Elasticsearch is a self-hosted search and analytics engine requiring significant operational overhead, while Datadog is a fully managed SaaS monitoring platform with built-in integrations and faster time-to-value. Elasticsearch excels at cost control for massive datasets, while Datadog prioritizes ease of use and comprehensive observability out-of-the-box.
Elasticsearch vs Datadog — Side-by-side comparison on A Versus B
Open-source distributed search and analytics engine for logs, metrics, and traces with flexible deployment options.
Cloud-native SaaS platform combining APM, infrastructure monitoring, log management, and analytics in unified dashboard.
Deployment Model. Setup Time to First Insights. Monthly Cost for 100GB/day Ingestion. Operational Complexity. Pre-built Dashboards & Integrations. Data Retention Costs. Query Language & Flexibility
Choose Elasticsearch if you have significant DevOps resources, need maximum cost efficiency at enterprise scale (10TB+/day), require complete data ownership, or prefer open-source flexibility. Choose Datadog if you prioritize rapid deployment, integrated APM/monitoring/logging, minimal operational burden, and are willing to pay premium SaaS pricing for convenience and comprehensive observability.
Elasticsearch: $0.10 - $0.20 | Datadog: N/A
Elasticsearch: 30+ days (self-hosted) | Datadog: 15 days
Elasticsearch: 40-80 (self-hosted) | Datadog: 0.5 hours
Elasticsearch: Unlimited (via client libraries) | Datadog: 50+
Elasticsearch: Petabyte-scale (1000+ TB) | Datadog: N/A
Elasticsearch: 7 (Lucene/DSL - steep learning curve) | Datadog: N/A
Elasticsearch: Self-hosted, SaaS (Elastic Cloud), or Kubernetes | Datadog: SaaS, full on-premise, hybrid
Elasticsearch: 30-90 days | Datadog: N/A
Elasticsearch: $0 (self-hosted) | Datadog: N/A
Elasticsearch: $0 (unlimited after infrastructure cost) | Datadog: N/A
Elasticsearch: 0 (requires custom hardening) | Datadog: N/A
Elasticsearch: 3 (anomaly detection, forecasting, outlier detection) | Datadog: N/A
Elasticsearch: Unlimited (enterprise only) | Datadog: N/A
Elasticsearch: 12-48 (community forums) | Datadog: N/A
Elasticsearch: 2000+ | Datadog: 600+ integrations
Elasticsearch: 1,000+ (tested to 10,000 with advanced tuning) | Datadog: N/A
Elasticsearch: Native (analyzers, relevance tuning, fuzzy matching) | Datadog: N/A
Elasticsearch: 1-3 days (schemaless indexing) | Datadog: N/A
Elasticsearch: SQL via plugin (Elastic SQL), primary is Query DSL | Datadog: N/A
Elasticsearch: 32-64GB for equivalent throughput | Datadog: N/A
Elasticsearch: $0-$10,000 (self-hosted) or $20,000-$60,000 (managed) | Datadog: N/A
Elasticsearch: 45-120 (manual investigation required) | Datadog: N/A
Elasticsearch: 6-12 weeks | Datadog: 5-15 days
Elasticsearch: 1000+ via community/Beats | Datadog: N/A
Elasticsearch: Unlimited (storage-dependent) | Datadog: 15 days
Elasticsearch: 500,000+ EPS per cluster | Datadog: N/A
Elasticsearch: 3-6 months | Datadog: N/A
Elasticsearch: Complex Query DSL requiring technical expertise | Datadog: N/A
Elasticsearch: 68,000+ stars | Datadog: N/A
Elasticsearch: 5-10 minutes | Datadog: N/A
Elasticsearch: 65 docs/sec per thread | Datadog: N/A
Elasticsearch: $5,000-$50,000 | Datadog: N/A
Elasticsearch: Via aggregations (requires custom queries) | Datadog: N/A
Elasticsearch: 14-28 days | Datadog: N/A
Monthly Cost (100GB index, 1M queries/month)
Elasticsearch: $200-500 self-hosted | Datadog: N/A
Elasticsearch: Petabyte-scale (unlimited) | Datadog: N/A
Elasticsearch: Requires DevOps expertise | Datadog: N/A
Elasticsearch: 9/10 (plugins, analyzers, scripting) | Datadog: N/A
Elasticsearch: Community-based or 4+ hours (enterprise) | Datadog: N/A
Elasticsearch: 14-28 days (self-hosted) | Datadog: 0.5-1 day
Elasticsearch: ~300 integrations | Datadog: ~600+ integrations
