SolarWinds AppOptics vs Splunk AppDynamics comparison

SolarWinds and Splunk are both solutions in the Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability category. SolarWinds is ranked #48 with an average rating of 8.0, while Splunk is ranked #3 with an average rating of 8.4. SolarWinds holds a 0.3% mindshare in APM, compared to Splunk’s 4.8% mindshare. Additionally, 80% of SolarWinds users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 91% of Splunk users who would recommend it.

SolarWinds AppOptics

Read 9 SolarWinds AppOptics reviews

767 Views
525 Comparison Views

80% willing to recommend

Splunk AppDynamics

Read 246 Splunk AppDynamics reviews

13,704 Views
8,634 Comparison Views

91% willing to recommend

SolarWinds AppOptics

Splunk AppDynamics

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Feb 6, 2025

Splunk AppDynamics and SolarWinds AppOptics compete in the application performance monitoring market. Splunk AppDynamics seems to have the upper hand due to its detailed code-level diagnostics and end-to-end transaction tracking, which are pivotal for identifying performance bottlenecks.

Features:Splunk AppDynamics provides a detailed view of code-level performance diagnostics, emphasizing end-to-end transaction tracking, which is critical for identifying performance bottlenecks. It offers nuanced monitoring of specific programming environments suitable for granular application insights. SolarWinds AppOptics focuses on integrated infrastructure monitoring, offering a comprehensive view albeit lacking depth in code-level diagnostics.

Room for Improvement:Splunk AppDynamics users desire better agent management, enhanced support for emerging technologies, and improved network visibility. SolarWinds AppOptics could benefit from a more consolidated interface, better integration with other tools, pricing model enhancements, and more dynamic visualizations for a seamless user experience.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service:Splunk AppDynamics offers robust deployment across hybrid, public, and on-premises environments, with generally excellent customer service though some seek improved technical support consistency. SolarWinds AppOptics is reliable in similar deployment scopes and is noted for quick issue resolution, though its licensing complexity may impact deployment decisions.

Pricing and ROI:Splunk AppDynamics is considered premium, reflecting its comprehensive feature set, and seen as worth the investment for detailed monitoring. SolarWinds AppOptics offers competitive licensing favoring straightforward cost structures, but needs enhancements in value delivery. Both products provide ROI through reduced troubleshooting time and improved application performance.

To learn more, read our detailed SolarWinds AppOptics vs. Splunk AppDynamics Report (Updated: April 2025).

Buyer's Guide

SolarWinds AppOptics vs. Splunk AppDynamics

April 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

SolarWinds AppOptics

Ranking in Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability

48th

Ranking in IT Infrastructure Monitoring

50th

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

7.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Cloud Monitoring Software (34th)

Splunk AppDynamics

Ranking in Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability

3rd

Ranking in IT Infrastructure Monitoring

4th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

6.9

Number of Reviews

246

Ranking in other categories

IT Operations Analytics (2nd), Mobile APM (2nd), Container Monitoring (3rd)

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability category, the mindshare of SolarWinds AppOptics is 0.3%, down from 0.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Splunk AppDynamics is 4.8%, down from 6.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability

Featured Reviews

John Yuko

Assistant Manager ICT - Projects at I&M Bank Ltd

Unique features allow consolidating and combing metrics into a single dashboard, but don't monitor mobile solutions

I would like to see more granular information provided on Unix applications. Also, the integration with Unix services should be a bit more straightforward in terms having an agent to retrieve your credentials rather than having to enter or save them for SSH on SolarWinds. From the outset, we had to set some commands to log into the search console, and they are saved on the solution, which presents a challenge in terms of exposure. The solution is unable to monitor APK solutions completely because we'd then be forced to break down the APK and provide the APIs or go through the source code. They don't have a module that can analyze an application that is maybe under-used.

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Muhammad Zeeshan Siddiqui

Head of Technology and Services at arwentech

Dynamic mapping enhances workflows that are user-friendly

One aspect that requires improvement is the agent. Without an agent, gathering sufficient information on applications is challenging. Additionally, the agent sometimes creates performance issues in production environments. If AppDynamics could develop a means to monitor without an agent, it could significantly improve application performance and reduce potential problems. Moving to an agentless solution, like what some competitors are doing, would be beneficial.

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

"Some of the most valuable features of SolarWinds are the topology discovery and network performance analysis."

"I have found the most valuable feature is application performance management."

"The reporting of the solution is very good."

"The product has a great dashboard."

"The sum solution, NTA, and DPA."

"Technical support is always live and they're supportive."

"AppDynamics provides us with detailed information about the performance of the underlying infrastructure, including servers, databases, and external services."

"It provides a lot of data, so it helps businesses identify their user base."

"The most valuable feature is that we can see how our end-users are interacting with our application across regions."

"It has improved our organization with its ability to catch issues quickly and fix them."

"The most valuable feature in AppDynamics is the identifying of the slow responses. Additionally, it is easy to use."

"The solution's most valuable feature is the response time from the end-to-end server."

"We previously had an operations team continuously monitoring applications. Now, they just have set things up and our developers can monitor, view, and act on them, accordingly."

"Technical support is helpful."

More Splunk AppDynamics pros

Cons

"I would like to see more integration with other tools that are available on the market."

"The integration with Unix services should be a bit more straightforward."

"AppOptics would benefit from having a much more centralized view."

"In terms of the technology, I think they need to put some more advanced troubleshooting into SolarWinds, in terms of AI capabilities. That's the next generation, especially in the cases of APIs which have already adopted AI capabilities into their products."

"The implementation needs improvement. It needs to get modernized with the newer cloud scenario in both public and private deployment models."

"The solution should be more user-friendly."

"Improvements can be made in the area of AI integration."

