Dynatrace vs Datadog
Both are large platforms built around their own agent, and both bill on several usage meters. Dynatrace maps applications and infrastructure automatically from one OneAgent per host and lists its rates per hour. Datadog sells infrastructure, APM, logs, user monitoring and security as separately priced products with over 1,000 integrations. Sprawling undocumented estates suit Dynatrace; modular, product-by-product buying suits Datadog.
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Choose Dynatrace ifyour estate is too large or too old for anyone to map by hand, you want dependencies and root-cause suggestions produced automatically, and you buy through a procurement process.
Choose Datadog ifyou want to start with one product, such as infrastructure monitoring at a listed per-host price, and add APM, logs, user monitoring and security in the same console as needs grow, and you can police usage.
Dynatrace and Datadog side by side
| Dynatrace | Datadog | |
|---|---|---|
| Our application performance monitoring rank | #10 of 15 | #13 of 15 |
| Established in | Austria | United States |
| Pricing | Consumption-based per host hour or memory-GiB hour and per GiB ingested, published rates | Free tier to 5 hosts; per host per month plus per GB of logs and per custom metric, published |
| List price, 30 September 2026 | Full-Stack Monitoring $0.01 per memory-GiB-hour, shown as $58 per month for an 8 GiB host; Infrastructure Monitoring $0.04 per host-hour | Infrastructure Pro from $15 per host per month billed annually; APM from $31 per host per month billed annually alongside Infrastructure |
| Free tier | — | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Self-hostable | — | — |
| Built for | Large estates nobody fully documented, where auto-discovery pays | Organisations that want every observability product from one vendor |
| Not for | Small teams that want a fixed monthly price they can forecast | Teams that need the bill to be predictable month to month |
Both are reviewed in full in our application performance monitoring ranking: Dynatrace and Datadog.
Where they differ
Dynatrace 1 · Datadog 1 · open 3- 01
Mapping an estate nobody documented
Dynatrace installs one OneAgent per host and its Smartscape view maps the relationships between applications and the underlying infrastructure without manual work, including services people had forgotten. Datadog's Service Map is also drawn automatically with no setup, but from APM and RUM data, so it shows the services you have already instrumented. For an unknown estate Dynatrace starts further ahead.
Edge: Dynatrace
- 02
How many products sit in one console
Both cover a lot. Datadog groups its catalogue into observability, security, digital experience, software delivery and service management, and cites more than 1,000 integrations. Dynatrace lists nine areas of its own, among them infrastructure, application and AI observability, log analytics, digital experience and application security. A buyer consolidating tools should compare the specific modules needed, because neither is narrow.
Depends on the buyer
- 03
Forecasting the invoice
Dynatrace publishes hourly rates: Full-Stack Monitoring at $0.01 per memory-GiB-hour, Infrastructure Monitoring at $0.04 per host-hour, and logs at $0.20 per GiB ingested plus retention and query charges. Datadog lists Infrastructure Pro at $15 and APM at $31 per host per month on annual billing, with logs charged per GB ingested and again per million events indexed. Both need real volumes to forecast.
Depends on the buyer
- 04
OpenTelemetry and the way out
Both accept OTLP for traces, metrics and logs, directly or through a collector. Datadog's compatibility table shows that an OpenTelemetry SDK with the upstream Collector goes without Continuous Profiler, Database Monitoring, Universal Service Monitoring and live container views. Dynatrace says an OpenTelemetry-only frontend loses user sessions, session replay and Core Web Vitals. Each keeps some features for its own agent.
Depends on the buyer
- 05
Seats and entry cost
Dynatrace states that seats are unlimited with no per-seat fee, and offers a 15-day free trial. Datadog has a free infrastructure tier for up to five hosts with one day of metric retention, and on-demand monthly rates above the annual ones, for example $18 against $15 per host for Infrastructure Pro. Datadog is easier to try at small scale.
Edge: Datadog
When neither fits
Neither suits a team that instruments with OpenTelemetry and wants a legible, published meter without an agent-centred platform. SigNoz is OpenTelemetry-first and can be self-hosted or bought per GB ingested, and Dash0 is OpenTelemetry-only with pricing shown per span.
Dynatrace or Datadog: questions
4 answersIs Dynatrace or Datadog easier to budget for?
Neither is simple. Dynatrace lists hourly rates per host, per memory-GiB and per pod, plus log ingest, retention and query charges.
Datadog lists per-host monthly prices per product, then logs per GB ingested and per million events indexed, and custom metrics beyond the allotment included with each host.
Do Dynatrace and Datadog support OpenTelemetry?
Both ingest OTLP traces, metrics and logs. Datadog documents that a pure OpenTelemetry SDK and upstream Collector setup does not support Continuous Profiler, Database Monitoring or Universal Service Monitoring.
Dynatrace recommends its own RUM JavaScript for web frontends, since OpenTelemetry alone gives no sessions, replay or Core Web Vitals.
Which is better for a small team, Dynatrace or Datadog?
Datadog has the lower entry point: a free tier for up to five hosts, then Infrastructure Pro at $15 per host per month on annual billing.
Dynatrace offers a 15-day trial and is aimed at larger estates, with a learning curve. Datadog's many meters still need watching.
Does Dynatrace or Datadog charge per user?
Dynatrace states on its pricing page that seats are unlimited and carry no per-seat fee. Datadog's pricing page lists its products per host, per GB, per million events and similar usage units, and shows no seat price for infrastructure, APM or log management.
Sources
Checked 30 September 2026- Dynatrace pricing page: hourly rates, log charges, unlimited seats and the 15-day trial.
- Dynatrace platform page: Smartscape automatic mapping and the nine platform areas.
- Dynatrace OpenTelemetry documentation: OTLP signals accepted and the frontend RUM limitation.
- Datadog pricing page: per-host prices, log pricing, custom metric allotments and the free tier.
- Datadog Service Map documentation: the map is built automatically from APM and RUM data.
- Datadog OpenTelemetry documentation: OTLP ingestion routes and the 1,000+ integrations figure.
- Datadog OpenTelemetry compatibility table: features unavailable with an OpenTelemetry-only setup.
- Datadog product page: the product areas Datadog groups its catalogue into.