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AlertSite vs Apica comparison

SmartBear and Apica are both solutions in the Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability category. SmartBear is ranked #39 with an average rating of 8.0, while Apica is ranked #17 with an average rating of 7.9. Additionally, 100% of SmartBear users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 85% of Apica users who would recommend it.
AlertSite
Read 5 AlertSite reviews
  • 316 Views
  • 248 Comparison Views
100% willing to recommend
Apica
Read 10 Apica reviews
  • 725 Views
  • 438 Comparison Views
85% willing to recommend
 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jul 24, 2024

AlertSite and Apica are both powerful website monitoring solutions. Apica generally has the upper hand for its robust feature set, whereas AlertSite is noted for being more user-friendly and accessible.

Features: AlertSite offers comprehensive monitoring capabilities, straightforward reporting tools, and user-friendly interfaces. Apica provides extensive customization options, in-depth analytics, and detailed monitoring features.

Room for Improvement: AlertSite needs better alerting mechanisms, enhanced mobile access, and more customization options. Apica requires improved integration capabilities, a more intuitive setup process, and faster customer service responses.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: AlertSite is known for quick deployment and responsive customer support. Apica is more complex to deploy and has slower customer service response times.

Pricing and ROI: AlertSite is generally considered cost-effective with a good return on investment. Apica is pricier, but many users feel its advanced features justify the cost.

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To learn more, read our detailed AlertSite vs. Apica Report (Updated: October 2024).
Buyer's Guide
AlertSite vs. Apica
October 2024
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Categories and Ranking

AlertSite
Ranking in Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability
39th
Average Rating
8.0
Number of Reviews
5
Ranking in other categories
API Monitoring Software (4th)
Apica
Ranking in Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability
17th
Average Rating
8.2
Number of Reviews
10
Ranking in other categories
Log Management (16th), IT Operations Analytics (5th)
 

