Datadog vs Dynatrace — Pricing, Plans, and Verified Costs (2026)
Datadog starts at $18/mo. Dynatrace starts at $7/mo. Dynatrace is $11/mo cheaper on the entry tier than Datadog.
How pricing works
These two tools don't price the same way, so the headline numbers below aren't directly comparable until you plug in your own volume.
- Datadog (Per Usage) — Datadog bills on usage — host on top of a paid plan starting at $18/mo. The plan includes an allowance; anything beyond it is metered.
- Dynatrace (Per Usage) — Dynatrace bills on usage — Annual commit rate-card: $7-$58/host/mo + $0.20/GB logs + $2.25/1K RUM sessions on top of a paid plan starting at $7/mo. The plan includes an allowance; anything beyond it is metered.
Per-minute, per-credit and per-token rates exclude any downstream model, speech or telephony costs unless the vendor states otherwise.
The dominant cloud observability platform (metrics, logs, traces, APM), publicly traded (DDOG), ~$45B market cap. Positioned as the alternative to New Relic + Splunk + PagerDuty stitched together. Distinctive for its notorious usage-based pricing that has surprised engineering teams with 6-figure monthly bills (Coinbase's leaked contract was ~$65M/year in 2022). Priced by seat + host + volume across 20+ meters. Popular with engineering teams; feared by finance teams.
Dynatrace is an enterprise observability + application security platform (Dynatrace Platform Subscription = annual minimum spend commit unlocking all platform capabilities at published rate-card). Foundation & Discovery from $7/host/mo; Infrastructure Monitoring $29/host/mo; Full-Stack Monitoring $58 per 8-GiB host/mo. Log Analytics $0.20/GB ingest + $0.0007/GiB-day retention. RUM $2.25 per 1K sessions. Larger commits unlock discounts. 15-day free trial. AI-powered root cause analysis (Davis AI) is core.
All plans compared
| Tier role | Plan | Datadog monthly | Datadog annual | Dynatrace monthly | Dynatrace annual |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free / starter | Free / — | Free | Free | — | — |
| Entry paid | Infrastructure Pro / Foundation & Discovery | $18 | $15 | $7 | $7 |
| Mid tier | — / Infrastructure Monitoring | — | — | $29 | $29 |
| Pro / power | — / Full-Stack Monitoring | — | — | $58 | $58 |
| Enterprise | Infrastructure Enterprise / Enterprise (DPS commit) | $27 | $23 | Custom | Custom |
Tier names differ across vendors. Rows are aligned by tier role, not name. Full tier structures on each tool's page.
What each is best for
Datadog is worth it if… infrastructure teams (10+ engineers) that need APM + logs + metrics + synthetics + RUM in one platform — the observability default at mid-market and enterprise scale. Infrastructure covers hosts; APM, Logs, RUM, Synthetics, Database Monitoring each priced separately per module.
Dynatrace is worth it if… Dynatrace is ideal for large enterprises that want AI-powered full-stack observability + application security under a single annual commit. Best if you can absorb an annual procurement cycle and value Davis AI root-cause detection out of the box.
Bottom line: Similar positioning, closer to a preference call than a strategic one.
Choose Datadog over Dynatrace if…
Choose Datadog if…
- You want to pay only for actual usage (per usage, from $18/mo).
- You match the profile Datadog is built for: infrastructure teams (10+ engineers) that need APM + logs + metrics + synthetics + RUM in one platform — the observability default at mid-market and enterprise scale.
- You need a general-purpose developer & infrastructure option rather than a vertical-specific one.
Choose Dynatrace if…
- You want to pay only for actual usage (per usage, from $7/mo).
- You match the profile Dynatrace is built for: ideal for large enterprises that want AI-powered full-stack observability + application security under a single annual commit.
- You need a general-purpose developer & infrastructure option rather than a vertical-specific one.
At a glance
| Datadog | Dynatrace | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes | No |
| Entry price | $18/mo | $7/mo |
| Enterprise available | Yes | Yes |
| Pricing model | Per Usage | Per Usage |
| Verification | Pricing under review | Pricing under review |
| Full pricing | View full pricing | View full pricing |
Pricing last verified September 27, 2026. Tracked daily.
Frequently asked questions
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Common questions about Datadog and Dynatrace
- How much does Datadog cost in 2026?
- Does Datadog have a free plan?
- How often does Datadog change prices?
- What are the best Datadog alternatives in 2026?
- How much does Dynatrace cost in 2026?
- Does Dynatrace have a free plan?
- How often does Dynatrace change prices?
- What are the best Dynatrace alternatives in 2026?