Datadog vs Elastic APM: Pricing and Ratings Compared (2026)
Entry prices and free plans as read on each vendor's pricing page, and user ratings as published on review sites, for Datadog and Elastic APM side by side. This page compares data; it is not a hands-on review.
On the data: On the data below the two are close or not directly comparable, so we do not name a winner for this pair.
Short on time? Here's the quick answer
Based on published vendor pricing and features and on public review data, here's who should pick what:
Datadog
Cloud monitoring, security, and AI investigations for DevOps
Best for you if:
- • You want comprehensive platform
Elastic APM
Application performance monitoring for Elastic Stack
Best for you if:
- • You want part of Elastic Stack
| At a Glance | Datadog | Elastic APM |
|---|---|---|
Starts at | Free plan, paid from $18/host/mo, billed yearly Infrastructure Pro plan | Free plan, paid from $95/mo, billed monthly Cloud Standard plan |
Category | Monitoring Log Management | Monitoring DevOps |
Rating | 4.4/5 G2 4.4 726 reviews | 4.0/5 G2 4.0 14 reviews |
Free plan | Yes | Yes |
Watch out for | APM requires Infrastructure Monitoring on the SAME hosts: you cannot buy APM alone. | Cloud pricing scales with data ingestion/storage |
Choose Datadog or Elastic APM?
Choose Datadog if
- You want comprehensive platform
- You want great visualizations
Choose Elastic APM if
- You want part of Elastic Stack
- You want good tracing
In-Depth Analysis
Datadog
Cloud monitoring, security, and AI investigations for DevOps
Datadog is the most comprehensive observability platform, infrastructure monitoring, APM, logs, RUM, security, and 750+ integrations in one place.
Watch out
APM requires Infrastructure Monitoring on the SAME hosts: you cannot buy APM alone.
Strengths
- Pro: Comprehensive platform
- Pro: Great visualizations
- Pro: 700+ integrations
Weaknesses
- Con: Complex pricing
- Con: Can be expensive
Key features
Elastic APM
Application performance monitoring for Elastic Stack
Elastic APM's self-managed Free tier is incredibly generous, offering all features at no cost, making it exceptionally fair.
Watch out
Cloud pricing scales with data ingestion/storage
Strengths
- Pro: Part of Elastic Stack
- Pro: Good tracing
- Pro: Many agents
- Pro: Correlate with logs
- Pro: Self-hostable
Weaknesses
- Con: Resource intensive
- Con: License concerns (SSPL)
- Con: Complex setup
- Con: Learning curve
- Con: Can be expensive
Key features
Plans and prices: Datadog vs Elastic APM
| Tool | Plans and prices | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Datadog |
| datadoghq.com/pricing read Oct 26, 2026 |
| Elastic APM |
| elastic.co/apm read Oct 3, 2026 |
Prices as read on each vendor's own pricing page on the date shown. Plans are listed per tool and are not matched against the other tool's plans: a plan name or price in one column says nothing about the same row in the other. Details on Datadog pricing and Elastic APM pricing.
Key Takeaways
Datadog
- Choose if you want cloud monitoring, security, and AI investigations for DevOps
Elastic APM
- Choose if you want application performance monitoring for Elastic Stack
What the data shows
On the data below the two are close or not directly comparable, so we do not name a winner for this pair.
- User ratings rest on too few reviews to rank (4.4/5 from 726 reviews for Datadog, 4.0/5 from 14 reviews for Elastic APM; we compare ratings only above 20 reviews on both sides).
- Entry prices are not ranked, they are charged on different bases: Datadog $18/host/mo, billed yearly; Elastic APM $95/mo, billed monthly.
- Both have a free plan.
Criteria: user rating (only above 20 reviews on both sides, gap of 0.2 or more), entry price (only on the same billing basis), free plan. How we rate
Frequently Asked Questions
How do Datadog and Elastic APM compare in 2026?
On the data below the two are close or not directly comparable, so we do not name a winner for this pair. User ratings rest on too few reviews to rank (4.4/5 from 726 reviews for Datadog, 4.0/5 from 14 reviews for Elastic APM; we compare ratings only above 20 reviews on both sides). Entry prices are not ranked, they are charged on different bases: Datadog $18/host/mo, billed yearly; Elastic APM $95/mo, billed monthly. Both have a free plan.
What are Datadog and Elastic APM used for?
Datadog: Cloud monitoring, security, and AI investigations for DevOps. Elastic APM: Application performance monitoring for Elastic Stack.
What does Datadog cost vs Elastic APM?
Datadog's cheapest paid plan is Infrastructure Pro at $18/host/mo, billed yearly; it also has a free plan. Elastic APM's cheapest paid plan is Cloud Standard at $95/mo, billed monthly; it also has a free plan. Prices read on the vendors' pricing pages, latest check Oct 26, 2026.
What's the main difference between Datadog and Elastic APM?
Datadog's main strength: comprehensive platform. Elastic APM's main strength: part of Elastic Stack.