In response to popular demand, here's a cost comparison analysis for monitoring the entire tech stack based on the publicly-available list price. We compare the costs of our usage-based, single-platform approach with the traditional, subscription-based, bundle-of-SKUs approach used by Datadog and Dynatrace. As a summary, depending on the size of the engineering team and the shape of the tech stack, the three hypothetical scenarios reflect:
- New Relic can provide up to 5X more value for money than tools from vendors like Datadog.
- The cost savings in these scenarios allow the addition of even more users and data in New Relic—which provides more value—while still spending less than with Datadog and Dynatrace.
Monthly full-stack observability cost comparison summary for New Relic, Dynatrace, and Datadog in hypothetical scenarios
Building on our recently published analysis that compares log management and infrastructure monitoring costs, this analysis helps provide a comparison of the full-stack observability costs of the three vendors. That includes application performance monitoring (APM), infrastructure monitoring (infra), digital experience monitoring (DEM), serverless monitoring, network performance monitoring (NPM), and log management (logs).
To make it easier to parse the pricing differences and how they may apply to a specific team and tech stack, the tables below calculate the costs for three scenarios. Each scenario represents a different hypothetical tech stack and team size that we often see among our customers.
Once again, our goal here is to be transparent with how we arrived at these numbers. This analysis is based on publicly-available list prices, and you’re welcome to check out the underlying spreadsheet for details and assumptions regarding these calculations.
Small engineering team comparison
Here’s a full-stack observability cost comparison for a hypothetical small team with 25 engineers. In this example, the stack consists of 20 APM hosts, 50 infra hosts, and 2,500 GB ingested logs.
| New Relic | Dynatrace2 | Datadog3 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| APM and infra 20 APM hosts, 50 infra hosts, 10 profiled hosts, 50 profiled container hosts, 50M indexed spans, 75K custom metrics, and 750K container hours |
New Relic-- | Dynatrace2$2,656 | Datadog3$6,303 |
| Logs 2,500 GB ingested logs and 1.56B indexed log events with 30-day retention |
New Relic-- | Dynatrace2$141 | Datadog3$4,150 |
| DEM 7,500 synthetics API test runs, 1,500 synthetics browser test runs, and 35K RUM sessions |
New Relic-- | Dynatrace2$12 | Datadog3$38 |
| NPM 25 network hosts and 65M network flows |
New Relic-- | Dynatrace2included with APM/infra | Datadog3$125 |
| Serverless 50M serverless functions |
New Relic-- | Dynatrace2$25 | Datadog3$250 |
| Data ingest for APM, infra, logs, DEM, NPM, and serverless |
New Relic$1,291 | Dynatrace2-- | Datadog3-- |
| Users 5 basic, 15 core, and 5 full platform users |
New Relic$984 | Dynatrace2-- | Datadog3-- |
| Total | New Relic$2,275 | Dynatrace2$2,834 | Datadog3$10,866 |
| Up to 5X more value for money with New Relic | |||
Midsize engineering team comparison
Driving innovation is a priority for many businesses as they grow and scale. Here’s a full-stack observability cost comparison for a hypothetical midsize team with 65 engineers. In this example, the stack consists of 125 APM hosts, 200 infra hosts, and 10K GB ingested logs.