Featured Reviews

Suraj Branwal - PeerSpot reviewer
Mar 13, 2024
Quickly triggers alerts, fast and user-friendly, and makes data available in a single UI
One area that needs improvement in AlertSite is the slow UI. I'm using the classic UI because it's quite user-friendly, or in human-readable format, but it's a little slow. It takes time to load all the monitors, so if that could be sped up, that would be helpful. The AlertSite support team also needs improvement in terms of availability. Most of the agents in the team aren't available 24 x 7, so if there's something you need to discuss, you need to tell the support team ahead of time to schedule it. Multiple times, when a case comes up during weekends or whenever my team is doing an update, support needs improvement, availability-wise. I use AlertSite for synthetic monitoring, so whatever is available right now is okay, but if I want to request a new feature on a website, currently, the UI refreshes automatically. I would like to have the option on AlertSite to configure that manually. The UI auto-updates every few minutes, so if I can control that manually, that would be helpful.
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Noorul Mustafa Khan - PeerSpot reviewer
May 1, 2024
Validates content and perform login functionalities on front-end applications
First of all, it will depend on the type of application. If it's a web application, I would recommend implementing it in your lower environment first and checking for functionality. If you are satisfied, then push it to the higher environments. Apica has detected server-related issues and various web application-related issues promptly, alerting us in a timely manner. This allowed us to implement automation within our processes, ensuring comprehensive performance monitoring from failure detection to recovery. It was pretty easy to learn. I attended a couple of sessions with team members. They provided knowledge transfer, which took about a week. After that, I was able to onboard the company. However, for minor issues, I would still contact them. If you're a quick learner, it could take just a couple of weeks to get the hang of it. You can integrate Apica architect into your system because they provide APIs. With these APIs, you can utilize Apica where and when it's needed. For instance, you can create your own microservices to automate tasks or integrate it with tools like Postman. This flexibility allows you to embed Apica into various automation processes or any other functionalities you require. Overall, I rate the solution a nine out of ten.
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Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"The best feature of AlertSite is that it shows you a visual graph and also sends you notifications about errors, so you get immediate notifications about errors which means that your support team can start taking steps and more quickly make sure the site is up and that customer experience isn't interrupted in terms of using your system and your products. AlertSite is a very good tool. It's user-friendly, and you can see everything on the dashboard. Configuring it is also easy."
"This solution has numerous advantages. It's extremely simple to configure. Either digital monitors or single-URL monitors are simple to configure and build."
"There are custom reports available along with the inbuilt reports."
"I found multiple features in AlertSite that I like. One is data monitoring history, for example, a history of the blackouts and the data. Sometimes, there's a glitch in the application that AlertSite can capture, and the tool notifies you about that glitch. It also identifies issues that could happen in the future. AlertSite is also a fast tool that you can use to monitor on-premise servers, internal applications, and even global applications. The data is available on a single UI in AlertSite, so there's no need to monitor and click on different applications or URLs. I also love that the tool is quite user-friendly, apart from being fast."
"If there are any issues, it triggers an alert within 30 seconds. When it triggers the alert, we go ahead and check it immediately. The alert is triggered on a real-time basis."
"It uses a basic scripting language, which is easy to learn and customize as needed. Compared to LoadRunner, I found writing and customizing code much easier in Apica."
"I like the transcript download feature. And with UI scripting, it's helpful that Apica handles a lot of the backend work automatically. I don't have to tag everything manually, though I can tag elements later if needed. It's really good at recording the steps."
"With the ZebraTester, the ability to have and store dynamic variables, when setting up the monitors, means you can extract that value and use it in a subsequent service call. This is something that has made our lives easier... This is one of the features that I like the most because it helps us in configuring these services, in a certain flow, without the need to re-record the whole thing."
"It is easy for beginners to learn and use Apica."
"From our standpoint, there are a number of valuable features. The WebHooks are obviously really great. The alert framework is really good and then the reporting and visualizations that you get from the dashboards is good. Those three areas are primarily what my team's focused on in terms of usage from day to day."
"As always, within the IT industry, everybody's always looking to upgrade and update everything else like that. Apica has been one of those things but it's really hard to replace because it offers us the unique capability to see what the customer is seeing. A lot of other ones can do Selenium script and things like that, but there's a lot in Apica that we use right now. We utilize a lot of the scenario options in Apica right now, and there's a lot of other ones that do parts of it, but it doesn't do everything that Apica does."
"The GUI is powerful and doesn't require scripting or regular expressions. It has a vast finder for correlation, which is easier than other tools like JMeter and LoadRunner. It's also easy to integrate with other tools with a separate execution environment. The tool is also easy to use."
"It is easy to set up and configure."
More Apica pros
 

