10 Best Datadog Alternatives to Consider in 2026

Datadog is a monitoring and analytics tool capable of gathering key performance metrics from servers, databases, applications, and other IT infrastructures. The raw data can be processed and filtered create charts, graphs, and report that are easier to read and analyze. Datadog also offers customizable dashboards that gives you an overview of your entire infrastructure.

Besides data visualization, It can also process logs produced by your applications. The log records are collected in real-time without having to be indexed first. You can then explore, search, archive, and monitor all of your logs seamlessly without limitations.

Datadog also enables you to set up alerts based on metrics threshold, log level, and other criteria. If an incident happens, it will push the alerts over Slack, emails, and other channels through webhooks.

Overall, Datadog is a robust platform for infrastructure monitoring. However, it is not without its flaws. For example, the setup process is rather complex, and its pricing can get out of hand quickly especially for small and medium-sized companies.

The monitoring and observability space is quite competitive, so we will discuss 10 of the best Datadog alternatives and compare their pros and cons to determine which is better suited for your needs.

1. Better Stack

Better Stack is the most complete alternative to Datadog on this list. Where Datadog charges per host, per log GB, per session, and per product module — with costs that compound unpredictably — Better Stack puts log management, distributed tracing, infrastructure monitoring, error tracking, real user monitoring, uptime monitoring, and incident management in one platform at a predictable price.

Log management is built on ClickHouse, delivering sub-second SQL-compatible queries across billions of records. The Better Stack Collector instruments services with zero code changes using eBPF-based auto-instrumentation — no agents to configure, no manual setup for Kubernetes or Docker. For teams already using OpenTelemetry, Better Stack accepts data natively. See how the Collector instruments your stack:

Error tracking is Sentry-SDK compatible at one-sixth the cost, with 1-click AI fix prompts for Claude Code, Cursor, and Codex. Real user monitoring connects session replays directly to the errors and traces they triggered, with Core Web Vitals tracked per URL. See how metrics dashboards come together:

The AI SRE performs automated root cause analysis across your service graph, logs, and traces when incidents escalate. On-call scheduling, status pages, and alert routing are included — no add-on modules. See how the AI SRE investigates incidents:

Better Stack's free plan includes 3 GB of logs, 100,000 exceptions/month, 5,000 session replays/month, 10 monitors, and incident management at no cost. Telemetry bundles start at $25/month for 40 GB each of logs, traces, and metrics. Paid plans start at $29/month with unlimited team members and a 60-day money-back guarantee. Datadog's equivalent coverage across APM, log management, RUM, and infrastructure monitoring runs to hundreds of dollars per month for even modest teams.

Pros:

Datadog bills per host, per log GB, per session, and per module — Better Stack replaces all of it with one predictable subscription
Zero-code eBPF instrumentation means no Datadog agent deployment, no manual configuration, no YAML to maintain
Error tracking at one-sixth Sentry's cost with AI fix prompts that resolve bugs directly in Claude Code or Cursor
Session replay linked to backend traces and logs — the investigation Datadog requires multiple products for happens in one click
AI SRE does the root cause work automatically rather than leaving engineers to correlate dashboards manually
Incident management, on-call scheduling, and status pages are built in — no PagerDuty or StatusPage subscription needed
Free plan with no credit card required; 60-day money-back guarantee on paid plans

Cons:

Fewer security monitoring features than Datadog's Cloud SIEM and compliance tools

2. New Relic

New Relic is another observability platform, and it is Datadog's closest full replacement. It has almost the same functionalities, such as application monitoring, infrastructure monitoring, charting and dashboarding, alerting, and log management. It is also well integrated with hundreds of different technologies, which means you can transfer data from almost any source you want.

The key features of New Relic include:

Full-stack monitoring: New Relic allows you to pull data from various sources and access them from one user interface.
Data security: New Relic will use TLS protocol to encrypt your data to be safe and secure.
Applied intelligence: New Relic uses a machine learning engine to detect errors and anomalies so that you may respond to incidents faster.

The standard plan of New Relic starts at $0/month with 100GB/month of data included. Additional data will be charged at $0.40/GB if you go over the limit. Adding multiple users to your team will also cost you: each full platform user starts at $99/month (with the first user at $10/month in Standard edition), and each core user would be $49/month.

Pros:

Better user interface.
A full replacement of Datadog in terms of functionality.
Better documentation and support.

Cons:

More expensive than Datadog.

3. Dynatrace

Dynatrace is a popular software monitoring solution. Unlike other monitoring platforms, it keeps track of your application performance metrics and monitors your entire ecosystems, including infrastructure, application security, real-time user behavior, and even business metrics.

Dynatrace is also designed with automation at the core. Automation is achieved with its OneAgent technology. Once OneAgent is installed, Dynatrace can discover and collect data from any sources in your IT environment. After collecting the data, an interactive topology map, Smartscape, will be generated. The map visualizes the relationship among all components of your stack.

Lastly, Dynatrace uses AI technology (Davis AI engine) to process and analyze data. The AI engine can tell if there is a problem with your stack, predict the impact of the problem, and suggest possible solutions for you.

Pros:

Dynatrace has more features when it comes to monitoring.
Easier setup and configuration.
Uses AI engine to identify problems and provide solutions.

