Datadog has become one of the players in the network monitoring tools for years. It comes with a pack of benefits yet some drawbacks are quite concerning. Hence, it might be time for you to consider using Datadog alternatives. The good news is that there are tons of similar tools like Datadog. Just like any other tool, it comes with lots of pros and several cons to consider.
About Datadog
What is Datadog? Datadog is a tool for monitoring the cloud applications you are working on. It will gather all information and sources to make a detailed and reliable insight. You can say that Datadog is one of the best network monitoring tools for Windows and other operating systems since this one is a web-based tool. Other than that, this tool comes with pre-integrated third-party apps for a seamless workflow. According to Datadog review, this tool comes with several useful features, which some of them are:
Ability to integrate events and metrics by using the full DevOps stack. Serving various purposes and functions, such as monitoring, troubleshooting, and optimizing performances of various applications. Analyzing your logs with lots of useful filters and search machines. Helps in building interactive dashboards in real-time while being fully customized. Comes with better communication and collaboration features. Alerts for critical issues.
Despite those excellent things above that will help with your work, some shortcoming also appears, which are such as:
Not ideal for beginner users. Will be a bit painful to learn from scratch. Some of its pricing plans are pricey
While some people don’t mind the drawbacks, several users opt for using other open-source monitoring tools.
Best Datadog Alternatives
As mentioned earlier, some users are not experts already. They need time to learn and get support from reliable sources. If you also need a tool that allows you to learn in the first place and comes with a network monitoring tools free plan, the options are stated below.
1. PowerShell
PowerShell is one of the oldest monitoring tools and is only available for Windows, Bash, and Linux. Even though this app has nothing new to introduce, some people are still relying on this tool to do the job. Of course, it comes with a pack of good things, considering it has been standing in the game for quite a long time. Besides its effortless language to learn, PowerShell is native to Windows sysadmins. Other good things include:
Available everywhere. Effortless to use for those who work a lot with Windows systems. PowerShell can be used for an RPA solution
However, some users from big companies consider this option as an impractical tool. Other than that, not everyone nowadays knows how to use PowerShell even though this tool is easy to learn.
2. Scout APM
Scout APM has become one of Datadog top competitors for a while now. This tool comes up with the philosophy of the developer’s best friend. The focus of this tool is to make every process as effortless as possible for developers without dealing with unnecessary bugs. You would love this tool for various reasons, such as:
It comes with intuitive dashboards where you can find various points that could be the culprit of why the network is slow. Keeping track of events is effortless with its advanced logs. It also comes with the contact of the developer who’s in charge of the job, to enhance communication. Deep tracing logic to identify the reason why the progress is stuck.
However, according to some users, Scout APM only focuses on APM matters. It does an excellent job on APM but the other aspects are just left out. Other than that, its free tier may limit your duration to access the data.
3. Loggly
Loggly is a cloud-based lot analysis and monitoring tool. It comes with a list of comprehensive features that will give you any necessary information through a single window. This tool also comes with a free version, which would be helpful for beginners who need a basic log search. Its paid plans start at USD 79 per month. Loggly provides lots of features, especially for those who need to analyze multiple servers at once. Other good things about this tool include:
Archive features are built-in, which help convert data to AWS S3. Its troubleshooting options are great and rich. Examining all events around specific issues is effortless with the “view surrounding events” feature. Offers lots of ways to visualize your data.
However, it also has a few shortcomings that are worth your consideration too. If you access the website, the UI takes quite a while to load, especially if the traffic is busy. Saving the search results is possible but limitations may apply. Once you exceed the available data volume, the speed may drop drastically. Thus, be more careful about the limit.
4. Site24x7
The next name on the list of the Datadog competitors is Site24x7. This tool brands itself as an excellent partner for those who cannot afford any downtime. Other than that, the features of this tool help any IT to sleep at night. You would love Site24x7 for lots of things, such as:
Effortless set-up and beginner-friendly UI. This tool is browser-based so that you can access the tool anywhere from all devices you have. Site24x7 is integrate-able with several systems which allow users to have full control over various assets. Customer support takes every call seriously, every day, without an additional charge.
However, this tool can be a bit confusing for first-time users. Of course, this issue is fixable and can be learned along the way. Other than that, some alerts and monitoring may show false positives, which might be a bit annoying if they come at midnight. Even though it comes with several free tools, using the advanced features requires an upgrade, which the price is quite steep compared to other similar services.