Elasticsearch: Unlimited (configurable) | Datadog: 450 days (15 months)
Elasticsearch: 1.0-2.0 FTE | Datadog: 0.1-0.3 FTE
Elasticsearch: Advanced EQL with full customization | Datadog: Limited query builder; UI-driven
Elasticsearch: 8/10 (requires DevOps expertise) | Datadog: 2/10 - agent-based, minimal config
Elasticsearch: 120-240 minutes | Datadog: N/A
Elasticsearch: 1+ Billion (across clusters) | Datadog: N/A
Elasticsearch: 40+ aggregation types | Datadog: N/A
Elasticsearch: Manual configuration required | Datadog: N/A
Elasticsearch: ~60,000 stars | Datadog: N/A
Elasticsearch: $50,000-150,000 | Datadog: N/A
Elasticsearch: 14-30 days | Datadog: N/A
Elasticsearch: 30-40 (via Beats) | Datadog: N/A
Elasticsearch: $0 (open-source) or $12,000 | Datadog: N/A
Elasticsearch: Requires third-party integrations | Datadog: N/A
Elasticsearch: Full Elasticsearch Query DSL and custom scripts | Datadog: N/A
Elasticsearch: 1M+ active developers | Datadog: N/A
Mean Time to Resolution (MTTR) Improvement
Elasticsearch: Depends on manual investigation | Datadog: N/A
Elasticsearch: 80-200 hours (extensive) | Datadog: N/A
Total Cost of Ownership (3-year, 500GB/month ingestion)
Elasticsearch: $120,000 (self-hosted licensing + 2 FTEs infrastructure) | Datadog: N/A
Elasticsearch: Logs, metrics (via plugins), custom JSON data | Datadog: N/A
Elasticsearch: Unlimited (storage-dependent) | Datadog: N/A
Elasticsearch: 100-2000ms (depends on tuning) | Datadog: N/A
Required Infrastructure Team Size (100 users)
Elasticsearch: 2-3 (cluster management + optimization) | Datadog: N/A
Elasticsearch: 180,000+ (open-source) | Datadog: N/A
Elasticsearch: Unlimited (petabyte-scale) | Datadog: N/A
Elasticsearch: 60-120 minutes | Datadog: N/A
Elasticsearch: 1000+ plugins/integrations | Datadog: 600+
Elasticsearch: 30+ languages | Datadog: N/A
Elasticsearch: Requires configuration/plugin | Datadog: N/A
Elasticsearch: 500,000+ companies worldwide | Datadog: N/A
Typical Query Latency (1B rows, GROUP BY)
Elasticsearch: 500-2000ms | Datadog: N/A
Elasticsearch: Native, highly optimized (primary feature) | Datadog: N/A
Elasticsearch: Via Beats and Logstash (indirect) | Datadog: N/A
Elasticsearch: Low-Medium (simpler operations) | Datadog: N/A
Elasticsearch: 5+ PB (operational limit) | Datadog: N/A
Elasticsearch: SQL plugin available (limited JOIN support) | Datadog: N/A
Elasticsearch: 2-4 full-time engineers | Datadog: 0-1 (for integrations only)
Elasticsearch: 300+ community/official | Datadog: 500+ auto-instrumented
Elasticsearch: Lucene, KQL, SQL, JavaScript | Datadog: DQL, limited SQL
Elasticsearch: Varies by deployment (self-hosted: customer responsibility) | Datadog: 99.99%
Elasticsearch: Yes (SSPL/Elastic License) | Datadog: No (proprietary SaaS)
Elasticsearch: N/A | Datadog: 18+ regions
Elasticsearch: N/A | Datadog: Distributed tracing and session replay
Elasticsearch: N/A | Datadog: Comprehensive with advanced orchestration
Elasticsearch: N/A | Datadog: Native distributed tracing
Elasticsearch: N/A | Datadog: Built-in with retention policies
Elasticsearch: N/A | Datadog: $32 per host/month
Elasticsearch: N/A | Datadog: Most comprehensive with custom parsing
Elasticsearch: N/A | Datadog: Advanced features, steeper learning curve
Elasticsearch: N/A | Datadog: $0 - limited (3 hosts max)
Elasticsearch: N/A | Datadog: $231/month
Elasticsearch: N/A | Datadog: 1-3 seconds
Elasticsearch: N/A | Datadog: 40+ languages
Elasticsearch: N/A | Datadog: Advanced with ML insights
Elasticsearch: N/A | Datadog: $15 per host minimum
Elasticsearch: N/A | Datadog: No, SaaS only
Elasticsearch: N/A | Datadog: 250K+ users
Elasticsearch: N/A | Datadog: $15.00 (base) + metered
Elasticsearch: N/A | Datadog: 600+ native integrations
Elasticsearch: N/A | Datadog: 60% alert reduction via AI
Elasticsearch: N/A | Datadog: 72% faster
