Bugsnag is a specialized error monitoring and crash reporting platform focused on application stability, while Datadog is a comprehensive observability platform covering metrics, logs, traces, and infrastructure monitoring. Datadog offers broader monitoring capabilities across the entire stack, whereas Bugsnag excels in real-time error detection and mobile crash analytics.
Bugsnag vs Datadog — Side-by-side comparison on A Versus B
Specialized error monitoring and mobile crash reporting platform for application stability.
Comprehensive cloud monitoring and observability platform covering infrastructure, logs, metrics, traces, and application performance.
Primary Focus. Supported Data Types. Mobile App Support. Starting Price (Monthly). Infrastructure Monitoring. Integration Ecosystem. Setup Time (Minutes)
Choose Bugsnag if you need specialized, rapid error monitoring with strong mobile crash reporting and prefer a simpler, faster onboarding for applications. Choose Datadog if you require comprehensive observability across infrastructure, logs, metrics, traces, and application performance—and have multiple systems to monitor across your entire stack.
Bugsnag: AI/ML-powered (automatic learning) | Datadog: N/A
Bugsnag: Native iOS/Android support | Datadog: N/A
Bugsnag: Automatic with obfuscation detection | Datadog: N/A
Bugsnag: Advanced with interaction tracking and performance metrics | Datadog: N/A
Bugsnag: Native support with video replay | Datadog: N/A
Bugsnag: Native with custom rules | Datadog: N/A
Bugsnag: 0 (error monitoring only) | Datadog: N/A
Bugsnag: Up to 100 events per crash | Datadog: N/A
Bugsnag: $2,000 (Enterprise) | Datadog: N/A
Bugsnag: Yes (primary focus) | Datadog: N/A
Bugsnag: 50+ integrations | Datadog: 600+ pre-built integrations
Bugsnag: 5-10 minutes | Datadog: 15-30 minutes
Bugsnag: 150+ integrations | Datadog: 600+
APM (Application Performance Monitoring)
Bugsnag: Basic APM with error tracking | Datadog: Advanced APM with distributed tracing
Bugsnag: Application errors only | Datadog: Hosts, containers, Kubernetes, cloud services, databases
Bugsnag: Basic session replay | Datadog: Advanced session replay with pixel-perfect reproduction
Bugsnag: Basic authentication and data encryption | Datadog: SAML, SSO, SOC2 Type II, HIPAA compliance, security monitoring
Bugsnag: 7,500 events/month | Datadog: N/A
Bugsnag: 7 minutes | Datadog: 30-60 minutes
Bugsnag: <2 seconds | Datadog: 5-10 seconds
Bugsnag: iOS, Android, React Native, Flutter | Datadog: iOS, Android, React Native
Bugsnag: N/A | Datadog: Distributed tracing and session replay
Bugsnag: N/A | Datadog: Comprehensive with advanced orchestration
Bugsnag: N/A | Datadog: Native distributed tracing
Bugsnag: N/A | Datadog: Built-in with retention policies
Bugsnag: N/A | Datadog: $32 per host/month
Bugsnag: N/A | Datadog: Most comprehensive with custom parsing
Bugsnag: N/A | Datadog: Advanced features, steeper learning curve
Bugsnag: N/A | Datadog: $0 - limited (3 hosts max)
Bugsnag: N/A | Datadog: Advanced with ML insights
Bugsnag: N/A | Datadog: $15 per host minimum
Bugsnag: N/A | Datadog: $15.00 (base) + metered
Bugsnag: N/A | Datadog: 600+ native integrations
Bugsnag: N/A | Datadog: 60% alert reduction via AI
Bugsnag: N/A | Datadog: Yes (full distributed tracing)
Bugsnag: N/A | Datadog: Basic (limited schedule management)
Bugsnag: N/A | Datadog: $180+/month (Standard plan)
Bugsnag: N/A | Datadog: Full log aggregation and analytics
Bugsnag: N/A | Datadog: 15+ major frameworks
Bugsnag: N/A | Datadog: 600+ integrations
Bugsnag: N/A | Datadog: Monthly/pay-as-you-go
Bugsnag: N/A | Datadog: $0.05 per metric
Bugsnag: N/A | Datadog: Machine learning-based pattern recognition
Bugsnag: N/A | Datadog: 35% reduction (typical)
Bugsnag: N/A | Datadog: $15/month (Standard tier)
Bugsnag: N/A | Datadog: 450 days (15 months default)
Bugsnag: N/A | Datadog: 650+ technologies
Bugsnag: N/A | Datadog: Unlimited with tag aggregation
Bugsnag: N/A | Datadog: 800-1200 (with agent)
Bugsnag: N/A | Datadog: 24/7 phone, email, chat
Bugsnag: N/A | Datadog: Native with 0.1s granularity
Bugsnag: N/A | Datadog: Method-level with sampling
Bugsnag: N/A | Datadog: Yes, standard in most plans
Bugsnag: N/A | Datadog: Basic anomaly detection
Bugsnag: N/A | Datadog: ~600+ integrations
Default Data Retention (included in pricing)
