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Elastic Observability vs Instana Dynamic APM comparison

Elastic and Instana are both solutions in the Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability category. Elastic is ranked #6 with an average rating of 8.7, while Instana is ranked #30 with an average rating of 8.0. Elastic holds a 2.6% mindshare in APM, compared to Instana’s 1.0% mindshare. Additionally, 88% of Elastic users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 84% of Instana users who would recommend it.
Elastic Observability
Read 29 Elastic Observability reviews
  • 8,436 Views
  • 6,833 Comparison Views
88% willing to recommend
Instana Dynamic APM
Read 14 Instana Dynamic APM reviews
  • 1,942 Views
  • 1,884 Comparison Views
84% willing to recommend
 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jul 24, 2024

Instana Dynamic APM and Elastic Observability are leading products in performance management and observability. User reviews indicate that Elastic Observability holds a slight edge in feature-richness and overall value based on comprehensive comparisons.

Features: Instana Dynamic APM offers real-time data processing, AI-powered anomaly detection, and efficient root cause analysis. Elastic Observability excels in scalability, comprehensive data visualization, and extensive integrations.

Room for Improvement: Instana Dynamic APM users seek better integration with legacy systems, improved alerting functionalities, and simplified scalability management. Elastic Observability users highlight the need for enhanced user guidance, streamlined configuration, and optimized resource utilization.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Instana Dynamic APM's deployment is straightforward, though some users experience complexities with scaling. Customer service receives mixed reviews regarding responsiveness. Elastic Observability has a user-friendly deployment process and consistently praised customer service.

Pricing and ROI: Instana Dynamic APM is deemed cost-effective, offering significant value relative to setup costs and achieving quicker ROI. Elastic Observability, though slightly more expensive, is seen as a worthy investment due to its robust features and integration benefits, delivering substantial ROI.

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To learn more, read our detailed Elastic Observability vs. Instana Dynamic APM Report (Updated: December 2025).
Buyer's Guide
Elastic Observability vs. Instana Dynamic APM
December 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

Elastic Observability
Ranking in Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability
6th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
29
Ranking in other categories
IT Infrastructure Monitoring (9th), Log Management (14th), Container Monitoring (4th), Cloud Monitoring Software (7th)
Instana Dynamic APM
Ranking in Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability
30th
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 2026, in the Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability category, the mindshare of Elastic Observability is 2.6%, down from 6.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Instana Dynamic APM is 1.0%, down from 1.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Elastic Observability2.6%
Instana Dynamic APM1.0%
Other96.4%
Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability
 

Featured Reviews

MA
Mohammed-Abdelalim
Assistant Vice President at QualityKiosk Technologies Pvt. Ltd.
Has provided powerful customization for unique monitoring needs but needs more out-of-the-box capabilities
In my opinion, the best features of Elastic Observability are their flexibility to integrate with other existing systems and the ability to build a unified monitoring tool that can integrate with existing ones and end-to-end user journeys which require a lot of customizations. The greatest feature in Elastic is the ability to customize. This is similar to my comments about customizable dashboards in Elastic because it's visible to the analyst. However, it's very great. Customizing these dashboards can meet the customer's specific use cases and specific stories that they have in their environment, their special environment that doesn't look like other environments. The dashboarding in Elastic is highly customizable to the level of logos. If the customer wants his company logo in the dashboard, it can be done.
Read full review
Muhammad Jawwad Hassan - PeerSpot reviewer
Muhammad Jawwad Hassan
IT Consultant at Arcana Info
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

