Log Management · head to head
Stackdriver vs AppDynamics
Stackdriver
Log Management
Google Cloud Operations - Monitoring and Logging
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
A
AppDynamics
Log Management
Enterprise Application Performance Management
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Stackdriver stackdriver is now branded Google Cloud Observability and cloud.google.com/stackdriver redirects to the Observability product page; 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: Stackdriver covers Log management, AppDynamics covers Application performance monitoring.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Stackdriver and AppDynamics actually diverge.
| Attribute | Stackdriver | AppDynamics |
|---|---|---|
| Founded | 2006 | 2008 |
Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (usage-based), 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 Stackdriver
- Log management
- Metrics collection
- Real-time monitoring
- Error reporting
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.
Stackdriver
- Centralised logging, metrics and traces for workloads running on Google Cloudnot AppDynamics
- Alerting and uptime checks on cloud servicesnot AppDynamics
- Running managed Prometheus-compatible monitoring at scalenot AppDynamics
AppDynamics
- Application performance monitoring for Java, .NET and other enterprise application stacksnot Stackdriver
- Business transaction tracing across distributed application tiersnot Stackdriver
- Infrastructure monitoring priced per vCPUnot Stackdriver
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Stackdriver
- Stackdriver is now branded Google Cloud Observability and cloud.google.com/stackdriver redirects to the Observability product page
- Cloud Logging charges $0.50 per GiB ingested, with only the first 50 GiB per project per month free
- Logs kept beyond 30 days cost an extra $0.01 per GiB per month on top of the ingestion charge
- Monitoring metric ingestion starts at $0.2580 per MiB, with only the first 150 MiB per billing account free
- Alerting policies are billed at $0.35 per month for each metric reference in the policy
- Uptime checks cost $0.30 per 1,000 executions and synthetic monitors $1.20 per 1,000 executions, with only 100 synthetic executions per billing account free
- Monitoring read API calls cost $0.50 per million time series returned beyond the first million per billing account
- Log volume is measured before indexing on the actual size of log entries, so verbose logging directly drives cost
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
Stackdriver
Free- FreeFree
- Log management
- Metrics collection
- Real-time monitoring
AppDynamics
Free- FreeFree
- Application performance monitoring
- Distributed tracing
- Real-time analytics
Which should you pick?
Choose Stackdriver if
- You need log management.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, Api.
- You also want metrics collection.
Choose AppDynamics if
- You need application performance monitoring.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, Api.
- You also want distributed tracing.
Questions people ask
- Is Stackdriver or AppDynamics better?
- Neither clearly leads. Stackdriver 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, Stackdriver or AppDynamics?
- Stackdriver starts at Free and AppDynamics at Free.
- Does Stackdriver or AppDynamics run on more platforms?
- Both run on Web, Api, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
- Can I use Stackdriver for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is Stackdriver best used for?
- Stackdriver is most often used for centralised logging, metrics and traces for workloads running on google cloud, alerting and uptime checks on cloud services, running managed prometheus-compatible monitoring at scale. Of those, centralised logging, metrics and traces for workloads running on google cloud and alerting and uptime checks on cloud services are not what AppDynamics is typically brought in for.
- What can Stackdriver do that AppDynamics cannot?
- Stackdriver covers Log management, Metrics collection, Real-time monitoring, Error reporting. AppDynamics covers Application performance monitoring, Distributed tracing, Real-time analytics, Alert management. Both handle API, Webhooks, REST, Web support.