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Compare Datadog and IBM Instana 
At a Glance
Market Segments
Mid-Market (46.7% of reviews)
Mid-Market (42.0% of reviews)
Entry-Level Pricing
$0 Per host, per month
Starting at $18.00
Datadog
Star Rating
(630)4.4 out of 5
Market Segments
Mid-Market (46.7% of reviews)
Entry-Level Pricing
$0 Per host, per month
Free Trial is available
Browse all 3 pricing plansIBM Instana
Star Rating
(393)4.4 out of 5
Market Segments
Mid-Market (42.0% of reviews)
Entry-Level Pricing
Starting at $18.00
Free Trial is available
Browse all 2 pricing plansSummary
AI Generated Summary
AI-generated. Powered by real user reviews.
- Users report that Datadog excels in its multi-cloud management capabilities, scoring 6.7, while IBM Instana shines in ease of setup with a score of 8.8, making it easier for teams to get started quickly.
- Reviewers mention that Datadog's alerting functionality is robust, with a score of 9.2, providing users with timely notifications, whereas IBM Instana also scores 9.2 but users note that its multi-channel alerting feature is particularly effective in reaching teams through various platforms.
- G2 users highlight Datadog's superior logging capabilities with a score of 9.3, which allows for detailed tracking and analysis, while IBM Instana's logging functionality scores lower at 8.6, indicating a potential area for improvement.
- Users on G2 report that Datadog's data visualization tools are highly rated at 8.9, making it easier to interpret complex data, while IBM Instana's visualization features score slightly lower at 8.3, suggesting that users may find Datadog's offerings more intuitive.
- Reviewers mention that Datadog's real-time monitoring capabilities are a standout feature, scoring 9.2, which is crucial for immediate insights, while IBM Instana matches this score but users report that its incident management features are more comprehensive, scoring 9.0.
- Users say that Datadog's AI/ML integration is impressive, scoring 9.2, which enhances predictive analytics, while IBM Instana's AI features score lower at 8.7, indicating that Datadog may provide more advanced machine learning capabilities.
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Pricing
Entry-Level Pricing
Datadog
Free
$0
Per host, per month
Core collection and visualization features
- Discussion Group Supported
- 1-Day Metric Retention
- Up to 5 Hosts
IBM Instana
Essentials
Starting at $18.00
Automatic discovery, mapping and monitoring of Infrastructure
- Includes All Infrastructure Monitoring Features
- Includes End User Monitoring
- Includes Unbounded Analytics
Free Trial
Datadog
Free Trial is available
IBM Instana
Free Trial is available
Ratings
Meets Requirements
8.7
478
8.6
325
Ease of Use
8.2
558
8.6
326
Ease of Setup
8.3
328
8.9
163
Ease of Admin
8.3
214
8.4
123
Quality of Support
8.3
425
8.6
291
Has the product been a good partner in doing business?
8.5
201
8.5
123
Product Direction (% positive)
8.9
463
8.5
310
Features by Category
Operations
7.3
5
Not enough data
8.0
5
Not enough data
6.7
7
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Cost Optimization
7.6
7
Not enough data
7.3
5
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Administration
8.0
5
Not enough data
7.8
6
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Agentic AI - Cloud Cost Management
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Functionality
8.7
48
9.0
15
9.3
62
9.2
15
9.0
56
9.2
15
8.8
49
8.9
14
8.9
51
9.2
14
8.9
44
8.7
14
Agentic AI - Website Monitoring
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Experience
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Agentic AI - Digital Experience Monitoring (DEM)
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Management
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Performance
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Functionality
9.2
99
9.3
12
9.0
100
8.8
12
9.3
85
8.6
12
8.9
100
8.5
12
8.8
84
8.6
11
8.9
89
8.3
12
Agentic AI - Database Monitoring
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Functionality
9.2
48
Not enough data
9.2
53
Not enough data
8.1
39
Not enough data
8.5
41
Not enough data
Monitoring - Network Monitoring
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Management
8.6
45
Not enough data
9.0
46
Not enough data
8.8
43
Not enough data
Analytics - Network Monitoring
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Security - Network Monitoring
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Network Performance - Network Monitoring
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
AI Automation - Network Monitoring
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Agentic AI - Network Monitoring
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Monitoring
8.9
114
8.8
126
8.6
110
8.3
116
8.8
105
8.9
124
8.7
124
8.7
128
Not enough data
Not enough data
Administration
8.5
109
8.5
121
8.5
89
8.7
99
8.3
88
8.4
95
Not enough data
Not enough data
Analysis
8.5
107
8.4
108
8.8
112
8.4
126
Feature Not Available
8.2
95
Agentic AI - Cloud Infrastructure Monitoring
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
AI Automation - Cloud Infrastructure Monitoring
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Automation
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
8.1
6
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
8.5
8
Not enough data
Functionality
8.7
9
Not enough data
7.8
9
Not enough data
7.7
8
Not enough data
9.1
9
Not enough data
Incident Management
8.5
11
Not enough data
9.1
11
Not enough data
8.9
11
Not enough data