Elasticsearch: N/A | Datadog: Yes (full distributed tracing)
Elasticsearch: N/A | Datadog: Basic (limited schedule management)
Elasticsearch: N/A | Datadog: $180+/month (Standard plan)
Elasticsearch: N/A | Datadog: 30-60 minutes
Elasticsearch: N/A | Datadog: Full log aggregation and analytics
Elasticsearch: N/A | Datadog: 15+ major frameworks
Elasticsearch: N/A | Datadog: 200 metrics
Elasticsearch: N/A | Datadog: Monthly/pay-as-you-go
Elasticsearch: N/A | Datadog: $0.05 per metric
Elasticsearch: N/A | Datadog: Machine learning-based pattern recognition
Elasticsearch: N/A | Datadog: 35% reduction (typical)
Elasticsearch: N/A | Datadog: $15/month (Standard tier)
Elasticsearch: N/A | Datadog: 450 days (15 months default)
Elasticsearch: N/A | Datadog: Unlimited with tag aggregation
Elasticsearch: N/A | Datadog: 800-1200 (with agent)
Elasticsearch: N/A | Datadog: 24/7 phone, email, chat
Elasticsearch: N/A | Datadog: Native support
Elasticsearch: N/A | Datadog: Method-level with sampling
Elasticsearch: N/A | Datadog: Yes, standard in most plans
Elasticsearch: N/A | Datadog: Basic anomaly detection
Elasticsearch: N/A | Datadog: 15-30 minutes
APM (Application Performance Monitoring)
Elasticsearch: N/A | Datadog: Advanced APM with distributed tracing
Elasticsearch: N/A | Datadog: Advanced session replay with pixel-perfect reproduction
Elasticsearch: N/A | Datadog: SAML, SSO, SOC2 Type II, HIPAA compliance, security monitoring
Elasticsearch: N/A | Datadog: 1-5 seconds
Elasticsearch: N/A | Datadog: $4,000-6,000
Elasticsearch: N/A | Datadog: 2-5 minutes
Default Data Retention (included in pricing)
Elasticsearch: N/A | Datadog: 100% of traces stored
Elasticsearch: N/A | Datadog: 0 (add-on only)
Elasticsearch: N/A | Datadog: 19,000+ (2024)
Elasticsearch: N/A | Datadog: Infrastructure, APM, logs, metrics, synthetics, RUM
Elasticsearch: N/A | Datadog: $50k-$200k+
Elasticsearch: N/A | Datadog: Available with RUM plan
Elasticsearch: N/A | Datadog: 600+ pre-built integrations
Elasticsearch: N/A | Datadog: 10 seconds
Elasticsearch: N/A | Datadog: Basic container metrics and logs
Elasticsearch: N/A | Datadog: Yes, with distributed tracing
Elasticsearch: N/A | Datadog: Not available
Elasticsearch: N/A | Datadog: Yes (anomaly detection, AI Advisor)
Elasticsearch: N/A | Datadog: SOC 2, ISO 27001, FedRAMP, HIPAA
Elasticsearch: N/A | Datadog: $28,200-38,400
Base Monthly Pricing (1GB/day ingestion)
Elasticsearch: N/A | Datadog: 15 days standard
Elasticsearch: N/A | Datadog: 50+ security rules
Maximum Data Ingestion Per Day (Enterprise)
Elasticsearch: N/A | Datadog: Unlimited (licensing dependent)
Elasticsearch: N/A | Datadog: Datadog Query Language (DQL) + PromQL support
Elasticsearch: N/A | Datadog: 99.99% guaranteed SLA
Elasticsearch: N/A | Datadog: 24/7 dedicated support with SLA
Elasticsearch: N/A | Datadog: $15-20 per host (estimated)
Elasticsearch: N/A | Datadog: 3 hops (with manual configuration)
Elasticsearch: N/A | Datadog: 3+ agents (APM, Infrastructure, Logs)
Elasticsearch: N/A | Datadog: 4.6/5.0 (2,100+ reviews)
Typical Enterprise Annual Cost (1000 hosts)
Elasticsearch: N/A | Datadog: $180K-240K (with logs)
Elasticsearch: N/A | Datadog: 32% faster than legacy APM
Elasticsearch: N/A | Datadog: 5-10 seconds
Elasticsearch: N/A | Datadog: iOS, Android, React Native
Elasticsearch: N/A | Datadog: Hosts, containers, Kubernetes, cloud services, databases
Elasticsearch: N/A | Datadog: $10,000-$50,000+
Elasticsearch: N/A | Datadog: $360 (~$15/host × 24 hosts typical)
Elasticsearch: N/A | Datadog: 15 (upgradeable to 400+)
Elasticsearch: N/A | Datadog: Included in all plans
How to choose between Elasticsearch and Datadog
Elasticsearch vs Datadog — Structured Comparison Data
Machine-readable comparison dataset for Elasticsearch vs Datadog. Contains 235 attribute comparisons, 5 FAQ pairs.
