Datadog vs Sentry
Datadog is cloud-scale monitoring and observability platform for infrastructure, applications, and logs, while Sentry is application monitoring platform focused on error tracking, performance monitoring, and session replay. Datadog comes in cheaper, but price alone does not tell the full story. Datadog is built for engineering teams running complex, multi-service infrastructure at scale, whereas Sentry targets development teams that need to catch, triage, and fix errors quickly.
| Feature | Datadog | Sentry |
|---|---|---|
| Free tier available | ✓ | ✓ |
| Open source | — | ✓ |
| APM | ✓ | — |
| Alerting | ✓ | — |
| Alerts | — | ✓ |
| Dashboards | ✓ | — |
| Error Tracking | — | ✓ |
| Infrastructure Monitoring | ✓ | — |
| Log Management | ✓ | — |
| Performance Monitoring | — | ✓ |
| Release Tracking | — | ✓ |
| Session Replay | — | ✓ |
Pricing: Both tools offer free tiers, so you can test each before committing. Datadog's free plan: Free for up to 5 hosts with basic metrics. Sentry's free plan: Free for 5K errors and 10K performance events/mo. When you outgrow the free tier, Datadog is the cheaper option at $15/host/mo vs. $26/mo for Sentry — roughly 73% less.
Feature gaps: Datadog offers APM, Alerting and Dashboards that Sentry lacks. Sentry brings Alerts, Error Tracking and Performance Monitoring that Datadog does not have.
Team fit: Datadog is geared toward enterprise teams, while Sentry is aimed at any size teams. Pick the one that matches where your team is today and where it is headed — migrating tools later is always painful.
Open source: Sentry is open source, meaning you can self-host, audit the code, and avoid vendor lock-in. Datadog is proprietary — you are trusting the vendor with your data and uptime.
Where each tool shines: Datadog's biggest strengths are: most comprehensive monitoring platform available. 750+ integrations covering virtually every technology. Sentry's biggest strengths are: best-in-class error tracking with detailed stack traces. session replay shows exactly what users experienced.
Watch out for: With Datadog, users commonly note that pricing is complex and gets very expensive at scale. With Sentry, the main complaint is that event-based pricing can get expensive with noisy apps.
choose Datadog if
- You need a tool built for engineering teams running complex, multi-service infrastructure at scale
- You want to save on per-user costs — Datadog is $11.00/user/mo cheaper
- You specifically need APM and Alerting
- You care about 750+ integrations covering virtually every technology
- Your team size fits the enterprise profile Datadog is designed for
choose Sentry if
- You need a tool built for development teams that need to catch, triage, and fix errors quickly
- You need self-hosting, data sovereignty, or the ability to audit source code
- You specifically need Alerts and Error Tracking
- You care about session replay shows exactly what users experienced
- Your team size fits the any size profile Sentry is designed for
frequently asked
What is the difference between Datadog and Sentry?
Datadog is cloud-scale monitoring and observability platform for infrastructure, applications, and logs, while Sentry is application monitoring platform focused on error tracking, performance monitoring, and session replay. Datadog comes in cheaper, but price alone does not tell the full story. Datadog is built for engineering teams running complex, multi-service infrastructure at scale, whereas Sentry targets development teams that need to catch, triage, and fix errors quickly.
Should I use Datadog or Sentry?
Sentry gives you open source and self-hosting; Datadog is a managed service. Which trade-off works for you?
When should I choose Datadog over Sentry?
Choose Datadog if You need a tool built for engineering teams running complex, multi-service infrastructure at scale; You want to save on per-user costs — Datadog is $11.00/user/mo cheaper; You specifically need APM and Alerting; You care about 750+ integrations covering virtually every technology; Your team size fits the enterprise profile Datadog is designed for.
When should I choose Sentry over Datadog?
Choose Sentry if You need a tool built for development teams that need to catch, triage, and fix errors quickly; You need self-hosting, data sovereignty, or the ability to audit source code; You specifically need Alerts and Error Tracking; You care about session replay shows exactly what users experienced; Your team size fits the any size profile Sentry is designed for.
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