Elastic Observability vs Datadog: pricing
Observability pricing · Pricing snapshot: June 2026
On headline entry cost, Datadog has a clearer fixed entry price (APM from $31/host/mo (annual)) while Elastic Observability is usage-based. Elastic Observability bills per gb / usage (Logs from ~$0.105/GB ingest + retention) and Datadog bills per host (APM from $31/host/mo (annual)). Only Datadog has a permanent free tier. The real winner depends on your host count, data volume and team size. Pricing snapshot: June 2026 - verify current pricing on the vendor's site before relying on these figures.
Data as of June 2026.
Elastic Observability vs Datadog side by side
| Factor | Elastic Observability | Datadog |
|---|---|---|
| Company | Elastic N.V. | Datadog, Inc. |
| Pricing model | Serverless: per-GB ingested + per-GB-month retained (Logs Essentials/Complete); or resource-based Elastic Cloud | Per-host (Infra & APM) + per-GB ingested (Logs) + per-session (RUM); modular, products billed separately and stacked |
| Primary billing | Per GB / usage | Per host |
| Headline price | Logs from ~$0.105/GB ingest + retention | APM from $31/host/mo (annual) |
| Free tier? | No | Yes |
| Free tier detail | 14-day free trial of Elastic Cloud; free, self-managed open-source Elastic Stack (run-it-yourself). | Free plan: Infrastructure for up to 5 hosts with 1-day metric retention; 14-day free trial of the full platform. |
| Covers | Log management, APM, Infrastructure & metrics, Distributed tracing, RUM | APM, Infrastructure & metrics, Log management, RUM, Distributed tracing, Error tracking |
Sources: Elastic N.V. pricing · Datadog, Inc. pricing.
Per-signal rates
Where the two overlap, here is the rate each charges per signal:
| Signal | Elastic Observability | Datadog |
|---|---|---|
| Log management | from $0.105/GB ingest + $0.018/GB-mo retained | $0.10/GB ingest + $1.27/M events indexed (15-day) |
| APM | Part of Complete tier (per-GB) | $31/host/mo |
| Infrastructure & metrics | Per-GB (no per-host) | $15/host/mo |
| Distributed tracing | Part of Complete tier | Bundled in APM |
| RUM | Per-GB | RUM $1.50/1K sessions; Session Replay +$1.80/1K |
Cheaper for small vs cheaper for scale
Small / starting out: Datadog wins - it has a permanent free tier. On headline cost, Datadog has a clearer fixed entry price (APM from $31/host/mo (annual)) while Elastic Observability is usage-based.
At scale: Elastic Observability (per-gb serverless pricing avoids per-host costs) versus Datadog (single pane of glass across infra, apm, logs, rum and more). Remember Elastic Observability bills per gb / usage and Datadog bills per host, which flips the answer depending on whether you scale by hosts, by data volume or by team size.
Verdict
On headline cost alone, Datadog has a clearer fixed entry price (APM from $31/host/mo (annual)) while Elastic Observability is usage-based. But price is only part of the story. Read each full breakdown - Elastic Observability and Datadog - and model your real workload in the cost calculator.
Frequently asked questions
Is Elastic Observability or Datadog cheaper?
On headline entry cost, Datadog has a clearer fixed entry price (APM from $31/host/mo (annual)) while Elastic Observability is usage-based. But the two use different models - Elastic Observability bills per gb / usage and Datadog bills per host - so the real winner depends on your host count, data volume and team size. Compare the per-signal table on this page. Pricing snapshot: June 2026.
Elastic Observability vs Datadog: which for a small team?
For a small team, lean to whichever has the more usable free tier and lower entry price. Elastic Observability has no permanent free tier (14-day free trial of Elastic Cloud; free, self-managed open-source Elastic Stack (run-it-yourself).). Datadog: Free plan: Infrastructure for up to 5 hosts with 1-day metric retention; 14-day free trial of the full platform.
Elastic Observability vs Datadog: how do the billing models differ?
Elastic Observability: Serverless: per-GB ingested + per-GB-month retained (Logs Essentials/Complete); or resource-based Elastic Cloud. Datadog: Per-host (Infra & APM) + per-GB ingested (Logs) + per-session (RUM); modular, products billed separately and stacked. Per-host models penalize dense Kubernetes nodes; per-GB/per-event models penalize verbose telemetry. Model your real usage before deciding. Pricing snapshot: June 2026 - verify current pricing on the vendor's site before relying on these figures.
More comparisons
Last updated: 2026-06-21