| New Relic | Dynatrace2 | Datadog3 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| APM and infra 125 APM hosts, 200 infra hosts, 40 profiled hosts, 100 profiled container hosts, 500M indexed spans, 250K custom metrics, and 1.5M container hours |
New Relic-- | Dynatrace2$12,089 | Datadog3$21,965 |
| Logs 10K GB ingested logs and 3B indexed log events with 30-day retention |
New Relic-- | Dynatrace2$563 | Datadog3$8,500 |
| DEM 125K synthetics API test runs, 5K synthetics browser test runs, and 125K RUM sessions |
New Relic-- | Dynatrace2$41 | Datadog3$123 |
| NPM 75 network hosts and 250M network flows |
New Relic-- | Dynatrace2included in APM/infra | Datadog3$685 |
| Serverless 150M serverless functions |
New Relic-- | Dynatrace2$75 | Datadog3$750 |
| Data ingest for APM, infra, logs, DEM, NPM, and serverless |
New Relic$5,732 | Dynatrace2-- | Datadog3-- |
| Users 13 basic, 39 core, and 13 full platform users |
New Relic$6,105 | Dynatrace2-- | Datadog3-- |
| Total | New Relic$11,837 | Dynatrace2$12,768 | Datadog3$32,022 |
| Up to 3X more value for money with New Relic | |||
Large engineering team comparison
As businesses continue to scale, digital transformation becomes even more important. Here’s a full-stack observability cost comparison for a hypothetical large team with 150 engineers. In this example, the stack consists of 225 APM hosts, 350 infra hosts, and 20K GB ingested logs.
| New Relic | Dynatrace2 | Datadog3 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| APM and infra 225 APM hosts, 350 infra hosts, 65 profiled hosts, 150 profiled container hosts, 2B indexed spans, 750K custom metrics, and 2.5M container hours |
New Relic-- | Dynatrace2$24,857 | Datadog3$55,870 |
| Logs 20K GB ingested logs and 4.5B indexed log events with 30-day retention |
New Relic-- | Dynatrace2$1,125 | Datadog3$13,250 |
| DEM 275K synthetics API test runs, 15K synthetics browser test runs, and 300K RUM sessions |
New Relic-- | Dynatrace2$102 | Datadog3$329 |
| NPM 125 network hosts and 750M network flows |
New Relic-- | Dynatrace2$1,316 | Datadog3-- |
| Serverless 275M serverless functions |
New Relic-- | Dynatrace2included in infra/APM | Datadog3$1,316 |
| Data ingest for APM, infra, logs, DEM, NPM, and serverless |
New Relic$10,862 | Dynatrace2-- | Datadog3-- |
| Users 30 basic, 90 core, and 30 full platform users |
New Relic$14,145 | Dynatrace2-- | Datadog3-- |
| Total | New Relic$25,007 | Dynatrace2$26,221 | Datadog3$72,139 |
| Up to 3X more value for money with New Relic | |||
More value with usage-based pricing and billing
According to a recent investor report about New Relic by Berenberg Capital Markets, “Superior customer value is driving wins. Given the dynamic and often opaque pricing landscape across the space, we think the comparative value customers can enjoy by using the New Relic platform remains under-discussed. We leveraged publicly available pricing information to illustrate customer spend on [infrastructure monitoring] with NEWR, DT, and DDOG. Using these assumptions, the New Relic customer could add over 450 engineers to the platform and still spend less than DDOG, without adjusting for any potential volume-based discounting. We think this speaks volumes about the value NEWR is providing to customers.”
The data speaks for itself—the value provided to customers is clear.
Customers can maximize their observability infrastructure when the price is no longer a significant factor. “By creating this price differential, at face value, New Relic is enabling customers to instrument more data and achieve better results without allocating more budget,” according to the same investor report. “This value also enables customers to put comparatively more of their data into the New Relic platform, ultimately improving platform efficacy, improving customer experience, and lowering churn.”
The New Relic ease of consumption and access to more capabilities like Vulnerability Management and AIOps can provide more value for the same cost compared to subscription-based observability options.
Next steps
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1 All dollar amounts are in USD. Please refer to the linked spreadsheet for additional details and assumptions regarding these calculations. Prices, including ones provided as a promotion, are subject to change. The relative value calculations in these tables are based upon the additional New Relic users and data that could be purchased with the cost savings reflected in these scenarios. The New Relic data ingest cost (standard retention) was updated on May 8, 2022, based on ingest pricing updates. The percentage of basic users increased to 30% based on updated averages.
2 Based on published price points at https://www.dynatrace.com/pricing as of December 8, 2021. The costs for Dynatrace were updated on January 7, 2022, based on pricing clarifications received since initial publication.
3 Based on published price points at https://www.datadoghq.com/pricing as of December 8, 2021.
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