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Log Management · head to head

Splunk Enterprise vs Elastic APM

Splunk Enterprise logo

Splunk Enterprise

Log Management

Enterprise Search, Monitoring, and Analytics

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Elastic APM logo

Elastic APM

Log Management

Application Performance Monitoring from Elastic

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Elastic APM has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Splunk Enterprise splunk Platform and Enterprise Security offerings carry no published rate and require contacting sales for a quote; 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: Splunk Enterprise covers Log aggregation, Elastic APM covers Performance monitoring.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Splunk Enterprise and Elastic APM actually diverge.

Attributes where Splunk Enterprise and Elastic APM differ
AttributeSplunk EnterpriseElastic APM
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelusage-basedopen-source
Free tierNoYes
Founded20032011

Identical on both: 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 Splunk Enterprise

  • Log aggregation
  • Real-time monitoring
  • Advanced analytics
  • Compliance

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.

Splunk Enterprise

  • Indexing and searching machine data and logs at enterprise scalenot Elastic APM
  • Security information and event management via Enterprise Securitynot Elastic APM
  • IT service intelligence and infrastructure observabilitynot Elastic APM

Elastic APM

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

Where each one falls short

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

Splunk Enterprise

  • Splunk Platform and Enterprise Security offerings carry no published rate and require contacting sales for a quote
  • Four different pricing models are offered (activity, ingest, workload and entity based) and the applicable one depends on the product purchased
  • Published Observability Cloud rates start at $15 per host per month and are billed annually rather than monthly
  • Volume discounts are not published and require direct consultation with sales

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

Splunk Enterprise

On request
  • Starter$undefined/month
    • Log aggregation
    • Real-time monitoring
    • Advanced analytics

Elastic APM

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

Which should you pick?

Choose Splunk Enterprise if

  • You need log aggregation.
  • You work on Web, Api.
  • You also want real-time monitoring.
Splunk Enterprise 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 Splunk Enterprise or Elastic APM better?
Neither clearly leads. Splunk Enterprise starts at On request and Elastic APM at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Splunk Enterprise or Elastic APM?
Elastic APM has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Splunk Enterprise and Free for Elastic APM.
Does Splunk Enterprise 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 Elastic APM for free?
Yes. Elastic APM has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Splunk Enterprise starts at On request.
What is Splunk Enterprise best used for?
Splunk Enterprise is most often used for indexing and searching machine data and logs at enterprise scale, security information and event management via enterprise security, it service intelligence and infrastructure observability. Of those, indexing and searching machine data and logs at enterprise scale and security information and event management via enterprise security are not what Elastic APM is typically brought in for.
What can Splunk Enterprise do that Elastic APM cannot?
Splunk Enterprise covers Log aggregation, Real-time monitoring, Advanced analytics, Compliance. Elastic APM covers Performance monitoring, Error tracking, Transaction tracing, Custom metrics. Both handle API, Webhooks, REST, Web support.
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