Bugsnag: N/A | Datadog: 100% of traces stored
Bugsnag: N/A | Datadog: 15 days (standard tier)
Bugsnag: N/A | Datadog: Limited query builder; UI-driven
Bugsnag: N/A | Datadog: 2/10 (plug-and-play)
Bugsnag: N/A | Datadog: Infrastructure, APM, logs, metrics, synthetics, RUM
Bugsnag: N/A | Datadog: SaaS, full on-premise, hybrid
Bugsnag: N/A | Datadog: Available with RUM plan
Bugsnag: N/A | Datadog: Basic container metrics and logs
Bugsnag: N/A | Datadog: Yes, with distributed tracing
Bugsnag: N/A | Datadog: Yes (anomaly detection, AI Advisor)
Bugsnag: N/A | Datadog: SOC 2, ISO 27001, FedRAMP, HIPAA
Bugsnag: N/A | Datadog: $15-20 per host (estimated)
Bugsnag: N/A | Datadog: 3 hops (with manual configuration)
Bugsnag: N/A | Datadog: 3+ agents (APM, Infrastructure, Logs)
Bugsnag: N/A | Datadog: 4.6/5.0 (2,100+ reviews)
Typical Enterprise Annual Cost (1000 hosts)
Bugsnag: N/A | Datadog: $180K-240K (with logs)
Bugsnag: N/A | Datadog: 32% faster than legacy APM
How to choose between Bugsnag and Datadog
Bugsnag vs Datadog — Structured Comparison Data
Machine-readable comparison dataset for Bugsnag vs Datadog. Contains 159 attribute comparisons, 5 FAQ pairs.
Bugsnag vs Datadog — Attribute Category Vocabulary
Taxonomy of attribute categories used to classify comparison data for Bugsnag vs Datadog.
Which tool is better for mobile app monitoring?
Bugsnag is superior for mobile-specific crash monitoring. It provides native iOS and Android SDKs with automatic symbolication, real-time crash detection, and mobile-specific features like session replay. Datadog offers mobile monitoring through Real User Monitoring (RUM), but it's less specialized for native crash reporting and crash symbolication.
Can Datadog replace Bugsnag, or do I need both?
Datadog can partially replace Bugsnag for error monitoring, but many teams use both: Bugsnag for specialized mobile crash detection and Datadog for full-stack infrastructure and log monitoring. If you're infrastructure-heavy and need comprehensive observability, Datadog alone may suffice. If mobile crashes are critical, Bugsnag remains the more specialized choice.
Bugsnag uses transparent usage-based pricing starting at $49/month for 1M events, making it cost-predictable for error monitoring. Datadog's pricing is more complex and scales with the volume of logs, metrics, and traces ingested, often resulting in higher enterprise costs ($10k-$50k+ annually) but covers more data types. For error-only monitoring, Bugsnag is typically cheaper; for comprehensive observability, Datadog's all-in-one approach may reduce total tooling costs.
Which has a faster implementation for a startup?
Bugsnag wins for startup speed. Setup takes 5-10 minutes with minimal configuration, making it ideal for quick deployment. Datadog requires more initial setup (15-30+ minutes) and planning to configure properly across infrastructure, logs, and metrics. For rapid time-to-value, Bugsnag is the faster choice.
What's the key differentiator in ecosystem integrations?
Datadog's 600+ integrations significantly exceed Bugsnag's 120+, covering monitoring, CI/CD, incident management, and alerting platforms. Bugsnag focuses on error-specific integrations (Slack, Jira, GitHub). If you need deep cross-platform automation and data flow, Datadog's ecosystem is substantially more robust.
How to Choose Between Bugsnag and Datadog
Primary Focus: Bugsnag has Error monitoring & crash reporting, while Datadog has Full-stack observability platform.
Supported Data Types: Bugsnag has Errors, crashes, releases, sessions (4 types), while Datadog has Metrics, logs, traces, profiles, incidents, APM (6+ types).
Mobile App Support: Bugsnag has Native iOS/Android SDKs with crash symbolication, while Datadog has Mobile monitoring via RUM, limited native crash tools.
Starting Price (Monthly): Bugsnag has $49/month for 1M events, while Datadog has $15/month for basic metrics, scales significantly.
Infrastructure Monitoring: Bugsnag has Limited to application errors, while Datadog has Full infrastructure, containers, Kubernetes, hosts.
Integration Ecosystem: Bugsnag has 120+ integrations (primarily error-focused), while Datadog has 600+ integrations across all monitoring domains.
Setup Time (Minutes): Bugsnag has 5-10 minutes for basic setup, while Datadog has 15-30 minutes depending on complexity.