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AppDynamics vs Instana Dynamic APM comparison

AppDynamics and Instana are both solutions in the Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability category. AppDynamics is ranked #5 with an average rating of 8.2, while Instana is ranked #21 with an average rating of 8.1. AppDynamics holds a 5.2% mindshare in APM, compared to Instana’s 1.3% mindshare. Additionally, 89% of AppDynamics users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 84% of Instana users who would recommend it.
AppDynamics
Read 157 AppDynamics reviews
  • 14,012 Views
  • 8,865 Comparison Views
89% willing to recommend
Instana Dynamic APM
Read 14 Instana Dynamic APM reviews
  • 2,876 Views
  • 2,371 Comparison Views
84% willing to recommend
 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jul 24, 2024

AppDynamics and Instana Dynamic APM compete in the application performance monitoring category. Instana Dynamic APM has the upper hand due to its comprehensive automation and rapid insights, while AppDynamics is preferred for its robust analytics and user-friendliness.

Features: AppDynamics offers detailed transaction tracking, powerful analytics, and ease of use. Instana Dynamic APM provides automation capabilities, real-time dependency mapping, and proactive performance management.

Room for Improvement: AppDynamics needs better reporting capabilities, streamlined interface configurations, and simplified setups. Instana Dynamic APM requires enhanced user support documentation, more advanced alerting options, and improved support mechanisms.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: AppDynamics has a straightforward deployment process with strong customer support. Instana Dynamic APM offers quick deployment but needs better support mechanisms.

Pricing and ROI: AppDynamics offers competitive pricing and a solid return on investment. Instana Dynamic APM has a higher cost justified by advanced features and faster insights, providing excellent ROI despite the higher initial setup cost.

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To learn more, read our detailed AppDynamics vs. Instana Dynamic APM Report (Updated: January 2025).
Buyer's Guide
AppDynamics vs. Instana Dynamic APM
January 2025
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Review summaries and opinions

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

Categories and Ranking

AppDynamics
Ranking in Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability
5th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.4
Number of Reviews
157
Ranking in other categories
Mobile APM (2nd), Container Monitoring (3rd)
Instana Dynamic APM
Ranking in Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability
21st
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.5
Number of Reviews
14
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2025, in the Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability category, the mindshare of AppDynamics is 5.2%, down from 6.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Instana Dynamic APM is 1.3%, down from 1.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability
 

Featured Reviews

Mahesh Deshpande - PeerSpot reviewer
The transition tracing and user experience are good, but performance degrades past 3,000 or so agents
The Kubernetes cluster agent has not yet matured. That's one area that requires a lot of improvement. You have two options for implementing the Kubernetes agent. One is deployed in DocCloud, but you can't download those images from DocCloud for security reasons at most organizations, so this option isn't that useful. The installation for the second option isn't that user-friendly. Transition tracing for the Kubernetes application is challenging. You have to navigate to a new set of user interfaces in AppDynamics, so that's the pain point. There is an icon you need to click on to get a newer user interface.
Read full review
Muhammad Jawwad Hassan - PeerSpot reviewer
A really good GUI that is easy for non-technical users to understand
Our company uses the solution for one of our bank clients. We use App Connect middleware to monitor services and applications such as Docker, Kubernetes, MongoDB, and MS SQL Server. We also monitor the bottleneck for all servers.  We currently have 20 users at one of our branches. We plan to expand…
Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most valuable feature of AppDynamics is Proactive Monitoring and Alerting."
"The real user monitoring helps us evaluate our customers' real experiences, which is valuable as an eCommerce company."
"We switched to AppDynamics for its capabilities."
"The most valuable feature is the ability to take a report, and in particular, a visual, and link it to actual application performance and then the consequences. This means you can show how an incident or action has an effect on the business."
"It is easy to gain visibility into complex environments with AppDynamics. It has the ability to combine operation information of the environment and business information with strong business IQ support."
"AppDynamics' most valuable features are the response time of the business transaction modules, the ability to monitor multiple services, and testing and developing environments."
"The most valuable feature of AppDynamics is that you can easily determine the load on the application."
"AppDynamics is easy to implement if you follow the documentation, and the documentation that they provide is good."
More AppDynamics pros
"With Instana, the interface and the UI are very simple to use."
"Visually, it's very good. It provides everything needed for dynamic detection, which is very useful."
"We can easily perform root cause analysis using the tool."
"The platform’s most valuable feature is the ability to monitor the performance of containers for request and response analysis."
"The primary selling point of this product is its unparalleled transparency into the infrastructure."
"It's great for monitoring services and applications."
"It is user-friendly, but we encounter issues processing input and understanding the graphics, such as seeing a flatline without knowing the cause. When these problems occur, I have to contact my support team to address and fix them. Also, monitoring processing is good."
"Instana is very fast to implement and deploy because the dashboards are automated and don't need configuration."
More Instana Dynamic APM pros
 

