Compare Datadog and IBM Instana 
At a Glance
Market Segments
Mid-Market (48.5% of reviews)
Mid-Market (42.1% of reviews)
Entry-Level Pricing
$0 Per host, per month
Starting at $18.00
Datadog
Star Rating
(541)4.3 out of 5
Market Segments
Mid-Market (48.5% of reviews)
Entry-Level Pricing
$0 Per host, per month
Free Trial is available
Browse all 3 pricing plansIBM Instana
Star Rating
(389)4.4 out of 5
Market Segments
Mid-Market (42.1% 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 Alerting functionality, achieving a score of 9.2, which is on par with IBM Instana. However, reviewers mention that Datadog's Multi-Channel Alerting feature is particularly robust, allowing for seamless notifications across various platforms.
- Reviewers mention that IBM Instana shines in Baseline functionality with a score of 9.0, indicating its effectiveness in establishing performance benchmarks. Users on G2 appreciate how this feature helps in maintaining optimal performance levels.
- Users say that Datadog's Logging capabilities are superior, scoring 9.3 compared to IBM Instana's 8.6. Reviewers highlight that Datadog provides comprehensive log management, making it easier to troubleshoot issues quickly.
- G2 users report that IBM Instana's Ease of Setup is rated higher at 8.8, suggesting that it offers a more user-friendly onboarding experience compared to Datadog's 8.4. This is particularly beneficial for teams looking to implement monitoring solutions swiftly.
- Reviewers mention that Datadog's Data Visualization features score 8.9, which is higher than IBM Instana's 8.3. Users appreciate the intuitive dashboards that allow for better insights into system performance.
- Users report that both products have strong Quality of Support, with Datadog scoring 8.3 and IBM Instana at 8.6. However, reviewers mention that IBM Instana's support team is particularly responsive, which can be crucial during critical incidents.
Featured Products
Sponsored
ArborXR
(64)
Network Monitoring
Visit Website
Sponsored
Finout
(54)
Network Monitoring
Visit Website
Sponsored
Cloudshot
(17)
Network Monitoring
Visit Website
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
465
8.6
322
Ease of Use
8.2
469
8.6
323
Ease of Setup
8.4
244
8.9
160
Ease of Admin
8.3
212
8.4
120
Quality of Support
8.3
413
8.6
288
Has the product been a good partner in doing business?
8.5
199
8.5
120
Product Direction (% positive)
8.9
450
8.5
307
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
Functionality
8.6
43
9.0
15
9.2
57
9.2
15
9.0
51
9.2
15
8.7
44
8.9
14
8.8
46
9.2
14
8.8
39
8.7
14
Functionality
9.2
95
9.3
12
9.1
96
8.8
12
9.3
81
8.6
12
8.9
96
8.5
12
8.8
80
8.6
11
8.9
85
8.3
12
Functionality
9.2
46
Not enough data
9.2
51
Not enough data
8.1
37
Not enough data
8.4
39
Not enough data
Management
8.6
43
Not enough data
9.0
44
Not enough data
8.7
41
Not enough data
Monitoring
8.9
108
8.9
124
8.6
104
8.4
114
8.8
99
8.9
122
8.7
118
8.7
126
Administration
8.5
104
8.5
119
8.5
84
8.8
97
8.2
83
8.5
93
Analysis
8.5
102
8.4
106
8.8
106
8.5
124
Feature Not Available
8.4
93
Automation
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
8.0
5
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
8.6
7
Not enough data
Functionality
8.8
8
Not enough data
7.7
8
Not enough data
7.6
7
Not enough data
9.2
8
Not enough data
Incident Management
8.5
10
Not enough data
9.2
10
Not enough data
9.0
10
Not enough data
Functionality
9.2
14
8.7
26
8.6
15
8.3
24
9.4
19
9.0
32
Issue Resolution
9.1
17
9.1
32
9.2
14
8.8
31
Feature Not Available
8.7
31
Management
8.6
17
9.0
32
9.6
17
8.9
31
8.9
17
8.6
29
Generative AI
Feature Not Available
Feature Not Available
Feature Not Available
Feature Not Available
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
Visibility
8.8
76
Not enough data
9.0
75
Not enough data
8.8
69
Not enough data
Monitoring and Management
8.2
71
Not enough data
8.6
73
Not enough data
8.9
77
Not enough data
Visibility
8.8
67
Not enough data
8.6
61
Not enough data
8.1
59
Not enough data
Monitoring and Management
8.5
60
Not enough data
7.5
55
Not enough data
8.3
57
Not enough data
9.0
60
Not enough data
8.8
56
Not enough data
8.2
61
Not enough data
Cloud environment support
8.0
53
Not enough data
7.9
50
Not enough data
Functionality