Elasticsearch vs Datadog — Attribute Category Vocabulary
Taxonomy of attribute categories used to classify comparison data for Elasticsearch vs Datadog.
When should I choose Elasticsearch over Datadog?
Choose Elasticsearch if you ingest >1TB/day (where it's 50-70% cheaper), have in-house DevOps expertise, require data sovereignty, need complex custom queries, or want to avoid vendor lock-in. Elasticsearch pays for itself operationally at scale despite higher management overhead.
Is Datadog really 60% more expensive than Elasticsearch?
Yes, for high-volume ingestion. Datadog charges $0.10-$0.35/GB ingested plus additional tiers for APM/logs/metrics. A 500GB/day workload costs ~$1.8M-$2.6M annually on Datadog vs $180K-$240K on self-hosted Elasticsearch (infrastructure only). However, Datadog's managed service eliminates $400K-$600K in annual DevOps salary costs.
Can I use Elasticsearch for APM like Datadog?
Elasticsearch can ingest APM data (via OpenTelemetry, elastic-apm-agent) and Elastic APM provides tracing, but it requires manual setup and tuning. Datadog's integrated APM auto-instruments applications, auto-discovers services, and correlates traces with logs/metrics automatically—significantly easier for teams without deep observability expertise.
Does Elasticsearch require more expertise than Datadog?
Yes, substantially more. Elasticsearch requires expertise in cluster tuning, shard allocation, heap management, index lifecycle policies, and security configuration. Datadog requires API key setup and integration configuration only. For teams with <5 DevOps engineers, Datadog's managed service typically reduces toil by 40-60%.
What about data ownership and compliance?
Elasticsearch (self-hosted) gives you complete data ownership, on-premises deployment for HIPAA/PCI-DSS, and air-gapped operation. Datadog's SaaS model stores data in AWS/GCP/Azure datacenters with SOC2/FedRAMP compliance, but data residency options are limited compared to on-premises Elasticsearch.
How to Choose Between Elasticsearch and Datadog
Deployment Model: Elasticsearch has Self-hosted or managed (Elastic Cloud), while Datadog has SaaS only (fully managed).
Setup Time to First Insights: Elasticsearch has 2-4 weeks (self-hosted) or days (managed), while Datadog has Hours to 1 day.
Consider: Monthly Cost for 100GB/day Ingestion
Monthly Cost for 100GB/day Ingestion: Elasticsearch has $2,000-$4,000 (self-hosted infrastructure), while Datadog has $8,000-$15,000 (SaaS pricing).
Operational Complexity: Elasticsearch has High (requires DevOps expertise for tuning, scaling, patches), while Datadog has Low (managed platform, auto-scaling).
Consider: Pre-built Dashboards & Integrations
Pre-built Dashboards & Integrations: Elasticsearch has 300+ community integrations, requires configuration, while Datadog has 500+ out-of-the-box integrations with auto-instrumentation.
Data Retention Costs: Elasticsearch has $0.50-$1.50 per GB/month (storage only), while Datadog has $0.05-$0.15 per GB/month after initial inclusion.
Query Language & Flexibility: Elasticsearch has Kibana Query Language, Lucene, SQL, JavaScript, while Datadog has Datadog Query Language (DQL), limited SQL support.