SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor vs Splunk AppDynamics comparison

SolarWinds and Splunk are both solutions in the Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability category. SolarWinds is ranked #20 with an average rating of 7.4, while Splunk is ranked #3 with an average rating of 8.2. SolarWinds holds a 1.3% mindshare in APM, compared to Splunk’s 4.1% mindshare. Additionally, 89% of SolarWinds users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 91% of Splunk users who would recommend it.

SolarWinds Server and Appli...

Read 44 SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor reviews

3,599 Views
2,339 Comparison Views

89% willing to recommend

Splunk AppDynamics

Read 254 Splunk AppDynamics reviews

12,143 Views
9,472 Comparison Views

91% willing to recommend

SolarWinds Server and Appli...

Splunk AppDynamics

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 17, 2025

Splunk AppDynamics and SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor compete in the application monitoring category. Splunk AppDynamics seems to have the upper hand due to its in-depth code-level insights and advanced transaction tracking features.

Features: Splunk AppDynamics provides detailed code-level insights with robust transaction tracking, JVM memory monitoring, and real-time performance metrics. Its ability to correlate business transactions across nodes and auto-baseline applications offers a comprehensive end-to-end transaction view. SolarWinds excels in basic infrastructure and network health monitoring, with strengths in maintaining server performance and availability.

Room for Improvement: Splunk AppDynamics could improve its network monitoring capabilities, agent management, and cloud technology support. Simplifying its licensing structure and enhancing its user interface would also be beneficial. SolarWinds could improve its performance and stability during scaling, reduce false positives, and enhance its custom report creation and integration capabilities.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Splunk AppDynamics is praised for responsive and knowledgeable customer service but can be complex to deploy in hybrid environments. SolarWinds is easier to install in on-premises environments but struggles with hybrid or cloud deployments, and its customer service may not efficiently manage upgrades and scaling.

Pricing and ROI: Splunk AppDynamics is considered expensive, with detailed insights justifying the ROI for many. It is important to evaluate needs to manage costs effectively by choosing relevant modules. SolarWinds offers better value with lower pricing but may require additional investments for advanced features and enterprise-scale deployments.

To learn more, read our detailed SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor vs. Splunk AppDynamics Report (Updated: September 2025).

Buyer's Guide

SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor vs. Splunk AppDynamics

September 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 Server and Appli...

Ranking in Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability

20th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

4.5

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Server Monitoring (10th), Active Directory Management (10th)

Splunk AppDynamics

Ranking in Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability

3rd

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

6.9

Number of Reviews

254

Ranking in other categories

IT Infrastructure Monitoring (6th), IT Operations Analytics (2nd), Mobile APM (1st), Container Monitoring (3rd)

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability category, the mindshare of SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor is 1.3%, down from 1.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Splunk AppDynamics is 4.1%, down from 5.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Splunk AppDynamics	4.1%
SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor	1.3%
Other	94.6%

Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability

Featured Reviews

NikhilKalwint

Technical Specialist at ServiceIO

Monitoring over a thousand systems has improved decision making and operational visibility

From an advantage perspective, SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor is comparatively cheaper from a commercial point of view. It is easy to install and configure, very user-friendly, and quick to get up and running, allowing you to see the early value adds in your organization. It is compatible with most technologies for monitoring with very few chances of incompatibility. Configuration also allows us to monitor all the technical parameters we are looking for, making it a very good experience for us. The alerting feature in SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor is a main advantage, as it alerts based on threshold breaches and can raise tickets to the ticketing system, send SMS, and email notifications, allowing engineers to work on those tickets to resolve issues and avoid further impact. The visibility into server health is a beneficial feature that I am utilizing. We widely use various application performance metrics in SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor such as database monitoring and server monitoring, which are quite good enough for any monitoring solution. We utilize the customizable dashboards in SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor.