8.4
32
Not enough data
8.6
32
Not enough data
8.8
34
Not enough data
7.8
28
Not enough data
Management
8.4
31
Not enough data
8.5
34
Not enough data
8.1
31
Not enough data
9.0
36
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
53
|
Verified
Not enough data
8.4
52
|
Verified
Not enough data
7.9
50
|
Verified
Not enough data
7.8
50
|
Verified
Not enough data
Analysis
8.5
48
|
Verified
Not enough data
8.4
55
|
Verified
Not enough data
8.7
56
|
Verified
Not enough data
8.5
59
|
Verified
Not enough data
8.7
49
|
Verified
Not enough data
8.7
47
|
Verified
Not enough data
Visualization
8.9
61
|
Verified
Not enough data
8.7
51
|
Verified
Not enough data
Monitoring
8.5
93
8.6
150
8.9
85
8.7
161
8.9
95
8.9
160
7.3
80
7.7
109
8.4
86
8.5
143
Response
8.8
102
8.6
155
8.8
90
8.4
151
7.9
83
8.2
140
Performance
8.4
97
8.3
125
8.2
83
8.4
140
Functionality
8.4
85
8.2
119
8.0
77
8.5
115
Feature Not Available
8.3
117
8.5
91
8.5
135
Alerts management
8.7
36
8.1
36
8.0
38
8.2
40
8.6
40
8.4
52
Monitoring
8.7
31
8.3
52
9.2
34
8.8
57
8.7
36
8.1
52
9.2
31
8.8
51
Automation
8.5
31
8.0
31
8.6
29
8.0
33
Analysis
8.2
34
8.2
50
8.4
37
8.1
41
9.3
36
8.6
56
8.5
35
8.5
37
Issue Resolution
8.4
30
8.5
48
7.7
33
7.6
40
8.6
28
8.1
42
Generative AI
Feature Not Available
Feature Not Available
Data Management - Observability Pipeline
Not enough data
Not enough data
7.5
6
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
6.4
6
Not enough data
Performance - Observability Pipeline
5.7
5
Not enough data
8.1
6
Not enough data
6.7
6
Not enough data
AI - Observability Pipeline
Not enough data
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
Response
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
8.0
40
Not enough data
Records
9.3
47
Not enough data
9.0
45
Not enough data
8.5
52
Not enough data
Management
9.3
48
Not enough data
8.4
44
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Generative AI
Feature Not Available
Feature Not Available
Feature Not Available
Feature Not Available
Security Information and Event Management (SIEM)Hide 10 FeaturesShow 10 Features
8.9
105
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
Categories
Categories
Shared Categories
Datadog and IBM Instana are categorized as Observability Solution Suites, Enterprise Monitoring, AIOps Platforms, Database Monitoring, Website Monitoring, Cloud Infrastructure Monitoring, IT Alerting, Container Monitoring, Incident Response, and Application Performance Monitoring (APM)
Unique Categories
Datadog is categorized as Observability Pipeline, Server Monitoring, Log Monitoring, Network Traffic Analysis (NTA), IoT Device Management Platforms, IoT Analytics Platforms, Log Analysis, Security Information and Event Management (SIEM), API Marketplace, Network Monitoring, and Cloud Cost Management
IBM Instana is categorized as Hardware Monitoring
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
20.2%
Computer Software
17.9%
Financial Services
8.1%
Internet
5.1%
Retail
3.2%
Other
45.5%
Information Technology and Services
20.3%
Computer Software
10.5%
Telecommunications
6.6%
Retail
5.8%
Financial Services
5.3%
Other
51.6%
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
Verified User in Internet
Verified User in Internet
No issues, actually, business as usual. I wish they'd fix some bugs in their product, but that's fine.
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.
Verified User in Internet
Verified User in Internet
No issues, actually, business as usual. I wish they'd fix some bugs in their product, but that's fine.
Discussions
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
What is the use of Datadog?
1 comment
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 Datadog use AWS?
1 comment
IG
Yes, the backbone of Datadog infrastructure is sitting within AWS.Read 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
Hunting for software insights?
With over 2.5 million reviews, we can provide the specific details that help you make an informed software buying decision for your business. Finding the right product is important, let us help.
or continue with
Gmail.com addresses not permitted. A business domain using Google is allowed.
By proceeding, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy
