Rollbar specializes in error tracking and monitoring with a lower price point ($15-$99/month entry level), while Datadog is a comprehensive observability platform covering logs, metrics, traces, and APM at a higher cost ($15-$40+ per host/month). Datadog offers broader infrastructure monitoring, but Rollbar excels in developer-focused error management.
Rollbar vs Datadog — Side-by-side comparison on A Versus B
Choose Rollbar if you're a developer-focused team needing affordable, fast error tracking with minimal setup overhead and straightforward alerting. Choose Datadog if you require enterprise-grade full-stack observability, infrastructure monitoring, APM, and are willing to invest in a more complex but comprehensive monitoring solution.
Developer-first error tracking and crash reporting platform with real-time alerts.
Enterprise observability platform providing APM, infrastructure monitoring, logs, and analytics
Structured comparison data for Rollbar vs Datadog with 185 attributes.
APM (Application Performance Monitoring)
Default Data Retention (included in pricing)
Base Monthly Pricing (1GB/day ingestion)
Maximum Data Ingestion Per Day (Enterprise)
Typical Enterprise Annual Cost (1000 hosts)
Mid-Market Annual Cost (100GB/month ingest)
Rollbar vs Datadog — Attribute Category Vocabulary
Taxonomy of attribute categories used to classify comparison data for Rollbar vs Datadog.
Which tool is better for a startup with limited budget?
Rollbar is significantly more affordable for startups. At $15/month for basic error tracking, it costs 50-70% less than Datadog's entry-level infrastructure monitoring. Rollbar's 5-10 minute setup also means faster time-to-value. However, as you scale infrastructure (adding databases, multiple servers, containers), Datadog's comprehensive monitoring becomes more cost-effective than piecing together separate tools.
Partially, but not completely. Rollbar excels at error tracking and crash reporting - areas where it outperforms Datadog. However, Rollbar lacks infrastructure monitoring, log aggregation at scale, APM, and RUM. For teams managing microservices, Kubernetes clusters, or multi-cloud environments, Datadog is necessary. Rollbar + ELK Stack or Rollbar + Prometheus is a common alternative to Datadog for cost-conscious teams.
Which has better JavaScript/frontend error tracking?
Rollbar has a significant advantage for JavaScript-specific error tracking. Its source map processing, automatic deduplication, and commit linking are tailored for frontend developers. Datadog's RUM covers frontend monitoring but is broader (session tracking, performance metrics) rather than deep error analysis. For pure JavaScript error tracking, Rollbar is the clear winner.
Does Datadog's higher cost justify its features?
Yes, if you need full-stack observability. Datadog's 600+ integrations, unified dashboard, APM, RUM, and infrastructure monitoring eliminate the need for 5-8 separate tools. For enterprises, this consolidation reduces complexity and costs overall. However, for small teams or specific use cases (pure error tracking), Rollbar's focused approach and lower cost are superior.
How long does it take to see ROI with each tool?
Rollbar: 1-2 weeks. With 5-10 minute setup, teams immediately catch and fix errors, reducing mean-time-to-resolution (MTTR) by 40-60%. Datadog: 4-8 weeks. The 30-60 minute setup, 2-4 week learning curve, and need to instrument multiple services delay value realization, but the ROI is higher once fully implemented due to prevented outages and infrastructure optimization.