Direct answer: APM pricing in 2026 comes in three models: Datadog by host (APM standalone 36/host/month annual; 41/47 for Pro/Enterprise; with Infra Pro 31 + 15; each host includes 150GB ingested spans + 1M indexed spans per year, overage 0.10/GB); Dynatrace by 8GiB host (Full-Stack 58/month per 8GiB host, billed at 0.01/GiB-hour; Infrastructure 29/host; Foundation 7/host); New Relic by user + data (100GB/month free, then 0.40/GB; Core 49/user; Full platform Standard first user 10, additional 99 (max 5); Pro 349/user annual or 418.80 monthly). Three tiers: 5 hosts/3 full users/300GB: Datadog 203.75, Dynatrace 290, New Relic 288; 10 hosts/5 users/500GB: 397.50/580/566; 10 hosts/10 users/500GB: 397.50/580/3,650 (New Relic Pro annual). Bottom line: Datadog’s per-host price is cheapest for small teams; Dynatrace bundles APM+Infra per 8GiB host; New Relic’s per-user model is competitive at 3–5 full users and gets expensive at 10+; platform scope differs, so unit prices alone are not comparable.
This guide is for application performance, SRE, platform engineering and procurement teams. Data cut-off: 7 November 2026; prices come from Datadog Pricing, Dynatrace Pricing and New Relic Pricing, in USD, excluding tax; all TCOs are editorial calculations, not vendor quotes. “Host/GiB/user/data/platform scope” differ, so official facts, editorial assumptions and non-comparable items are kept separate.
Datadog APM standalone 36/host/month (annual), with Infra Pro 31+15; each host gets 150GB spans + 1M indexed per year, overage 0.10/GB. Dynatrace Full-Stack 58/month per 8GiB host (0.01/GiB-hour), Infrastructure 29, Foundation 7. New Relic 100GB free + 0.40/GB; Core 49/user; Full platform Standard 10 first user + 99 additional (max 5), Pro 349/user annual. 5 hosts/3 users: Datadog 203.75, Dynatrace 290, New Relic 288; at 10 users New Relic Pro is 3,650.
Three meters: per host, per GiB host, per user + data
Datadog: APM standalone 36/host/month annual (41 APM Pro, 47 APM Enterprise); with Infrastructure Pro, APM 31 + Infra 15 = 46/host/month annual; each host includes 150GB ingested spans + 1M indexed spans per year (allocated monthly), with overage at 0.10/GB ingested plus the indexed-span rate; APM can be bought standalone without Infra. Dynatrace: Full-Stack 58/month per 8GiB host (billed 0.01/GiB-hour), including APM, automated root cause, code-level profiling, Kubernetes, OpenTelemetry, 10-day trace retention; Infrastructure 29/host (0.04/hour); Foundation 7/host (0.01/hour); log ingest 0.20/GiB, retain 0.0007/GiB-hour. New Relic: 100GB/month data free, then 0.40/GB (Data Plus 0.60/GB); Basic users free; Core 49/user; Full platform Standard first user 10, additional 99 (max 5 full users); Pro 349/user annual or 418.80/user monthly; Enterprise custom.
| Platform/tier | Billing | Published (USD) | Included/boundary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Datadog APM (standalone) | Per host/month | 36 (annual) | 150GB spans+1M indexed/year; overage 0.10/GB |
| Datadog APM + Infra Pro | Per host/month | 31 + 15 = 46 (annual) | APM+Infra; logs extra |
| Datadog APM Pro/Enterprise | Per host/month | 41 / 47 (annual) | Data Streams/higher tier |
| Dynatrace Full-Stack | Per 8GiB host/month | 58 (0.01/GiB-hour) | APM+Infra+K8s+OTel; 10-day trace |
| Dynatrace Infrastructure | Per host/month | 29 (0.04/hour) | Infrastructure only |
| Dynatrace Foundation | Per host/month | 7 (0.01/hour) | Basic host health/topology |
| New Relic Standard | Per full user/month | First 10; additional 99 (max 5) | 100GB free; 0.40/GB |
| New Relic Pro | Per full user/month | 349 (annual)/418.80 (monthly) | Unlimited full users; 100GB free |
| New Relic Core | Per core user/month | 49 | Limited platform capabilities |
Sources: Datadog Pricing, Dynatrace Pricing and New Relic Pricing (US/USD, accessed 7 November 2026). Excludes tax, commitments/annual discounts, log/data overages, synthetic/RUM, support/compliance and migration; New Relic Pro 349/user annual and 418.80/user monthly per the page; Dynatrace’s 8GiB host is the pricing unit, billed per memory-GiB-hour.