Cons:

Documentation is not very well structured.
More expensive than Datadog.

4. Splunk

Splunk is a data management platform that can search, monitor, and analyze machine-generated data. You can then visualize the gathered data by creating graphs, reports, maps, and dashboards.

Splunk is very similar to Datadog in many ways. They offer services such as infrastructure monitoring, application performance monitoring, alerting, etc. However, they differ in terms of scope. Splunk presents itself as a complete solution for SIEM (Security Information & Event Management) and ITOM (IT operations management).

Datadog focuses on monitoring cloud services, which is better for people who need to monitor infrastructures provided by multiple cloud providers. On the other hand, Splunk is best for monitoring enterprise systems, which usually generate tons of data and log files.

Pros:

More enterprise-level features compared to Datadog.
Designed as an all-in-one security and monitoring solution for enterprises.

Cons:

Not a low-cost option.
Not easy to set up.

5. AppDynamics (now part of Splunk)

AppDynamics is a cloud-based monitoring and analytics platform that is now part of the Splunk Observability portfolio following Cisco's acquisition of Splunk. It offers real-time data collection and analytics across your entire stack.

With its full-stack observability offerings, AppDynamics allows you to correlate data across different sources, and identify issues that could potentially impact your business. AppDynamics also enables you and your team to prioritize your work based on the business impact.

As part of Splunk, AppDynamics continues to focus on hybrid and on-premises application performance monitoring, particularly for three-tier applications and SAP environments. The pricing starts at $6/month per CPU core, billed annually.

Pros:

Full-stack observability.
Real-time data collection.
Estimate business impact of incidents.
Now integrated with Splunk's broader observability portfolio.

Cons:

Still more expensive than some alternatives.
Integration with Splunk ecosystem may require additional learning curve.

6. Zabbix

Zabbix is an open-source IT infrastructure monitoring tool. It has a distributed host/agent architecture with excellent scalability. The host can only be installed on UNIX-like operating systems, but the agent can collect data from Linux, macOS, and Windows.

Even though Zabbix is an open-source product that you can use for free, it does not lack features. On the contrary, it comes with enterprise-ready functionalities such as full-stack monitoring, data visualization (charts, graphs, maps, etc.), dashboard customization, alerting, and team management.

This product is free to install and use. However, if you wish to receive technical support from the Zabbix team, you'll need to purchase a plan.

Pros:

Zabbix is an open-source project.
Free to use.
Detailed and well-structured doc.

Cons:

Difficult to install and set up.
You need to pay for technical support

7. Sentry

Sentry is an open-source error tracking and application performance monitoring platform. Compared to Datadog, it is easier to install and set up. And it can detect code-level errors in real-time so that the engineers can fix them before the user encounters them.

The main features of Sentry include performance monitoring, alerting, event tracing, dashboard customization, and so on. Sentry offers a free plan for developers with limited error and performance monitoring capabilities. Unfortunately, the paid plans are a bit more expensive than Datadog, starting at $26/month.

Pros:

Sentry is an open-source project.
Detailed documentation and big community.

Cons:

Slightly more expensive than Datadog.
Less supported platforms.

8. SolarWinds

SolarWinds is another Datadog alternative with similar functionalities. It is quick and easy to set up. You can usually get it up and running in minutes once installed.

SolarWinds offers many different APIs allowing you to gather data from various destinations. You can create charts, graphs, and dashboards with the collected data.

In terms of payment, SolarWinds has a rather complex plan. Different functionalities come at different prices, but they all have a free trial option, allowing you to test the product before paying.

Pros:

Easy install and set up.

Cons:

Complex payment plan.
Outdated user interface.

9. Instana

Instana is an observability and monitoring software tool that IBM has recently acquired. It is an enterprise-ready platform that is relatively easy to set up. You can usually get it up and running in less than 20 minutes.

Instana is also a full-stack monitoring platform. It collects data from multiple sources across the stack and analyzes them to give you an overview of your entire infrastructure. Instana also comes with automatic monitoring, which will automatically discover your applications and services without human configuration.

In terms of pricing, Instana provides multiple pricing options. The Standard tier for full-stack observability is $75 per host per month, while the Essentials tier for infrastructure monitoring starts at $20 per host per month. For more flexible usage, Instana also offers a PayPerUse option starting at $0.03 per host hour per month.

Pros:

Automatic discovery.
Full-stack monitoring.

Cons:

More expensive than Datadog.

10. ManageEngine

Lastly, the ManageEngine platform is a 20-year-old IT operations and management tool. It is said to be a complete suit for IT operations, and not just a monitoring tool. Its core features include user management, monitoring, log management, security, AI-powered analytics, and so on.

ManageEngine offers different payment plans for teams of various sizes. One benefit of ManageEngine is that it provides a perpetual plan starting at $1,987, which will be much more cost-effective in the long term.

Pros:

An all-in-one ITOM solution.
Lifetime payment plan.

Cons:

Not easy to set up.

Conclusion

In this article, we've covered the best Datadog alternatives, the features they offer, and how they can help compensate for Datadog's weaknesses. The best solution for you will depend on your requirements and the specific problems you wish to solve. We believe Better Stack ticks most boxes with a user-friendly interface, a powerful range of features, and flexible pricing plans. You can try Better Stack with its generous free tier and 60-day money-back guarantee.

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