"Elastic APM has plenty of features, such as the Elastic server for Kibana and many additional plugins. It's a comprehensive tool when used as a logging platform."
"Its diverse set of features available on the cloud is of significant importance."
"We can view and connect different sources to the dashboard using it."
"The solution allows us to dig deep into data."
"The Elastic User Interface framework lets us do custom development when needed. You need to have some Javascript knowledge. We need that knowledge to develop new custom tests."
"It is scalable and supports multitenancy, which is beneficial for MSPs."
"All the features that we use, such as monitoring, dashboarding, reporting, the possibility of alerting, and the way we index the data, are important."
"I recommend Elastic Observability for its completeness of vision and wide ecosystem."
More Elastic Observability pros
"The primary selling point of this product is its unparalleled transparency into the infrastructure."
"The most valuable feature of Instana Dynamic APM is auto-instrumentation."
"If a key monitored value has crossed a threshold, it sends out an alert. And the solution is able to intelligently find out if something is beyond the range that it normally resides in."
"We can easily perform root cause analysis using the tool."
"It is a stable solution."
"Visually, it's very good. It provides everything needed for dynamic detection, which is very useful."
"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."
"The platform’s most valuable feature is the ability to monitor the performance of containers for request and response analysis."
More Instana Dynamic APM pros
 

Cons

"Simplifying the parsing of logs and manual efforts would also be beneficial."
"The tool's scalability involves a more complex implementation process. It requires careful calculations to determine the number of nodes needed, the specifications of each node, and the configuration of hot, warm, and cold zones for data storage. Additionally, managing log retention policies adds further complexity. The solution's pricing also needs to be cheaper."
"I would have preferred built-in tools to manage the indexes on deployment for better visual representation, as the initial feedback regarding system performance and data storage was fairly primitive and lacking."
"I am familiar with Azure Monitor, which I find more user-friendly compared to Elastic, which is a very technical tool."
"Elastic Observability is an excellent product for monitoring and visibility, but it lacks predictive analytics. Most solutions are aligned with the AIOps requirements, but this piece is missing in Elastic and should be included."
"Improving code insight related to infrastructure and network, particularly focusing on aspects such as firewalls, switches, routers, and testing would be beneficial."
"They need more skills in the market. There are not enough skills in the market. It is not pervasive enough on the market, in my opinion. In other words, there isn't a big enough user base."
"The price is the only issue in the solution. It can be made better and cheaper."
More Elastic Observability cons
"The integration could be improved with more plugins or open API."
"The configuration of Instana Dynamic APM needs improvement because it requires quite a bit of work."
"Many managers, as well as our customers, used to ask for reports, such as "top X number of queries that are slow," or "top pages that have the highest number of issues." This is something that can be improved by Instana. Currently, they don't have that kind of reporting available out-of-the-box."
"Its SLI and SLA features need improvement in setting up alerts."
"While it is already quite good, there is room for improvement in terms of providing better functionality"
"The auto-remediation features must be improved."
"We'd always like to see additional functionalities."
"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."
More Instana Dynamic APM cons
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"There are two types: cloud and SaaS. They charge based on data ingestion, ingest rate, hard retention, and warm retention. I believe it costs around $25,000 annually to ingest 30GB of data daily. That is the SaaS version. There is also a self-managed license where the customer manages their own infrastructure on-prem. In such cases, there are three license tiers that respectively cost $5,000 annually per node, $7,000 per node, and $12,500 per node."
"Elastic Observability's pricing could be better for small-scale users."
"Pricing is one of those situations where the more you use it, the more you pay."
"We have been using the open-source version."
"Users have to pay for some features, like the alerts on different channels, because they are unavailable in different source versions."
"Since we are a huge company, Elastic Observability is an affordable solution for us."
"Elastic Observability is cheaper than other similar solutions, such as Dynatrace. Its license calculation is based on various factors like data volume and physical infrastructure, particularly related to RAM capacity."
"One needs to pay for the licenses, and it is an annual subscription model right now."
More Elastic Observability pricing and cost advice
"The pricing is $1,200 per year which is a bit high compared to other vendors."
"Instana Dynamic APM is more affordable for small and medium-sized companies compared to other vendors."
"It's reasonably priced and manageable, especially for individuals who grasp the significance of application monitoring."
"The solution's pricing is comparable to other products."
"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."
"The solution is less expensive than one of its competitors."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
16%
Computer Software Company
14%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
6%
Financial Services Firm
25%
Manufacturing Company
12%
Computer Software Company
6%
Retailer
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business9
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise16
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business3
Midsize Enterprise6
Large Enterprise5
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Elastic Observability?
Elastic Observability significantly improves incident response time by providing quick access to logs and data across various sources. For instance, searching for specific keywords in logs spanning...
See all answers
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Elastic Observability?
The problem is their licensing model, which is a bit confusing. Many customers struggle to understand their total cost of ownership because Elastic licensing is not dependent on easy, quantifiable ...
See all answers
What needs improvement with Elastic Observability?
After careful consideration about areas for improvement in Elastic Observability, aspects such as pricing, customization, implementation, and scalability could be improved. As a user of the system,...
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

