Elastic APM
Elastic APM: A flexible APM for teams that want open deployment and broad observability. Ranked #1 of 37 in Application Performance Monitoring by our editors (9.4/10); pricing: Free plan · 14-day trial; best for open, hybrid APM with broad observability.
At a glance
- Editor score9.4 / 10
- PricingFree plan · 14-day trial
- Best forOpen, hybrid APM with broad observability
- Free planYes
- Paid from$99/mo
- Distributed tracingYes
- Facts checked23 Sep 2026
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
Our verdict on Elastic APM
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 environments. Its feature set includes transaction and span tracing, service dependency maps, error tracking, application and infrastructure metrics, log correlation, and real-user monitoring for web applications. Instrumentation is available through APM agents, OpenTelemetry ingestion, and Elastic distributions.
Pricing supports both open self-managed use and a paid observability tier. The Free and open plan includes a self-managed Elastic Stack, APM, logging, metrics, and downloadable deployment. Observability Complete costs $0.09 per GB ingested monthly and adds full-stack observability, logs, metrics, traces, synthetics analysis, service maps, and machine learning. The published starting amount is $0.07 per GB ingested monthly, while serverless pricing is usage-based. A 14-day free trial is also available. Teams should consider ingestion volume when evaluating ongoing cost rather than treating the starting amount as a fixed subscription.
Elastic APM fits environments already using Elasticsearch, Kibana, Logstash, Beats, Elastic Agent, or APM Server, while OpenTelemetry support helps connect applications using broader instrumentation standards. Managed Elastic Cloud options sit alongside self-managed deployment, giving teams a choice of operating model. The main trade-off is scope: this is an observability platform spanning APM, logs, metrics, traces, synthetics, and RUM rather than a narrowly focused APM service. Choose it when hybrid deployment, open-source access, and cross-signal analysis matter; consider a simpler alternative if a fixed monthly price or a narrowly focused monitoring workflow is the priority.
Your product? Our editors can test Elastic APM in depth and publish a review, labelled as paid · from $149/mo →
Elastic APM pricing
All 4 Elastic APM plans and prices →
Elastic APM fact sheet
| Free plan | Yes |
|---|---|
| Paid from | $99/mo |
| Distributed tracing | Yes |
| Transaction tracing | Yes |
| Dependency mapping | Yes |
| Real user monitoring | Yes |
| Log correlation | Yes |
| Deployment model | Hybrid |
| Free trial | 14 days |
| Deployment | Cloud, Self-hosted |
| Platforms | Web, Linux, Windows, macOS |
| Support | Phone, Docs · 24/7 |
| Built for | Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise (editorial estimate) |
| Integrations | 4 integrations: OpenTelemetry, Elastic Agent, Elasticsearch, Kibana |
| Pricing | Free plan · 14-day trial (source) |
| Website | elastic.co |
| Facts checked | 23 Sep 2026 |
Elastic APM integrations
Elastic APM lists 4 integrations on its own site.
- OpenTelemetry
- Elastic Agent
- Elasticsearch
- Kibana
Alternatives to Elastic APM
- MiddlewareFlexible hybrid APM with broad telemetry coverage and usage-based paid pricing.9.3
- Dynatrace Application MonitoringA broad hybrid APM platform for enterprise teams that need end-to-end visibility.9.2
- Splunk AppDynamicsEnterprise transaction monitoring with tracing, analytics, and hybrid deployment.9.1
See all Elastic APM alternatives →
Elastic APM vs the competition
- Elastic APM vs Middleware
- Elastic APM vs Dynatrace Application Monitoring
- Elastic APM vs Splunk AppDynamics
- Elastic APM vs Datadog APM
- Elastic APM vs IBM Instana Observability
- Elastic APM vs New Relic APM
Compare Elastic APM with any tool side by side →
Also Ranked In
Elastic APM is ranked in 5 of our directories.
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Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026
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