Three TCOs: 5 hosts/3 users/300GB
Small team: 5 hosts, 3 full users, 300GB/month. Datadog APM standalone: 5 × 36 = 180; 5 hosts include 5×150=750GB spans/year, or 62.5GB/month; 300−62.5=237.5GB overage × 0.10 = 23.75; total 203.75/month. Dynatrace Full-Stack: 5 × 58 = 290/month (8GiB hosts). New Relic Standard: first full user 10 + 2×99 = 208; data 300−100=200GB × 0.40 = 80; total 288/month. Datadog is cheapest; Dynatrace and New Relic are close.
| 5 hosts/3 users/300GB | Datadog | Dynatrace | New Relic |
|---|---|---|---|
| Platform/hosts | 180.00 (5×36) | 290.00 (5×58) | 208.00 (10+2×99) |
| Data | 23.75 (237.5GB×0.10) | Included in Full-Stack | 80.00 (200GB×0.40) |
| Total | 203.75 | 290.00 | 288.00 |
Editorial calculation, not a quote. Datadog uses APM standalone 36/host, 62.5GB/month spans included, 0.10/GB overage; Dynatrace uses Full-Stack 58/8GiB host; New Relic uses Standard 10 first user + 99 additional, 100GB free + 0.40/GB. Excludes tax, logs/RUM/synthetics, support/compliance and migration; platform scope differs (Datadog APM excludes Infra/logs; New Relic full platform includes 50+ capabilities).
Three TCOs: 10 hosts/5 users/500GB
Mid-size: 10 hosts, 5 full users, 500GB/month. Datadog: 10×36=360; 10 hosts include 125GB/month spans; 500−125=375GB×0.10=37.50; total 397.50/month. Dynatrace: 10×58=580/month. New Relic Standard: 10 + 4×99 = 406; data 400GB×0.40=160; total 566/month. Datadog is still cheapest; New Relic is slightly below Dynatrace, but Standard caps at 5 full users, so more users require Pro.
| 10 hosts/5 users/500GB | Datadog | Dynatrace | New Relic |
|---|---|---|---|
| Platform/hosts | 360.00 (10×36) | 580.00 (10×58) | 406.00 (10+4×99) |
| Data | 37.50 (375GB×0.10) | Included in Full-Stack | 160.00 (400GB×0.40) |
| Total | 397.50 | 580.00 | 566.00 |
Editorial calculation, not a quote. Datadog uses APM standalone 36/host, 125GB/month spans included, 0.10/GB overage; Dynatrace uses Full-Stack 58/8GiB host; New Relic uses Standard 10+4×99, 100GB free + 0.40/GB. Excludes tax, logs/RUM/synthetics, support/compliance and migration; New Relic Standard caps at 5 full users.