Functionality
9.0
15
8.7
26
8.4
16
8.3
24
9.3
20
9.0
32
Issue Resolution
9.0
18
9.1
32
9.0
15
8.8
31
Feature Not Available
8.7
31
Management
8.6
18
9.0
32
9.5
18
8.9
31
8.9
18
8.6
29
Generative AI
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Agentic AI - AIOps Platforms
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Visibility
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Monitoring and Management
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Agentic AI - Hardware Monitoring
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Visibility
8.8
80
Not enough data
9.0
79
Not enough data
8.8
73
Not enough data
Monitoring and Management
8.3
75
Not enough data
8.7
77
Not enough data
9.0
81
Not enough data
Agentic AI - Log Monitoring
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Visibility
8.8
71
Not enough data
8.6
65
Not enough data
8.2
63
Not enough data
Monitoring and Management
8.4
64
Not enough data
7.6
59
Not enough data
8.3
61
Not enough data
9.0
64
Not enough data
8.7
60
Not enough data
8.3
65
Not enough data
Cloud environment support
8.1
57
Not enough data
7.9
54
Not enough data
Agentic AI - Server Monitoring
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Functionality
8.4
36
Not enough data
8.6
36
Not enough data
8.8
38
Not enough data
7.8
32
Not enough data
Management
8.4
35
Not enough data
8.6
38
Not enough data
8.1
35
Not enough data
9.0
40
Not enough data
Agentic AI - Enterprise Monitoring
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Data Sources
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Analytics
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Metrics
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Device Recognition
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Monitoring
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Provisioning
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Data Preparation
8.5
58
|
Verified
Not enough data
8.5
57
|
Verified
Not enough data
7.8
55
|
Verified
Not enough data
7.8
55
|
Verified
Not enough data
Analysis
8.6
53
|
Verified
Not enough data
8.4
60
|
Verified
Not enough data
8.7
61
|
Verified
Not enough data
8.5
64
|
Verified
Not enough data
8.6
54
|
Verified
Not enough data
8.7
52
|
Verified
Not enough data
Visualization
8.9
66
|
Verified
Not enough data
8.7
56
|
Verified
Not enough data
Agentic AI - Log Analysis
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Monitoring
8.6
102
8.6
153
8.9
94
8.7
164
8.9
104
8.9
163
7.3
89
7.6
112
8.5
95
8.5
146
Response
8.8
112
8.5
158
8.8
99
8.4
154
8.0
92
8.1
143
Agentic AI - Application Performance Monitoring (APM)
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Performance
8.5
106
8.3
128
8.2
92
8.4
143
Functionality
8.5
94
8.1
122
8.0
86
8.4
118
Feature Not Available
8.3
120
8.5
101
8.5
138
Alerts management
8.7
39
8.1
36
8.0
41
8.2
40
8.6
43
8.4
52
Monitoring
8.6
34
8.3
52
9.1
37
8.8
57
8.7
39
8.1
52
9.1
34
8.8
51
Automation
8.4
34
8.0
31
8.6
32
8.0
33
Analysis
8.2
37
8.2
50
8.4
40
8.1
41
9.2
39
8.6
56
8.5
38
8.5
37
Issue Resolution
8.3
33
8.5
48
7.6
36
7.6
40
8.5
31
8.1
42
Generative AI
7.3
11
9.0
5
Agentic AI - IT Alerting
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Data Management - Observability Pipeline
Not enough data
Not enough data
7.4
7
Not enough data
6.7
5
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
6.4
7
Not enough data
Performance - Observability Pipeline
5.8
6
Not enough data
8.1
7
Not enough data
6.9
7
Not enough data
AI - Observability Pipeline
6.0
5
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Compliance - Observability Pipeline
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Agentic AI - Observability Pipeline
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Telemetry Collection & Ingestion - Observability
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Visualization & Dashboards - Observability
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Correlation & Root Cause Analysis - Observability
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Scalability & Ecosystem Integration - Observability
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
AI Features - Observability
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Response
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
7.9
42
Not enough data
Records
9.2
49
Not enough data
8.9
47
Not enough data
8.5
54
Not enough data
Management
9.2
50
Not enough data
8.4
46
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Generative AI
7.2
9
Not enough data
7.8
9
Not enough data
Security Information and Event Management (SIEM)Hide 14 FeaturesShow 14 Features
8.9
13
Not enough data
Network Management
9.2
10
Not enough data
8.7
10
Not enough data
9.4
11
Not enough data
Incident Management
9.2
11
Not enough data
9.2
10
Not enough data
9.1
11
Not enough data
Security Intelligence
8.2
11
Not enough data
8.3
9
Not enough data
9.2
10
Not enough data
8.8
12
Not enough data
Agentic AI - Security Information and Event Management (SIEM)
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Categories
Categories
Shared Categories
Datadog and IBM Instana are categorized as Observability Software, Enterprise Monitoring, Server Monitoring, Log Monitoring, AIOps Platforms, Database Monitoring, Website Monitoring, Cloud Infrastructure Monitoring, IT Alerting, Container Monitoring, Incident Response, and Application Performance Monitoring (APM)
Unique Categories
IBM Instana is categorized as Hardware Monitoring and Digital Experience Monitoring (DEM)
Reviews
Reviewers' Company Size
Datadog
Small-Business(50 or fewer emp.)