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Gyanesh Rahatekar

Back office at Reliance Industries Ltd

Application performance management and error resolution improved with data-driven insights

Dynatrace has multiple functions compared to Splunk AppDynamics, so Splunk AppDynamics should add those functions, which are not available as of now. Dynatrace has a universal agent that collects all information related to their CI, and if one CI has multiple languages, then there is no need to instrument multiple agents. However, Splunk AppDynamics requires multiple agents; if I have one server with multiple applications in different languages, then I need to instrument different agents for each application. Splunk AppDynamics should work with Dynatrace with one single universal agent that works with all application languages, eliminating the need for multiple implementations.

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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

"I am impressed with the tool's AppStack feature which mainly helps us in the identification process. This feature can give an overview of the fault and help us identify the issues for performance degradation. Instead of looking at multiple places, we can look at a single place to identify the issues."

"I'd rate technical support at eight out of ten. They are helpful and fast."

"AppInsight for SQL: Enables us to see the relevant error log entries on the same page as performance parameters."

"AppInsight. Provides a simple way to get very in-depth monitoring configured for our most popular applications. Exchange, SQL, and SharePoint."

"Manage Groups: The capability to group appropriate devices gives better visibility of sites, categories, or critical regions. The same can be used to represent a dashboard for higher management."

"Management Console - Managing service to each server enrolled in the Solarwinds is much easier. Using a web base console, you can control your service much convenient way. There is no need to login remotely. It save a lot of time and effort."

"We use the solution as a central monitoring tool. We use it to monitor every transaction that has a relation to the organization’s infrastructure."

"The initial setup was relatively easy, and we didn't have to install anything. All we had to do was put on the devices we wanted to monitor."

More SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor pros

"The most valuable feature of AppDynamics is its ability to track the transactions between different applications."

"Setting up the monitoring agents was straightforward."

"What I like most about AppDynamics Server Monitoring is that it's easy to manipulate and easy to implement. All solutions have the same features, but what sets AppDynamics Server Monitoring apart is that it's really quick to implement. AppDynamics Server Monitoring has a great interface. As a developer, it doesn't matter whether it's SolarWinds, Dynatrace, or any APM you're using, but it would matter to the customer. A product must be easy to manipulate or use, for example, AppDynamics Server Monitoring, for the customer, but for developers like my team, there's no pressure, even if a solution requires coding."

"It is a wonderful monitoring tool that manages various aspects such as system resources (CPU, RAM), mobile performance, and infrastructure monitoring."

"Visibility to the end-users is a valuable feature."

"The most valuable features of AppDynamics is the scalability and monitoring."

"We set up alerts recently so we can fix any issues more quickly in production."

"The platform is reliable in identifying the core system issues."

More Splunk AppDynamics pros

Cons

"When you implement SolarWinds on a larger scale my customers complain about the speed."

"SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor could improve the server monitoring and the web application monitoring features are not good. Microsoft SCOM has better server monitoring."

"One product area that could benefit from improvement is the synchronization of licensing periods across different modules"

"Support for the IBM Mainframe is needed."

"I believe that some of the trends, environmental maps, and items like those found in Orion would be very beneficial."

"The tool’s report feature created issues for us. We needed to gain skills to use that feature. The tool’s customization is not easy since you have to reconfigure the whole system."

"SAM AppInsight for SQL: The ability to ignore fragmentation of specific indexes."

"The technical support was better in previous years. With the launch of the premium support service, the normal support has declined."

More SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor cons

"The cost element is an issue. I can't expect the company to change its way of work. However, given the fact that we earn and do all our business in South African Rand, I would prefer to buy in Rand as opposed to the American dollar or British pound."

"Based on the user experience feedback that we have had, I think that the most important thing to improve is the availability of the SaaS, the cloud environment."

"AppDynamics is new to the cloud and could improve its cloud services, they are following a monolithic monitoring approach."

"This feature needs to be properly described to a client, and then the client needs to have a use case. There are some clients which do not need it and some clients who do. It is not for everyone and is dependant on their use case."

"Regarding Search Guard functionality, there is room for improvement."

"AppDynamics Server Monitoring lacks investment in new technologies like Kubernetes and cloud solutions."

"There could log management features included in the product."

"There needs to be an option to capture all the sessions for all the users, not just samplings."