Sentry vs Elastic Observability Logo
Sentry vs Elastic Observability
Compared 8% of the time
Dynatrace vs Elastic Observability Logo
Dynatrace vs Elastic Observability
Compared 8% of the time
New Relic vs Elastic Observability Logo
New Relic vs Elastic Observability
Compared 7% of the time
Grafana vs Elastic Observability Logo
Grafana vs Elastic Observability
Compared 7% of the time
Zabbix vs Elastic Observability Logo
Zabbix vs Elastic Observability
Compared 6% of the time
More Elastic Observability Competitors
Dynatrace vs Instana Dynamic APM Logo
Dynatrace vs Instana Dynamic APM
Compared 31% of the time
Splunk AppDynamics vs Instana Dynamic APM Logo
Splunk AppDynamics vs Instana Dynamic APM
Compared 13% of the time
New Relic vs Instana Dynamic APM Logo
New Relic vs Instana Dynamic APM
Compared 8% of the time
Datadog vs Instana Dynamic APM Logo
Datadog vs Instana Dynamic APM
Compared 6% of the time
Apica vs Instana Dynamic APM Logo
Apica vs Instana Dynamic APM
Compared 3% of the time
More Instana Dynamic APM Competitors
 

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide
Elastic Observability
January 2026
Elastic Observability reportDownload Elastic Observability product report
Buyer's Guide
Instana Dynamic APM
January 2026
Instana Dynamic APM reportDownload Instana Dynamic APM product report
 

Overview

Elastic Observability offers a comprehensive suite for log analytics, application performance monitoring, and machine learning. It integrates seamlessly with platforms like Teams and Slack, enhancing data visualization and scalability for real-time insights.

Elastic Observability is designed to support production environments with features like logging, data collection, and infrastructure tracking. Centralized logging and powerful search functionalities make incident response and performance tracking efficient. Elastic APM and Kibana facilitate detailed data visualization, promoting rapid troubleshooting and effective system performance analysis. Integrated services and extensive connectivity options enhance its role in business and technical decision-making by providing actionable data insights.

What are the most important features of Elastic Observability?
  • Centralized Logging: Streamlines the collection, analysis, and storage of log data.
  • Powerful Search: Provides robust search capabilities for quick access to relevant information.
  • Scalability: Supports growing data needs across diverse environments.
  • Real-time Telemetry: Ensures up-to-date insights and monitoring.
  • Platform Integration: Seamlessly connects with services like Teams and Slack.
  • Data Visualization: Enhances visibility with Elastic APM and Kibana.
What benefits and ROI should users explore in reviews?
  • Cost-effectiveness: Offers significant savings through efficient data management.
  • Rapid Incident Response: Minimizes downtime with quick troubleshooting tools.
  • Comprehensive Insights: Supports better business decisions with detailed data analysis.
  • Performance Tracking: Enables assessment of system effectiveness and improvements.

Elastic Observability is employed across industries for critical operations, such as in finance for transaction monitoring, in healthcare for secure data management, and in technology for optimizing application performance. Its data-driven approach aids efficient event tracing, supporting diverse industry requirements.

Elastic

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

PSCU, Entel, VITAS, Mimecast, Barrett Steel, Butterfield Bank
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
Elastic Observability vs. Instana Dynamic APM
December 2025
Free Report: Elastic Observability 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.