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Head-to-head · Infrastructure Monitoring

Checkmk vs Datadog Infrastructure Monitoring

  • Updated Oct 2026
  • Both researched from official sources
  • 4 checks side by side
Higher score Checkmk #2 in Infrastructure Monitoring 9.3/10 Free plan · 30-day trial Free planFree trial✓ 3 of 3 features Visit Checkmk
Datadog Infrastructure Monitoring #3 in Infrastructure Monitoring 9.2/10 Free plan · 14-day trial Free planFree trial✓ 2 of 3 features Visit Datadog

Checkmk leads on 0 checks, Datadog Infrastructure Monitoring on 0, and 4 are even. Who comes out ahead on the 4 yes/no, price and count checks where we have data for both products. The editor score weighs everything else too.

Our verdict

  • Highest scoreCheckmk · 9.3/10
  • Free planboth
  • Free trialboth
  • Most featuresCheckmk · 3 of 3

Checkmk scores higher on our rubric for infrastructure monitoring: 9.3 against 9.2 out of 10; our editors rank them #2 and #3.

On os coverage, Checkmk gives you Multiple where Datadog Infrastructure Monitoring offers Linux and windows.

Checkmk is the better fit for hybrid monitoring with discovery and automation. Datadog Infrastructure Monitoring is the better fit for cloud-native teams needing observability breadth.

  • Checkmk fits best

    Hybrid monitoring with discovery and automation

  • Datadog Infrastructure Monitoring fits best

    Cloud-native teams needing observability breadth

Advertiser disclosure: iTechGuides is reader-supported. Vendors can pay for top positions in our rankings and for a place on other products' pages, and we may earn a commission when you click some links. Bought places stand at the number bought; this page and our disclosure say so. Paying vendors may get a fuller, more detailed review from our editors, and that review can change their score. How we rank.

Side by side

Feature Checkmk 9.3/10 Visit ↗ Datadog Infrastructure Monitoring 9.2/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score 9.3 9.2
Ranking #2 in Infrastructure Monitoring #3 in Infrastructure Monitoring
Best for Hybrid monitoring with discovery and automation Cloud-native teams needing observability breadth
Pricing model Free plan + paid Free plan + paid
Starting price €190/mo $15/unit/mo
Free plan ✓ ✓
Free trial 30 days 14 days
Free trial length 30 days 14 days
Deployment Cloud, Self-hosted Cloud
Platforms Web, Linux, Windows Web, Windows, Linux, macOS
Integrations 2,000+ integrations 1,000+ integrations
Built for Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features Checkmk 3/3 · Datadog Infrastructure Monitoring 2/3
VM monitoring ✓ ✓
Service monitoring ✓ ✓
Agentless monitoring ✓ (best) Not checked yet
Specs
Included hosts Not checked yet Not checked yet
Metrics retention Custom Not checked yet
Deployment model Hybrid Hybrid
OS coverage Multiple Linux and windows
Our review
Pros
  • Automatic discovery across servers, networks, cloud, and Kubernetes
  • Agent and agentless collection, including SNMP, WMI, IPMI, and Redfish
  • Free Community edition with 2000+ pre-built integrations
  • More than 1,000 integrations across cloud and observability tools
  • Correlates metrics, traces, logs, and security signals
  • Maps hosts and containers with tag-based infrastructure search
Cons
  • Paid self-hosted plans start at €190 per month with annual billing
  • Community edition scales to approximately 100 hosts
  • Advanced features and professional support require paid tiers
  • Paid plans use host-based pricing
  • The Free plan retains metrics for only 1 day
  • Monitoring requires the Datadog Agent rather than agentless collection
Our verdict

Checkmk is an infrastructure monitoring and observability platform for IT teams managing on-premises, cloud, hybrid, and containerized environments. It discovers hosts and services, collects status and performance data, and provides…

Read the review →

Datadog Infrastructure Monitoring is a cloud-based service for development, IT operations, and security teams monitoring servers, virtual machines, containers, processes, system services, and cloud infrastructure. It collects metrics and…

Read the review →
  1. CheckmkInfrastructure Monitoring 9.3Free plan · 30-day trial
  2. Datadog Infrastructure MonitoringInfrastructure Monitoring 9.2Free plan · 14-day trial

Strengths and trade-offs

  • Checkmk — where it wins

    • Automatic discovery across servers, networks, cloud, and Kubernetes
    • Agent and agentless collection, including SNMP, WMI, IPMI, and Redfish
    • Free Community edition with 2000+ pre-built integrations

    Where it doesn't

    • Paid self-hosted plans start at €190 per month with annual billing
    • Community edition scales to approximately 100 hosts
    • Advanced features and professional support require paid tiers

  • Datadog Infrastructure Monitoring — where it wins

    • More than 1,000 integrations across cloud and observability tools
    • Correlates metrics, traces, logs, and security signals
    • Maps hosts and containers with tag-based infrastructure search

    Where it doesn't

    • Paid plans use host-based pricing
    • The Free plan retains metrics for only 1 day
    • Monitoring requires the Datadog Agent rather than agentless collection
  • Checkmk9.3/10 · Free plan · 30-day trial

    A broad hybrid-monitoring platform with free open-source coverage and paid automation tiers.

    Visit CheckmkFull verdict →
  • Datadog Infrastructure Monitoring9.2/10 · Free plan · 14-day trial

    Broad infrastructure observability for cloud-native teams, with host-based pricing.

    Visit DatadogFull verdict →

More comparisons

All infrastructure monitoring comparisons → · Full ranking →

Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026

Last updated · How we research and update