SolarWinds SQL Sentry vs Splunk Database Monitoring

SSSolarWinds SQL Sentry8.9Visit Splunk Database Monitoring8.8Visit

Higher score SS SolarWinds SQL Sentry #4 in Database Performance Monitoring Software 8.9/10 Pricing on request · 14-day trial Free trial✓ 1 of 4 features Visit SolarWinds

vs

Splunk Database Monitoring #5 in Database Performance Monitoring Software 8.8/10 Pricing on request · 14-day trial Free trial✓ 1 of 4 features Visit Splunk

• SolarWinds SQL Sentry fits best

  SQL Server-focused performance teams

• Splunk Database Monitoring fits best

  Splunk-centric database operations teams

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Side by side

Feature	SSSolarWinds SQL Sentry 8.9/10 Visit ↗	Splunk Database Monitoring 8.8/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	8.9	8.8
Ranking	#4 in Database Performance Monitoring Software	#5 in Database Performance Monitoring Software
Best for	SQL Server-focused performance teams	Splunk-centric database operations teams
Pricing model	Paid	Paid
Starting price	Pricing on request · 14-day trial	Pricing on request · 14-day trial
Free plan	—	—
Free trial	14 days	14 days
Free trial length	14 days	14 days · no card needed
Deployment	Self-hosted	Cloud
Platforms	Web, Windows	Web
Support	Docs, Community	Tickets, Phone, Community, Docs
Built for	Mid-market, Enterprise	Mid-market, Enterprise
Features SolarWinds SQL Sentry 1/4 · Splunk Database Monitoring 1/4
Query analysis	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Wait and lock analysis	✓	✓
Resource metrics	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Query plan capture	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Specs
Supported databases	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
History retention	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Deployment model	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Our review
Pros	Detailed query, wait-statistics, and execution-plan analysis Blocking-chain and deadlock visualization for root-cause work Historical monitoring, alerting, and storage forecasting	Correlates database performance with application traces and infrastructure metrics Analyzes execution plans, wait states, blocking sessions, and lock contention Adds generative AI recommendations for complex SQL queries
Cons	Coverage centers on Microsoft database technologies Pricing requires contacting sales No general free product plan	No free plan is available Supports four database systems The documented retention period is 15 days for normalized queries and samples
Our verdict	SolarWinds SQL Sentry is a database performance monitoring product for database professionals managing on-premises, cloud, or hybrid Microsoft database environments. It covers SQL Server, Azure SQL Database, SQL Server Analysis Services,… Read the review →	Splunk Database Monitoring is a cloud service for DevOps, ITOps, and SRE teams that need database performance visibility within Splunk Observability Cloud. It focuses on Microsoft SQL Server, MySQL, Oracle Database, and PostgreSQL, with… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• SolarWinds SQL Sentry — where it wins

  • Detailed query, wait-statistics, and execution-plan analysis
  • Blocking-chain and deadlock visualization for root-cause work
  • Historical monitoring, alerting, and storage forecasting

  Where it doesn't

  • Coverage centers on Microsoft database technologies
  • Pricing requires contacting sales
  • No general free product plan

• Splunk Database Monitoring — where it wins

  • Correlates database performance with application traces and infrastructure metrics
  • Analyzes execution plans, wait states, blocking sessions, and lock contention
  • Adds generative AI recommendations for complex SQL queries

  Where it doesn't

  • No free plan is available
  • Supports four database systems
  • The documented retention period is 15 days for normalized queries and samples

• SSSolarWinds SQL Sentry8.9/10 · Pricing on request · 14-day trial

  A focused choice for deep SQL Server query, wait, blocking, and plan analysis.

  Visit SolarWindsFull verdict →
• Splunk Database Monitoring8.8/10 · Pricing on request · 14-day trial

  A focused choice for Splunk teams needing query, wait-state, and correlation analysis.

  Visit SplunkFull verdict →