Cons

"What needs improvement in AlertSite is the documentation, particularly the lack of documentation. If there's a specific activity you want to do, you can't even find information on how to do it, so you have to contact the AlertSite support team to assist you, and only then would the issue be resolved. At the moment, it's not easy to find or get full documentation on how to deal with different issues. You always have to go back to AlertSite support and get help. The documentation for AlertSite could be improved and it's what I'd like to see in the next release of the tool because at the moment, the documentation isn't complete, so you'll have to contact support, but contacting support isn't an issue because the team responds to you quickly."
"I would like the ability to get more data points with regard to some of the unique requirements that we have."
"AlertSite sometimes triggers false alerts or fake alerts, which needs to be rectified. When we see an alert and go ahead and run certain tests on it, the test always passes. However, on the main screen, it shows up as critical. Therefore, the false alert needs to be fixed."
"It is not compatible with all of the product platforms that we use."
"One area that needs improvement in AlertSite is the slow UI. I'm using the classic UI because it's quite user-friendly, or in human-readable format, but it's a little slow. It takes time to load all the monitors, so if that could be sped up, that would be helpful. The AlertSite support team also needs improvement in terms of availability. Most of the agents in the team aren't available 24 x 7, so if there's something you need to discuss, you need to tell the support team ahead of time to schedule it. Multiple times, when a case comes up during weekends or whenever my team is doing an update, support needs improvement, availability-wise. I use AlertSite for synthetic monitoring, so whatever is available right now is okay, but if I want to request a new feature on a website, currently, the UI refreshes automatically. I would like to have the option on AlertSite to configure that manually. The UI auto-updates every few minutes, so if I can control that manually, that would be helpful."
"We have been focused on reducing polling times for synthetic checks. We have gone from 10 minutes down to five minutes for a pretty broad swath, but there is some appetite to reduce that further, which could be an improvement."
"Apica was a relatively new tool when I started using it. Although Apica had good documentation, it still felt less developed or advanced than a tool like LoadRunner."
"When it comes to the way the internal agent is installed, because you can install an application on a server, I would love to see the application Docker-ized. If you could install internal agents using Docker or using containers, it would be easier for us to manage them and spin up internal agents."
"Learning the tool has always been a little difficult from a scripting perspective because the framework is proprietary and unique. Once we became used to what it does and how to perform it, then it became easier for my team and me. I would like to see some of the testing steps be part of a more well-known language, like Java or Python. That would be a big improvement."
"The initial screen on their dashboard could have a bit more data, but this is a small thing. It could have more data, so we do not need to drill down to a screen behind that initial information. I would like them to get a little better on the user interfaces that we need to go into."
"Apica should add more features and integrations with different tools and certain ticketing systems, like ServiceNow."
"Apica is costly, and there's no way to test mobile applications through Apica."
"If you are adding any input file, the tool fails to capture the path."
More Apica cons
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The cost is high."
"We purchased the license once and had the option of selecting the number of user licenses."
"My company pays to use AlertSite, but I'm unsure of the exact costs because it depends on how many monitors you have."
"The level of alerting accuracy has saved us time and money in operational costs. Overall, it has automated a lot of the manual efforts which have been more complex with some of our other scripting tools or monitors. So, it brings things together by doing things faster and saves us money."
"I am sure that Apica's price will be lower than LoadRunner."
"The pricing is very reasonable, but it is not cheap."
"The tool is completely free and open source. I've been using it for about two and a half years and installed it on both my personal and client machines without needing a license. All features are available for use without any hidden fees."
"The pricing and licensing are very reasonable. At the end of the day, you are using their technology/software and getting X amount of checks for a very decent value. As for discounts, they try to meet your budgets as much as they can. For example, if you need 100 checks and you have X amount of budget for it, then they will try and get down to that price. Costing-wise, it is a reasonably cost product. They will always try and come down to your price if you need them to come down to it by knocking off certain areas."
"License management is another area that Apica could do better. We have already had these conversations with our account teams. This is something that they are looking at largely improving in upcoming releases. I believe that this is already on their roadmap."
"The product is less expensive compared to LoadRunner."
"I know Apica is an expensive solution, but it is worth the money for the service it provides."
More Apica pricing and cost advice
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
24%
Computer Software Company
13%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Real Estate/Law Firm
10%
Financial Services Firm
40%
Insurance Company
12%
Computer Software Company
9%
Media Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

Ask a question
Earn 20 points
What do you like most about Apica Synthetic?
The GUI is powerful and doesn't require scripting or regular expressions. It has a vast finder for correlation, which is easier than other tools like JMeter and LoadRunner. It's also easy to integr...
See all answers
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Apica Synthetic?
I know Apica is an expensive solution, but it is worth the money for the service it provides.
See all answers
What needs improvement with Apica Synthetic?
Apica is costly, and there's no way to test mobile applications through Apica. You can test mobile applications through other platforms. However, Apica is only for APIs and applications.
See all answers
 

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide
AlertSite
November 2024
AlertSite reportDownload AlertSite product report
Buyer's Guide
Apica
November 2024
Apica reportDownload Apica product report
 

Also Known As

No data available
Apica LoadTest, Apica Synthetic
 

Learn More

SmartBear
Apica
 

Overview

SmartBear's AlertSite is an application performance management and system monitoring software. AlertSite is an early warning system that users can rely on to monitor their websites, web apps, and APIs from any physical location as well as from within their private networks. It offers real-time alerting with root-cause analytics and robust reporting. AlertSite allows you to proactively monitor from an independent network of over 350 monitoring nodes worldwide.