Cons

"If AppDynamics could do a one-agent function with their actual monitoring effectiveness, it will be the greatest tool."
"We would love to see support for more types of agents in the mainframe world."
"I would like to see more of a unified platform. They're very, very new on the server side, machine agents. I want them to be more mature in this area."
"AppDynamics is agent-based, so some customers are reluctant to install the agents in all their production environments. It would be helpful if they had an agentless version. It covers applications on the server, but the solution is weak on the network side. The agent is not deployed on the network components, so it cannot provide complete information about issues on the network layer."
"The initial setup could be easier."
"Maybe some more CPU power or something like that could be an area to improve."
"Additional support for NextGen mobile platforms also needs to be high in the roadmap prioritizations"
"The end-user experience is not really good because we can't catch all of the transactions. We only can catch the full stack of flow transactions, but I think that this is caused by the technology they use. If they will catch every transaction, it will cause a very big load on the performance of applications. The monitoring of all transactions needs improvement."
More AppDynamics cons
"We'd always like to see additional functionalities."
"I think that Instana should improve the university and the certification process, so the users can find experts in Instana with their certification module process."
"They could improve the product’s dashboards and provide more dashboard options."
"The auto-remediation features must be improved."
"The solution's monitoring is pretty weak and should be improved."
"We should be able to go back to scenarios during or before the issue. There should be something like a history playback. Such a feature or functionality would be good."
"Maybe log monitoring could be better."
"Sometimes, the issue arises from user changes, such as adjusting firewall settings without proper consideration, leading to compatibility issues within the network monitoring."
More Instana Dynamic APM cons
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It would be better if there were more solutions incorporated into the base price. ​"
"We do not have any issues with the price."
"I would like more flexible pricing: A pay-per-use model, rather than just a fixed-price model."
"The solution is highly expensive"
"There is an annual cost to use this solution. The licensing model could be improved by making it more cost-effective."
"The product’s licencing policy is competitive. However, properly identify and size your needs to get the best rate."
"AppDynamics is an expensive solution."
"AppDynamics is priced on the higher side."
More AppDynamics pricing and cost advice
"The pricing is $1,200 per year which is a bit high compared to other vendors."
"The solution's pricing is comparable to other products."
"The solution is less expensive than one of its competitors."
"Instana Dynamic APM is more affordable for small and medium-sized companies compared to other vendors."
"Pricing is quite competitive. Dynatrace, AppDynamics, and New Relic were all several times more expensive than Instana, both the on-prem and the SaaS versions. Price-wise they are a lot more competitive than anyone else out there."
"Its pricing isn't a big pain point. Its pricing seems to be better than some of the other competing products in the market, but they also have some of the features and functionalities that are better than Instana."
"It's reasonably priced and manageable, especially for individuals who grasp the significance of application monitoring."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
51%
Financial Services Firm
15%
Computer Software Company
8%
Manufacturing Company
5%
Financial Services Firm
28%
Computer Software Company
13%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Government
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

Any advice about APM solutions?
There are many factors and we know little about your requirements (size of org, technology stack, management systems, the scope of implementation). Our goal was to consolidate APM and infra monitor...
See all answers
APM tools for a Managed Service Provider - Dynatrace vs. AppDynamics vs. Aternity vs. Ruxit
Hi Avi! It's great to see your thorough approach to selecting an APM package for your MSP company. Considering your focus on SMBs and enterprises in Israel, Dynatrace seems like a solid choice with...
See all answers
What do you like most about AppDynamics?
The solution saves time and cost.
See all answers
What do you like most about Instana Dynamic APM?
The platform’s most valuable feature is the ability to monitor the performance of containers for request and response analysis.
See all answers
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Instana Dynamic APM?
I rate the pricing a seven out of ten. There are no additional costs associated with the product.
See all answers
What needs improvement with Instana Dynamic APM?
Sometimes, the issue arises from user changes, such as adjusting firewall settings without proper consideration, leading to compatibility issues within the network monitoring.
See all answers
 

