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Head-to-head · Application Performance Monitoring

Elastic APM vs Uptrace

  • Updated Oct 2026
  • Both researched from official sources
  • 7 checks side by side
Higher score Elastic APM #1 in Application Performance Monitoring 9.4/10 Free plan · 14-day trial Free planFree trial✓ 5 of 5 features Visit Elastic APM
Uptrace #13 in Application Performance Monitoring 8.2/10 Free plan · 14-day trial Free planFree trial✓ 5 of 5 features Visit Uptrace

Elastic APM leads on 0 checks, Uptrace on 1, and 6 are even. Who comes out ahead on the 7 yes/no, price and count checks where we have data for both products. The editor score weighs everything else too.

Our verdict

  • Highest scoreElastic APM · 9.4/10
  • Lowest starting priceUptrace · $39/mo
  • Free planboth
  • Free trialboth

Elastic APM scores higher on our rubric for application performance monitoring: 9.4 against 8.2 out of 10; our editors rank them #1 and #13.

Uptrace is cheaper to start at $39/mo against $99/mo.

Elastic APM is the better fit for open, hybrid APM with broad observability. Uptrace is the better fit for openTelemetry tracing with self-hosted flexibility.

  • Elastic APM fits best

    Open, hybrid APM with broad observability

  • Uptrace fits best

    OpenTelemetry tracing with self-hosted flexibility

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 Elastic APM 9.4/10 Visit ↗ Uptrace 8.2/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score 9.4 8.2
Ranking #1 in Application Performance Monitoring #13 in Application Performance Monitoring
Best for Open, hybrid APM with broad observability OpenTelemetry tracing with self-hosted flexibility
Pricing model Free plan + paid Free plan + paid
Starting price $99/mo $39/mo (best)
Free plan ✓ ✓
Free trial 14 days 14 days
Free trial length 14 days 14 days · no card needed
Deployment Cloud, Self-hosted Cloud, Self-hosted
Platforms Web, Linux, Windows, macOS Web
Support Phone, Docs · 24/7 Email, Community, Docs
Integrations 4 integrations 5 integrations
Built for Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features Elastic APM 5/5 · Uptrace 5/5
Distributed tracing ✓ ✓
Transaction tracing ✓ ✓
Dependency mapping ✓ ✓
Real user monitoring ✓ ✓
Log correlation ✓ ✓
Specs
Deployment model Hybrid Hybrid
Our review
Pros
  • Distributed tracing, transaction views, and service dependency maps
  • Free self-managed Elastic Stack deployment
  • OpenTelemetry ingestion plus logs, metrics, traces, and RUM
  • Distributed tracing with waterfalls and service dependency maps
  • OpenTelemetry, PromQL, and broad telemetry integrations
  • Free options plus usage-based cloud pricing from $0.075 per GB
Cons
  • Usage-based pricing can vary with ingestion volume
  • Self-managed deployment requires Elastic Stack administration
  • Full-stack observability costs $0.09 per GB ingested monthly
  • Usage-based pricing requires monitoring telemetry volume
  • Commercial on-premises pricing is not publicly listed
  • May not suit teams seeking a broader application monitoring suite
Our verdict

Elastic APM monitors application performance across services, databases, external HTTP calls, errors, traces, logs, and metrics. It is designed for teams managing distributed applications across web, API, iOS, Android, and self-hosted…

Read the review →

Uptrace is an OpenTelemetry-native application performance monitoring and observability platform for engineering and DevOps teams. It collects traces, metrics, and logs, then brings them together through dashboards, querying, alerting,…

Read the review →
  1. Elastic APMApplication Performance Monitoring 9.4Free plan · 14-day trial
  2. UptraceApplication Performance Monitoring 8.2Free plan · 14-day trial

Strengths and trade-offs

  • Elastic APM — where it wins

    • Distributed tracing, transaction views, and service dependency maps
    • Free self-managed Elastic Stack deployment
    • OpenTelemetry ingestion plus logs, metrics, traces, and RUM

    Where it doesn't

    • Usage-based pricing can vary with ingestion volume
    • Self-managed deployment requires Elastic Stack administration
    • Full-stack observability costs $0.09 per GB ingested monthly

  • Uptrace — where it wins

    • Distributed tracing with waterfalls and service dependency maps
    • OpenTelemetry, PromQL, and broad telemetry integrations
    • Free options plus usage-based cloud pricing from $0.075 per GB

    Where it doesn't

    • Usage-based pricing requires monitoring telemetry volume
    • Commercial on-premises pricing is not publicly listed
    • May not suit teams seeking a broader application monitoring suite
  • Elastic APM9.4/10 · Free plan · 14-day trial

    A flexible APM for teams that want open deployment and broad observability.

    Visit Elastic APMFull verdict →
  • Uptrace8.2/10 · Free plan · 14-day trial

    A flexible APM platform for tracing, telemetry search, and self-hosted deployments.

    Visit UptraceFull verdict →

More comparisons

All application performance monitoring comparisons → · Full ranking →

Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026

Last updated · How we research and update