Mid-Market(51-1000 emp.)
Enterprise(> 1000 emp.)
IBM Instana
Small-Business(50 or fewer emp.)
Mid-Market(51-1000 emp.)
Enterprise(> 1000 emp.)
Small-Business
(50 or fewer emp.)
Mid-Market
(51-1000 emp.)
Enterprise
(> 1000 emp.)
Reviewers' Industry
Information Technology and Services
19.1%
Computer Software
16.8%
Financial Services
8.9%
Internet
4.5%
Retail
3.1%
Other
47.7%
Information Technology and Services
20.1%
Computer Software
10.4%
Telecommunications
6.5%
Retail
5.7%
Financial Services
5.5%
Other
51.7%
Most Helpful Reviews
Datadog
Most Helpful Favorable Review
Debabrata P.
Verified User in Information Technology and Services
With datadog you can quickly get up and running. May be the easiest among all out there. Since it enables you to put everything into one dashboard irrespective of their zone,VPC or environment type we can have one bookmarked place to look at for the first...
Most Helpful Critical Review
Verified User in Computer Software
As described in the previous section, the lack of support resulting in us not being able to resolve a deployment mistake and resulting billing issue.
IBM Instana
Most Helpful Favorable Review
Guru P.
Verified User in Information Technology and Services
Instana brings us the status of the entire architecture on one screen. Gone are the days we had to log into the server box and check the java process, heap space, garbage collection stats, or whatever. We got to remember that all these require some...
Most Helpful Critical Review
Marichandran C.
Verified User in Information Technology and Services
I didn't felt like that for anything while using instana
Debabrata P.
Verified User in Information Technology and Services
With datadog you can quickly get up and running. May be the easiest among all out there. Since it enables you to put everything into one dashboard irrespective of their zone,VPC or environment type we can have one bookmarked place to look at for the first...
Guru P.
Verified User in Information Technology and Services
Instana brings us the status of the entire architecture on one screen. Gone are the days we had to log into the server box and check the java process, heap space, garbage collection stats, or whatever. We got to remember that all these require some...
Verified User in Computer Software
As described in the previous section, the lack of support resulting in us not being able to resolve a deployment mistake and resulting billing issue.
Marichandran C.
Verified User in Information Technology and Services
I didn't felt like that for anything while using instana
Discussions
Does Datadog use AWS?
2 comments
IG
Yes, the backbone of Datadog infrastructure is sitting within AWS.Read more
What is the use of Datadog?
2 comments
CJ
Datadog is a software platform that facilitates data sharing across various teams within an organization, thereby breaking down silos between development,...Read more
Does it preserves history of logs?
1 comment
AN
Depends on your plan, log retention can be 7,15, 30 days etc, for long term you need to setup s3 archivingRead more
why use instana over another platform?
2 comments
OG
If you compare those 2 only the price matters. Instana does not have the feature set of DataDog in any category.Read more
Is there a chatbot available?
2 comments
OG
Best join a webinar or customer demo to learn more about it. It took me also a while to understand all the bits and pieces. Since IBM was acquired by IBM,...Read more
What is Instana?
1 comment
SB
Hi,
Instana is a leading Enterprise Observability Platform, powered by automated Application Performance Monitoring. It discovers and maps all services,...Read more
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