Comparisons

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Compared 10% of the time
Splunk Enterprise Security vs AppDynamics Logo
Splunk Enterprise Security vs AppDynamics
Compared 9% of the time
New Relic vs AppDynamics Logo
New Relic vs AppDynamics
Compared 7% of the time
ThousandEyes vs AppDynamics Logo
ThousandEyes vs AppDynamics
Compared 2% of the time
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Dynatrace vs Instana Dynamic APM Logo
Dynatrace vs Instana Dynamic APM
Compared 43% of the time
IBM Application Performance Management vs Instana Dynamic APM Logo
IBM Application Performance Management vs Instana Dynamic APM
Compared 10% of the time
Datadog vs Instana Dynamic APM Logo
Datadog vs Instana Dynamic APM
Compared 8% of the time
New Relic vs Instana Dynamic APM Logo
New Relic vs Instana Dynamic APM
Compared 5% of the time
Elastic Observability vs Instana Dynamic APM Logo
Elastic Observability vs Instana Dynamic APM
Compared 5% of the time
More Instana Dynamic APM Competitors
 

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide
AppDynamics
January 2025
AppDynamics reportDownload AppDynamics product report
Buyer's Guide
Instana Dynamic APM
January 2025
Instana Dynamic APM reportDownload Instana Dynamic APM product report
 

Also Known As

AppD, AppDynamics APM
No data available
 

Overview

AppDynamics is a comprehensive tool used for monitoring application performance, identifying user issues, analyzing traffic, managing infrastructure, and performance testing. It supports environments like Kubernetes, WebLogic, and Azure, and is crucial for industries such as banking, telecommunications, and financial services.

AppDynamics offers a robust solution for application performance monitoring, enabling deep diagnostics, transaction tracing, and root cause analysis. Users benefit from its real-time monitoring and comprehensive analytics capabilities. It's designed for ease of implementation and scalability, featuring intuitive dashboards that streamline infrastructure optimization and enhance user experience. AppDynamics supports extensive third-party extensions and provides proactive monitoring and alerting to ensure optimal system health. It assists in troubleshooting, database monitoring, and setting custom alerts to address Java applications and performance challenges efficiently.

What are the most important features of AppDynamics?

  • Application Performance Monitoring: Real-time insights into application health and performance
  • Business Transaction Capturing: Detailed tracking of business transactions across the application
  • Memory Monitoring: Monitoring memory usage to optimize application performance
  • Analytics: Advanced analytics to understand application and user behavior
  • Customizable Dashboards: Intuitive dashboards for better visualization and decision-making
  • Proactive Monitoring and Alerting: Immediate alerts and monitoring to prevent issues before they affect users
  • Integration Capabilities: Integration with third-party tools to extend functionality
  • Root Cause Analysis: Deep diagnostics to pinpoint and fix issues promptly
  • Transaction Mapping: Mapping transactions to understand and improve user journeys
  • Error Detection: Identifying and diagnosing errors to maintain application stability

What benefits or ROI should users look for in reviews?

  • Ease of Implementation: Simple deployment process
  • Scalability: Ability to grow with the organization's needs
  • Time Savings: Reducing time spent on troubleshooting and issue resolution
  • Enhanced User Experience: Improving application performance for better user satisfaction
  • Cost Efficiency: Balancing functionality with cost to deliver value

AppDynamics is widely adopted in banking, telecommunications, and financial services to ensure optimal user experience and system health. Its capabilities support these industries in maintaining robust, efficient, and reliable applications. The tool is instrumental in troubleshooting, performance optimization, and providing a seamless user experience.

AppDynamics

Instana’s Enterprise Observability Platform, powered by automated Application Performance Monitoring, discovers and maps all services, infrastructure, and their inter-dependencies automatically. Instana ingests all observability metrics, traces each request, profiles every process, and updates application dependency maps in real-time to deliver the context and actionable feedback needed by Dev+Ops to optimize application performance, enable innovation, and mitigate risk to help them add value and efficiency to the pipeline. Learn more at https://instana.com.

Instana
 

Sample Customers

Cisco, Sony, Nasdaq, Reserve Bank of New Zealand, Edmunds.com, Puma, Fox News, DirecTV, Pizza Hut, T-Systems, Cornell University, OpenTable, BITMARCK, Green Mountain Power, Care.com, Overstock, Paddy Power, eHarmony, Kraft, The Motley Fool, The Container Store, and more See more customers
Daxko Lifts Fitness Studios Through COVID Regulations with Quick Engineering PivotsAltissia Meets SLAs to Support Student DeadlinesImmocloud Unlocks Observability to Modernize Real EstateEnento Group Boosts Service Reliability with Real-Time Visibility into Application Performance Instana’s Observability for Amazon EKS Helps Yara Deliver Digital Farming Solutions
Buyer's Guide
AppDynamics vs. Instana Dynamic APM
January 2025
Free Report: AppDynamics vs. Instana Dynamic APM
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We monitor all Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.