Three TCOs: 10 hosts/10 users/500GB
10 full users exceed New Relic Standard’s 5-user cap, so Pro applies: Datadog 397.50 (same as above); Dynatrace 580; New Relic Pro annual: 10×349=3,490; data 400GB×0.40=160; total 3,650/month (monthly 10×418.80+160=4,348). At 10 full users New Relic’s per-user model gets expensive quickly; if most users are Basic (free)/Core (49/user), the cost is much lower. The question is not “who is cheapest” but “how many full users and how much platform scope you need”.
| 10 hosts/10 users/500GB | Datadog | Dynatrace | New Relic Pro |
|---|---|---|---|
| Platform/hosts | 360.00 (10×36) | 580.00 (10×58) | 3,490.00 (10×349 annual) |
| Data | 37.50 (375GB×0.10) | Included in Full-Stack | 160.00 (400GB×0.40) |
| Total | 397.50 | 580.00 | 3,650.00 |
Editorial calculation, not a quote. Datadog uses APM standalone 36/host, 125GB/month spans included, 0.10/GB overage; Dynatrace uses Full-Stack 58/8GiB host; New Relic uses Pro 349/user annual (418.80 monthly), 100GB free + 0.40/GB. Excludes tax, logs/RUM/synthetics, support/compliance and migration; platform scope differs.
Which option fits which scenario?
Small team/per-host linear, APM only: Datadog APM standalone 36/host; want APM+Infra+logs/security in one vendor: Datadog’s product combination (each product billed separately); want APM+Infra+K8s+OTel bundled per 8GiB host: Dynatrace Full-Stack 58; want a per-user full platform with 3–5 full users and a large team: New Relic Standard (max 5 full users); many full users (10+) or unlimited full users: New Relic Pro 349/user annual, but price the total first; budget-first/open source: OpenTelemetry + Grafana/Jaeger self-hosted (ops extra). Do not compare only “per host/per user”; include platform scope, data volume, logs/RUM/synthetics and support.
| Scenario | First choice | Monthly (example) | Check first |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small team/APM only | Datadog APM standalone | 203.75 (5 hosts/3 users) | Span quota/logs |
| APM+Infra bundle | Dynatrace Full-Stack | 290 (5×8GiB hosts) | Memory/GiB-hour |
| Per-user full platform/3–5 users | New Relic Standard | 288 (3 users/300GB) | 5-user cap |
| 10+ full users | Datadog/Dynatrace or New Relic Pro | 397.50/580/3,650 | Users/platform scope |
| Logs/RUM/synthetics | Billed per product | — | Volume/retention |
| Budget-first/self-hosted | OTel + Grafana/Jaeger | Software+ops | Staff/storage |
Sources: the three official pricing pages (accessed 7 November 2026). This is an editorial decision matrix, not vendor advice; performance, sampling, retention, SLA, support response and migration cost were not tested.
What should procurement and acceptance specify?
At least ten things: host count/memory, full/core/basic users, data/span volume, logs/RUM/synthetics, retention, sampling, SLA/support, compliance/residency, migration/export, contract/annual. Run a 2–4 week POC on real traffic and record hosts/users, spans/GB, sampling, retention, query experience and the bill; do not compare only “per host/per user”.
- Hosts: count, memory/GiB, containers/K8s, serverless.
- Users: full/core/basic, permissions, SSO.
- Data: spans/GB, indexed spans, logs/RUM/synthetics.
- Retention: hot/warm/cold, trace/log retention.
- Sampling: head/tail, 100% traffic, dynamic sampling.
- Platform scope: APM/Infra/logs/security/DEM bundled or not.
- SLA/support: uptime, response, credits.
- Compliance: residency, audit, HIPAA/SOC2.
- Contract: annual/monthly, commitment, renewal, exit.
- POC: 2–4 weeks of real traffic; hosts/users, spans/GB, sampling, retention and bill.
FAQ
Which of the three is cheapest?
In this article’s three tiers, Datadog is lowest (203.75/397.50/397.50); Dynatrace 290/580/580; New Relic 288/566/3,650. But platform scope differs: Datadog APM excludes Infra/logs, while New Relic full platform includes 50+ capabilities.
Datadog APM 31 vs 36 — which one?
31 is the “APM + Infrastructure Pro” bundle price (plus Infra 15, total 46/host); 36 is APM standalone. APM only: 36; with Infra: 31+15; APM Pro/Enterprise: 41/47.
What is Dynatrace’s 58 unit?
