • Reporting issues where process restarts provide only timeline without root cause data
  • Reliability concerns; monitoring has stopped collecting traces with no warning

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

Retrace

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Log management
    • Application performance tracking
    • Error detection

Elastic APM

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

Which should you pick?

Choose Retrace if

  • You need log management.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, .NET, Java, PHP, Node.js, Python.
  • You also want application performance tracking.
Retrace review

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

Questions people ask

Is Retrace or Elastic APM better?
Neither clearly leads. Retrace 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, Retrace or Elastic APM?
Retrace starts at Free and Elastic APM at Free.
Does Retrace or Elastic APM run on more platforms?
Retrace runs on Web, .NET, Java, PHP, Node.js, Python. Elastic APM runs on Web, Api.
Can I use Retrace for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Retrace best used for?
Retrace is most often used for log monitoring, application performance, security analytics, troubleshooting. Of those, log monitoring and application performance are not what Elastic APM is typically brought in for.
What can Retrace do that Elastic APM cannot?
Retrace covers Log management, Application performance tracking, Error detection, Code profiling. Elastic APM covers Performance monitoring, Error tracking, Transaction tracing, Custom metrics. Both handle API, Webhooks, REST, Web support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Retrace: What does Retrace monitor?

Retrace provides application performance monitoring (APM), centralized log management, error tracking, code profiling, and real user monitoring (RUM). It aggregates logs from applications and servers in one place.

Source
Retrace: What programming languages does Retrace support?

Retrace supports .NET, .NET Core, PHP, Node.js, Ruby, Python, and Java applications. Support for Node.js, Python, and newer ecosystems is noted as less mature.

Source
Retrace: Is Retrace being discontinued?

Yes. Retrace will reach End of Life on March 31, 2027. Users should plan to migrate to alternative solutions.

Source
Retrace: What databases and services does Retrace integrate with?

Retrace supports SQL Server, Oracle, PostgreSQL, MySQL, Redis, MongoDB, Elasticsearch, and cloud platforms like AWS and Azure.

Source
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