Datadog APM comparisons
Datadog APM is compared head-to-head with Elastic APM, Middleware and Dynatrace Application Monitoring and more: 7 head-to-heads in Application Performance Monitoring, each with the specs and prices we checked.
Datadog APM head-to-head
- Datadog APM vs Elastic APM
- Datadog APM vs Middleware
- Datadog APM vs Dynatrace Application Monitoring
- Datadog APM vs Splunk AppDynamics
- Datadog APM vs IBM Instana Observability
- Datadog APM vs New Relic APM
- Datadog APM vs Apache SkyWalking
Datadog APM vs each of them
| # | Tool | Free plan | Paid from | Distributed tracing | Transaction tracing | Dependency mapping | Real user monitoring | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | Datadog APM | No | $31/unit/mo | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 9.0 |
| 1 | Elastic APM | Yes | $99/mo | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 9.4 |
| 2 | Middleware | Yes | $0.30/GB usage-based | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 9.3 |
| 3 | Dynatrace Application Monitoring | No | $7/device/mo | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 9.2 |
| 4 | Splunk AppDynamics | No | $6/unit/mo | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 9.1 |
| 6 | IBM Instana Observability | No | $21.20/unit/mo | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 8.9 |
| 7 | New Relic APM | Yes | $10/user/mo | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 8.8 |
| 8 | Apache SkyWalking | Yes | Free | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 8.7 |
Compare Datadog APM with any application performance monitoring tool
These are the matchups our editors wrote up. The compare tool pairs Datadog APM with any other product in Application Performance Monitoring — and up to four at once — from the same checked specs.
Compare Datadog APM with any tool side by side →
Every application performance monitoring head-to-head →
Our full Datadog APM verdict, pricing and fact sheet →
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Compared by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026
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