Here are AlertSite’s 6 use cases: 

  1. Monitor web: AlertSite monitors beyond availability to detect performance anomalies and notify the appropriate people when deviations occur, whether it's online apps or websites.

  2. Monitor APIs: Check to see that your internal, external, and third-party APIs are working properly, returning the correct content, and performing as expected.

  3. Monitor apps: With nearly any action, monitor your online sites and applications using actual browsers, just like a consumer. There is no need for scripting.

  4. Monitor mobile: Monitor your mobile-friendly websites, native mobile apps, carrier-based nodes, and network speeds with real devices (3G, 4G LTE).

  5. Monitor SLAs: Make sure you're meeting service-level agreements' requirements. SLA requirements are monitored and reported on by AlertSite.

  6. Monitor cloud: Monitor your cloud-based applications to improve mobility. AlertSite monitors your apps across public and private clouds, giving you complete visibility into their status.

AlertSite Features

AlertSite has many valuable key features. Some of the most useful ones include:

  • Enables a comprehensive view of UI and API performance.

  • Monitoring coverage from 350+ worldwide nodes and private networks.
  • Integrates with DevOps and Ops tool stacks.

  • Displays availability and performance data that assist in determining the root cause of performance problems.

  • With AlertSite's Single Sign-On (SSO) support, you can assist your authentication procedures.

  • Free training and assistance. AlertSite’s responsive team is always there to assist you, from the initial rollout through day-to-day support.

  • Eliminates the stress of false alerts using these key features:

    • Tracks the performance of your apps, APIs, and websites.

    • Sets up monitor and alarm schedules, as well as blackout periods and retry choices.

    • Sets alert thresholds that are both static and dynamic.

    • Calculates the number of failures needed to set off an alarm.

    • After the first failure, retries logic.

    • Based on error code, sends an alert to recipients and group routing.

    • Tests from over 85 different locations across the world, with internal and external monitoring.

    • Defines assertions and validations.

    • Integrates with PagerDuty, Slack, Splunk, VictorOps, and more.
  • Easy configuration with help from these key features:

    • DejaClick is an intuitive, seamless plug-in for documenting web transactions and user journeys.

    • Use the point-and-click script creation for website, web, and mobile monitor scripts.

    • Benefit from using native API monitor creation.

    • Scripts for functional tests can be reused.

    • Automate monitor creation by using Swagger Specs or OpenAPI Specification files.

Apica offers a unified platform to remove complexity and cost associated with data management. You collect, control, store, and observe your data and can quickly identify and resolve performance issues before they impact the end-user. Apica Ascent swiftly analyzes telemetry data in real-time, enabling prompt issue resolution, while automated root cause analysis, powered by machine learning, streamlines troubleshooting in complex distributed systems. The platform simplifies data collection by automating and managing agents through the platform’s Fleet product. Its Flow product simplifies and optimizes pipeline control with AI and ML to help you easily understand complex workflows. Its Store component allows you to never run out of storage space while you index and store machine data centrally on one platform and reduce costs, and remediate faster. Observe offers modern observability data management, helping you with MELT data, effortless dashboarding, and seamless integration of synthetic and real data.

Experience the Apica Ascent Platform

 

Sample Customers

JetBlue, Payless ShoeSource, Hilton Inc., StubHub, Symantec, Newegg, Sapient, AstraZeneca, Dell, Quest Diagnostics
HBO, JPMC, Morgan Stanley, Xander, EA Sports, Volvo
Buyer's Guide
AlertSite vs. Apica
October 2024
Free Report: AlertSite vs. Apica
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