58/month per 8GiB host, billed at 0.01/GiB-hour; a 16GiB host is about 116/month. Includes APM+Infra+K8s+OTel+10-day trace; log ingest 0.20/GiB extra.
How do New Relic users work?
Basic free; Core 49/user; Full platform Standard first user 10, additional 99 (max 5 full users); Pro 349/user annual or 418.80 monthly; Enterprise custom. Data 100GB free, then 0.40/GB.
Why is New Relic expensive at 10 users?
Standard caps at 5 full users, so 10 requires Pro: 10×349=3,490/month annual + data 160 = 3,650; Datadog/Dynatrace bill per host, about 397.50/580 for 10 hosts. If most users are Basic/Core, New Relic is much lower.
How do we align platform scope?
Datadog APM standalone is APM only; Infra 15/host, logs extra. Dynatrace Full-Stack includes APM+Infra; logs extra. New Relic full platform includes APM/Infra/logs/DEM and 50+ capabilities. Add the products you need before comparing.
What hidden costs should we expect?
Logs/RUM/synthetics, span/GB overages, indexed spans, retention, sampling, SSO/compliance, support/SLA, migration/export and tax. Datadog’s 150GB/1M spans is per host per year; New Relic’s 100GB is per account per month.
How do we choose and accept?
Small team/APM only: Datadog; APM+Infra bundle: Dynatrace; few full users/large team: New Relic Standard; 10+ full users: price New Relic Pro first; budget-first: OTel self-hosted. A 2–4 week POC on real traffic records hosts/users, spans/GB, sampling and the bill.
Research method and limitations
This article separates “official facts” from “editorial modelling”: Datadog’s APM standalone 36, APM+Infra 31+15, APM Pro/Enterprise 41/47, 150GB spans+1M indexed per host per year and 0.10/GB overage come from Datadog Pricing; Dynatrace’s Full-Stack 58/8GiB host (0.01/GiB-hour), Infrastructure 29, Foundation 7 and log 0.20/GiB come from Dynatrace Pricing; New Relic’s 100GB free+0.40/GB, Core 49/user, Standard 10+99 (max 5) and Pro 349/418.80 come from New Relic Pricing. The TCOs are arithmetic at 5/10 hosts, 3/5/10 full users and 300/500GB, not vendor quotes.
Eight limitations: (1) only US public list prices are used, excluding tax, commitments/annual discounts, enterprise discounts and regional differences; (2) only APM/platform + data are counted, excluding logs/RUM/synthetics, support/compliance and migration; (3) platform scope differs (Datadog APM standalone excludes Infra/logs; New Relic full platform includes 50+ capabilities); (4) 5/10 hosts and 3/5/10 users are assumptions; (5) performance, sampling, retention, query experience, SLA and support were not tested; (6) Grafana/OTel self-hosted, Splunk APM and Elastic APM are excluded; (7) migration, re-engineering, training and dual-run are excluded; (8) prices and terms can change by contract, region and exchange rate. Treat this as a pricing-conversion template and replace assumptions with a 2–4 week real-traffic POC.
Sources and basis
- Datadog, Pricing: datadoghq.com/pricing. APM standalone 36/host/month annual, APM+Infra Pro 31+15, APM Pro/Enterprise 41/47; 150GB ingested spans+1M indexed spans per host per year; overage 0.10/GB. Accessed 7 November 2026.
- Dynatrace, Pricing: dynatrace.com/pricing. Full-Stack 58/month per 8GiB host (0.01/GiB-hour), Infrastructure 29/host, Foundation 7/host; log ingest 0.20/GiB, retain 0.0007/GiB-hour; DPS annual commitment. Accessed 7 November 2026.
- New Relic, Pricing: newrelic.com/pricing. 100GB/month free, then 0.40/GB (Data Plus 0.60); Basic free, Core 49/user, Full platform Standard 10 first user+99 additional (max 5), Pro 349/user annual/418.80 monthly. Accessed 7 November 2026.
Data cut-off 7 November 2026; prices are public list prices excluding tax; all models are editorial calculations. This is not procurement advice.