"There may be some older technologies that are still covered, however, it's not as plug-and-play. You can still do it, however, it takes slightly more effort for engineers to cover old technologies such as C++, Delphi, and so on. It still can be done. It's just not as easy as, for example, covering Java."

"The user experience is quite confusing. There are too many different development stages. The UI is not very intuitive."

"The scalability could be improved."

"The product’s dashboard could be more easy to implement."

"AppDynamics lacks integration with cloud technology. It probably isn't a good fit for emerging enterprises because it's an on-premise solution, and many newer companies are moving to the cloud. AppDynamics' on-premise technology works reasonably well, but it doesn't have cloud features."

"They need to improve the consolidation of agents for the agent's installation process."

"The pricing falls within the mid-range category."

More Splunk AppDynamics cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Mostly, it's a perpetual license. We don't have any customers using the subscription right now—it's mostly a perpetual license that the customers purchase. The licensing is based on the number of elements, whereas other solutions are node-based."

"Since it's a negotiable rate, I would rate the pricing as a five out of five."

"I believe the current licensing cost is reasonable."

"The product’s licencing policy is competitive. However, properly identify and size your needs to get the best rate."

"AppDynamics Database Monitoring is expensive. I rate it a seven to eight out of ten."

"For those who appreciate the value and had issues with the visibility of the performance of their applications, then the pricing is good. For somebody who does not need it, it can be pricey, but overall, it is worth the money which it costs."

"Yearly payments have to be made toward the licensing costs of the solution. The solution has no additional costs apart from the licensing costs."

"The license for AppDynamics is procured by our customers."

"Our purchasing experience through the AWS Marketplace has been pretty painless."

"It could be a bit lower, but looking at the scalability, functionality, and other things, you can understand why AppDynamics is so expensive as compared to some of the cheaper products that don't have that full single pane of glass they've got. Dynatrace has got three different elements that you need to log into just to get a full view, which is not so good, and because of that, it is a bit cheaper."

"There is no standard license instead, the license is adapted to the organization's requirements."

More Splunk AppDynamics pricing and cost advice

See which vendors are best for you

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Educational Organization

56%

Financial Services Firm

Computer Software Company

Government

Educational Organization

48%

Financial Services Firm

17%

Computer Software Company

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about SolarWinds AppOptics?

The product has a great dashboard.

See all answers

What needs improvement with SolarWinds AppOptics?

The solution should be more user-friendly.

See all answers

What is your primary use case for SolarWinds AppOptics?

I used the solution for monitoring servers and network equipment.

See all answers

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

Comparisons

Dynatrace vs SolarWinds AppOptics

Compared 31% of the time

SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor vs SolarWinds AppOptics

Compared 21% of the time

New Relic vs SolarWinds AppOptics

Compared 14% of the time

Zabbix vs SolarWinds AppOptics

Compared 13% of the time

Zenoss Cloud vs SolarWinds AppOptics

Compared 11% of the time

More SolarWinds AppOptics Competitors

Dynatrace vs Splunk AppDynamics

Compared 15% of the time

Datadog vs Splunk AppDynamics

Compared 10% of the time

Splunk Enterprise Security vs Splunk AppDynamics

Compared 8% of the time

New Relic vs Splunk AppDynamics

Compared 7% of the time

Grafana vs Splunk AppDynamics

Compared 6% of the time

More Splunk AppDynamics Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability

April 2025

Download SolarWinds AppOptics product report

Buyer's Guide

Splunk AppDynamics

March 2025

Download Splunk AppDynamics product report

Also Known As

AppOptics, SolarWinds TraceView, Librato

No data available

Overview

AppOptics is a SaaS-based simple, powerful and affordable Infrastructure & Application monitoring for custom on-premises, cloud, and hybrid systems.

Your business runs on applications, and when they go down or run slowly, it can impact the business in lost productivity, customers, or revenue. To add to the complexity, your IT environment is changing, and workloads can be spread across data centers, and cloud resources. You need to monitor the availability and performance of applications and infrastructure, regardless of where they are, so you can identify potential issues early and address them before they impact users

SolarWinds

Splunk AppDynamics enhances application performance monitoring with advanced diagnostics and real-time insights, offering seamless end-to-end transaction tracking and infrastructure visibility.

AppDynamics provides critical tools for businesses to analyze application behavior and performance. Through innovative features like transaction snapshot analysis and adaptable dashboards, users can quickly identify and address issues, ensuring high levels of system uptime and efficiency. It is designed to support complex environments including Kubernetes and AWS, enhancing user experience by detecting performance issues early. Despite needing improvements in network monitoring and integration, it remains a robust option for tracking application health.

What are the key features of AppDynamics?

Real-time Performance Monitoring: Offers immediate insights into application behavior.
Business Transaction Tracking: Tracks transactions from start to finish for bottleneck identification.
JVM Memory Monitoring: Provides detailed JVM metrics and memory use information.
Deep-dive Diagnostics: Enables in-depth analysis of code and stack traces.
Adaptable Dashboards: Customizable views for better data interpretation.

How does AppDynamics benefit users?

Improved Incident Resolution: Faster problem detection and solution implementation.
Enhanced Application Performance: Real-time monitoring optimizes system operations.
Comprehensive Visibility: Provides a full view of application infrastructure.
Informed Decision Making: Detailed analytics guide performance improvements.
Customer Satisfaction: Enhances user experience through faster issue resolutions.

In industries like financial services and e-commerce, AppDynamics facilitates performance tracking across distributed systems, optimizing infrastructure to meet consumer demands. It excels in environments needing precise transaction monitoring and is pivotal in delivering high value and satisfaction.

Splunk

Sample Customers

TraxoCovea Insurance BTE TechnologyDatarista

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

Buyer's Guide

SolarWinds AppOptics vs. Splunk AppDynamics

April 2025

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