SolarWinds Observability vs ManageEngine Applications Manager

SolarWinds Observability6.9Visit ManageEngine Applications Manager6.7Visit

Higher score SolarWinds Observability #6 in Application Performance & Observability - Midmarket Software 6.9/10 From $8/mo (annual) · 30-day trial ✓ 0 of 5 features Visit SolarWinds

vs

ManageEngine Applications Manager #8 in Application Performance & Observability - Midmarket Software 6.7/10 Free plan · paid from $395/yr · 30-day trial Free plan✓ 0 of 5 features Visit ManageEngine

• SolarWinds Observability fits best

  Midmarket teams seeking modular observability pricing

• ManageEngine Applications Manager fits best

  Teams needing hybrid monitoring and RUM

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Side by side

Feature	SolarWinds Observability 6.9/10 Visit ↗	ManageEngine Applications Manager 6.7/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	6.9	6.7
Ranking	#6 in Application Performance & Observability - Midmarket Software	#8 in Application Performance & Observability - Midmarket Software
Best for	Midmarket teams seeking modular observability pricing	Teams needing hybrid monitoring and RUM
Pricing model	Paid	Free plan + paid
Starting price	$8/mo	Not published
Free plan	—	✓ (best)
Free trial	—	—
Free trial length	30 days	30 days
Deployment	Cloud, Self-hosted	Self-hosted, Cloud, Mobile
Platforms	Web, Windows, Linux	Web, Windows, Linux, iOS, Android
Support	Docs, Community	Email, Phone, Docs
Built for	Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise	Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features SolarWinds Observability 0/5 · ManageEngine Applications Manager 0/5
APM and tracing	Not published	Not published
Infrastructure monitoring	Not published	Not published
Log management	Not published	Not published
Real-user monitoring	Not published	Not published
Synthetic monitoring	Not published	Not published
Specs
Deployment	Hybrid	Hybrid
Trace retention	Not published	Not published
Our review
Pros	Connects distributed traces with related application log messages. Combines profiling, exceptions, metrics, and service topology for application analysis. Offers cloud and self-hosted deployment options across observability modules.	Combines code-level insights with distributed transaction tracing. Maps application and infrastructure dependencies. Offers real-user, synthetic, log, and database monitoring.
Cons	The $8 per-node monthly starting price applies to Self-Hosted, not every module. SaaS modules use separate prices and multi-year contracts billed annually. Support channels listed are documentation and community.	Professional annual pricing starts at $395 per 10 monitors. Monitor-based licensing can make costs depend on monitoring scope. Professional perpetual licensing starts at $995 per 10 monitors.
Our verdict	SolarWinds Observability brings application performance monitoring together with infrastructure, network, database, log, and digital experience monitoring. Its application tools include distributed tracing, live code profiling, exception… Read the review →	ManageEngine Applications Manager monitors business applications and the infrastructure beneath them, including databases, servers, middleware, cloud resources, and web applications. It is suited to IT operations, application support, and… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• SolarWinds Observability — where it wins

  • Connects distributed traces with related application log messages.
  • Combines profiling, exceptions, metrics, and service topology for application analysis.
  • Offers cloud and self-hosted deployment options across observability modules.

  Where it doesn't

  • The $8 per-node monthly starting price applies to Self-Hosted, not every module.
  • SaaS modules use separate prices and multi-year contracts billed annually.
  • Support channels listed are documentation and community.

• ManageEngine Applications Manager — where it wins

  • Combines code-level insights with distributed transaction tracing.
  • Maps application and infrastructure dependencies.
  • Offers real-user, synthetic, log, and database monitoring.

  Where it doesn't

  • Professional annual pricing starts at $395 per 10 monitors.
  • Monitor-based licensing can make costs depend on monitoring scope.
  • Professional perpetual licensing starts at $995 per 10 monitors.

• SolarWinds Observability6.9/10 · From $8/mo (annual) · 30-day trial

  Modular observability spans applications and infrastructure, with annual pricing by unit.

  Visit SolarWindsFull verdict →
• ManageEngine Applications Manager6.7/10 · Free plan · paid from $395/yr · 30-day trial

  Broad application and infrastructure monitoring with tracing, RUM, and self-hosted deployment.

  Visit ManageEngineFull verdict →