More Splunk AppDynamics cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I have always said SolarWinds is very “proud” of their products, meaning they are expensive. I cannot afford to purchase all the licenses I need for all the SolarWinds products."

"Nagios XI, WhatsUpGold, Uptime Software, PRTG, Manage Engine, and SpiceWorks are the other tools that have lower pricing and licensing costs. However, they can't compete with SolarWinds when it comes to the features and functionality that SolarWinds can provide."

"We pay around $ 2,000 to $ 5,000 yearly for the solution."

"SAM is not per server so the pricing model can be deceiving. If you have an enterprise environment, you will quickly exceed your licensing quickly. You should know this before going in."

"Understanding the counts of objects to monitor will determine the licensing need. In terms of pricing, it’s not cheap but it’s not expensive as larger vendors whose products don’t have all the features or integrations."

"I think SolarWinds' pricing is very decent compared to other competitors in the market."

"Pricing is inexpensive, starting at 2440 euros. For that, you get the ability to monitor a couple of nodes and one year of maintenance and support."

"The tool is available for my company at a good price point."

More SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor pricing and cost advice

"If one is expensive and ten is low price, I rate the product price as seven out of ten."

"I would say the solution is affordable because it is widely used across financial service sectors."

"The licensing scheme is very complex. They need to make it easier."

"There is an annual cost for the use of this solution."

"As compared to other applications, its price is moderate. Its price is neither very high nor very low."

"It could be cheaper. It's a little cost prohibitive. There are so many features that also show a lot of value, but it’s not always easy to justify the cost."

"AppDynamics is one of the most expensive solutions on the market."

"AppDynamics Server Monitoring is a very expensive product, but if you negotiate well, you get value for money...My company used to make early payments toward the licensing costs of the solution, but now my company has opted for a different licensing model."

More Splunk AppDynamics pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

12%

Government

10%

Financial Services Firm

Healthcare Company

Financial Services Firm

28%

Computer Software Company

13%

Manufacturing Company

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	17
Midsize Enterprise	8
Large Enterprise	21

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	55
Midsize Enterprise	36
Large Enterprise	189

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor?

Identifying the problem statement is easy.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor?

The initial cost is quite high, but the renewal cost is reasonable.

See all answers

What needs improvement with SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor?

There are no specific features or functionality I would like to see improved or enhanced in SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor at this time. I have not encountered any missing features or fu...

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

What do you like most about AppDynamics?

The solution saves time and cost.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for AppDynamics?

I would rate the pricing an eight out of ten. The solution is highly expensive. Our company pays for the solution on a yearly basis, if we don't add new modules or features to the license, we need ...

See all answers

Comparisons

Dynatrace vs SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor

Compared 16% of the time

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Compared 14% of the time

Prometheus-AI Platform vs SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor

Compared 6% of the time

Zabbix vs SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor

Compared 5% of the time

Nagios XI vs SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor

Compared 4% of the time

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Dynatrace vs Splunk AppDynamics

Compared 13% of the time

Splunk Enterprise Security vs Splunk AppDynamics

Compared 8% of the time

Datadog vs Splunk AppDynamics

Compared 8% of the time

New Relic vs Splunk AppDynamics

Compared 8% of the time

Instana Dynamic APM vs Splunk AppDynamics

Compared 2% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor

October 2025

SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor report

Download SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor product report

Buyer's Guide

Splunk AppDynamics

October 2025

Download Splunk AppDynamics product report

Also Known As

SolarWinds SAM

No data available

Overview

SolarWinds Server & Application Monitor (SAM) delivers powerful application and server monitoring capabilities for IT pros, enabling them to diagnose and troubleshoot performance issues faster. Do not let slow applications and downtime impact your end-users and business services. Pinpoint the root cause of application issues across various layers of the IT stack. SolarWinds SAM is affordable and easy to deploy, use, and customize. You can automatically discover your system's environment and start monitoring in about an hour. No professional services or consultation needed.

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

Andr. L. Riis AS, NetSuite

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 Server and Application Monitor vs. Splunk AppDynamics

September 2025

Free Report: SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor vs. Splunk AppDynamics

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