5. AppOptics
Have you ever heard of SolarWinds? While being one of the most popular APM names on the market, SolarWinds released another app that takes care of similar things called Appoptics. You can put AppOptics as one of the Datadog similar tools that offer solid features and support. It has metrics that help to trace any issue effortlessly. The tool will also monitor the rate of errors, latency, and other transaction activities. It comes with an upgradeable 14-days free trial while the paid plan starts at USD 9.99 a month if you take the bill annually. Its strong suits are including but are not limited to:
The effortless process to set up alerts even though those come from a complex calculation. Sending alerts if any data is missing. When integrated with third-party services, they may get notified too. Compares various metrics and shows the results in an appealing yet easy-to-understand presentation. Gathers metrics from various sources, such as AWS, Heroku, and many more.
However, some users reported that AppOptics doesn’t support GCP, Oracle, and Service Now, which are majorly used by nowadays’ IT experts. Other than that, its report filtering ability could’ve done better.
6. Dynatrace
If you check out the list of Datadog alternatives, you will see Dynatrace in it. This tool comes with a free version that will help a lot for a small yet immediate deployment infrastructure. Dynatrace comes with a broad spectrum of supervising services. It is no wonder if many large-scale companies prefer this tool over other names on the list. Many business sectors, such as transportation companies, retail businesses, financial services, and other similar things love the work of this tool. It provides solid insights that are relatable and essential for their businesses. Its core features include:
Practical integration that can be automated. It incorporates AI to make causation. Coverage, installation, and security are top-notch.
Despite those great things above, Dynatrace is kind of complicated on setting up the dashboard and operating extra configurations. The pricing is also not the most affordable on the list.
7. New Relic
When it comes to the best network monitoring tools, New Relic should also make it to the list. It is an all-in-one platform that allows users to check out three key areas, such as applied intelligence, full-stack observability, and telemetry data platform. While helping developers create better and more impressive software with observability focus, it optimizes and responds more efficiently. Besides the good performances provided by this tool, it apparently comes with a little tricky UI. Other than that, the web information might not be as detailed as other similar tools. The thresholds are not accurately shown either.
8. Prometheus
For those who look for a better plan than the Datadog pricing options, Prometheus might be something you are looking for. This tool allows you to track metrics only for your apps. This one is also an open-sourced program you can rely on. Some of its best fortes include:
Basic visualization layers are understandable even for beginners. Collected time-series data by using PromQL language. The notifications are customizable and can be silenced if you need to.
However, Prometheus might not be the best bet for big-scaled companies and larger enterprises. Other than that,t= it won’t work if you are looking for a dashboarding solution.
9. Auvik
Auvik is one of the better alternatives to Datadog so far. It is a SaaS platform that comes with a mapping system and network discovery. Those two help in automating enrollment and centralizing multiple sites to monitor. This tool comes with a 14-days free trial plan and the complete pricing plans are available on its official site. You would love Auvik for lots of reasons, including:
Collecting data from various operating systems, such as Ubuntu Linux and Windows Server. Accessible through various web-browsers, considering this one is a cloud-based tool. Users can utilize its specialized tool on network monitoring along with some additional utilities.
However, while integration with a third-party system is possible, the system is only compatible and expendable with Auvik modules.
10. LogicMonitor
LogicMonitor might not be the best free Datadog alternatives. However, it comes with a free trial plan for 14 days. As an automated SaaS tool, it provides tons of interesting features and full visibility to monitor your network. You would love this tool due to:
Customized dashboards. Ability to monitor assets in the cloud yet hybrid environments. Accessibility to the application through the cloud.
Other users hope that the free trial plan can be longer, considering it comes with a pack of interesting features. Its full pricing plans are available on its official website.
11. Nagios XI
If you are looking for Datadog alternatives open-source, Nagios XI is a name you must consider. The developer wants to reach a wider range of audiences, from freelancers to large companies. This thing also makes its pricing plan become one of the most versatile. Other than being an open-sourced tool, Nagios XI also offers subscriptions, one-time licenses, and free versions. While the software is effortless to install, it may take a little bit of time to adjust to your settings. You would love Nagios XI for various reasons, such as:
Robust API backend that makes the tools integrate with lots of customized apps. Various alerting options. Simple UI that provides essential information. Open-source.
While being an open-sourced advanced tool is a pro, this also exposes the support lacks in paid products. You need to be an intermediate user to master the installation quickly.
Bottom Line
Datadog is undeniably one of the best tools for monitoring networks you can find on the market. Its versatile options, rich in features, and other good things that come along are among those things you would love. However, just like any other man-made tool, it comes with several shortcomings. While some users wouldn’t mind spending more money on this tool, beginners or those who just started their journey will find Datadog a bit confusing. Scout APM is a good option for you who wants a more effortless way to track issues and errors. Besides, this tool is beginner-friendly in many ways and a cheaper alternative to Datadog Meanwhile, if you are working with lots of server-side processing, New Relic is a better performer than Datadog. More than anything, make sure what you pick supports your work. And of course, all Datadog alternatives above are among the best on the market.
